The zine scene - Chip's Closet Corner pop culture magazine; publisher Chip Rowe - Brief Article - Interview

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Nov 15, 1994 by Lorraine Calvacca

As an associate editor at American Journalism Review, Generation X-er Chip Rowe talked to hundreds of journalists. Among the harsh lessons he learned: "Media is a business," and those in the business are "one step above used-car salesmen." For unadulterated creative inspiration, the Northwestern J-school alum prefers the unbridled world of zines. He also produces one: Chip's Closet Cleaner--a five-year-old 1,000-circulation compendium of "pop culture, humor, trivia and fun." Rowe, who left AJR two months ago to join Playboy as an assistant editor, is contemplating launching This is Spinal Tap Zine, an "A to Z guide on the rock 'n' roll cult film." Word One recently talked with Rowe about zines, magazines--and whether the twain shall meet.

Word One: Why did you start Chip's Closet Cleaner?

Chip Rowe: It's a creative outlet. Every summer I would feel a Henry Thoreau-esque urge to clean out my closet. And I would find gems: clippings, cartoons, a rejection letter I got from Stone Soup when I was 10. I had sent them a story about a farmer who commits murder and lives happily ever after. They wrote back and said they didn't think someone who murdered someone should live happily. They suggested that I rewrite the ending. I did, but they rejected it anyway. I think my whole career is based on getting back at them.

Word One: What do you see as a major difference between zines and magazines?

Rowe: Zines--because they don't have to make money--are raw and passionate. In corporate magazines, you get instances of passion, but you have to go through so much more for the gems.

Word One: What can so-called corporate magazines learn from zines?

Rowe: That there's great, weird, unusual stuff out there. Corporate magazines can learn to lighten up--and have integrity. There's so much garbage in journalism. With zines, there's no reason to be suspicious of their motives. I read Details, and I like it, but they did a fashion spread in last September's issue, and it was by the cotton industry and not labeled. That's bullshit.

Word One: What is your idea of an ideal magazine?

Rowe: It would have to be a mid-size publication, and you'd have to be in it for reasons other than money. You can have ads and still say what you want--if you have the guts. I guess I sound like an idealistic young buck, but at 27, I'm bored with magazines. Why can't people do anything original? You don't have to do another story on Birkenstock or the Mall of America.