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Editorial / The History Of... The below 'history of' appeared in issue 40, Black Velvet's 10 year anniversary issue. We're now up to past issue 60 and Black Velvet is now printed in full colour. One
day, in the Spring of 1994, I decided to start work on an
all-round printed rock zine. For a year previous I'd produced a fanzine
for the LA glam/sleaze band, Alleycat Scratch, a band I'd
seen play live during a trip to Hollywood and was impressed
by so much that I felt the urge to try and do something to
support them and get them a bit more recognition on this side
of the pond. When they split up, Black Velvet was the logical
next step. And why was it called Black Velvet? It had nothing
to do with the Allanah Myles single, it had nothing to do
with the alcoholic drink (I'm tea-total)… it was more
to do with image, my image, I guess - and the relation that
image had with rock 'n' roll. Velvet to me symbolised rock
'n' roll. I remember when I first discovered rock music in
my teens, going into Oasis (the rock store/market in Birmingham,
not the now trendy shop with the same name) and spotting crushed
velvet rock clothes… leggings, skirts, you name it…
I bought one item, I bought another. Soon my wardrobe had
been converted into a velvet emporium. I became a living,
walking velvet clothes horse. This is how it all began. Back in the beginning Black Velvet was produced on a cheap wordprocessor. A Canon Starwriter. This was before the internet generation. Before every household owned a computer. I photocopied the first three issues at work on the photocopier in the office. It had a dodgy hand-drawn logo. Oh, and I happen to be the worst artist in the world. Issue 4 was the first issue I took to a local printers. Back then, Black Velvet was very much a glam rock based zine. Well, glam rock and Bon Jovi. Bon Jovi were my favourite band. The first real rock band I discovered in the mid-80s. To this day they still rock my world. But a lot of the other bands were small and unsigned. It was more an underground zine than one that covered chart-topping rock acts. Some of the bands we featured included Baby Strange, Foxy Roxx and Big Bang Babies. As time went by and years passed, Black Velvet did strike up relationships with more record and pr companies. This mainly meant that we were introduced to new music. We started receiving CDs to review by non-glam bands, and bands we'd never really checked out before… bands like Joyrider and Posh. One of the good things about doing a zine is that if you're open to listening to new music you can discover great new bands that you otherwise might not have checked out. Our tastes widened. Issue 12 saw the first glossy cover. It was our first two colour cover as well. The Manics graced issue 12 with a report on their UK tour inside. Black Velvet loves the Manics. Contributors such as Penny Gower, a long-time pal, and Suzi Hamilton have been on board for a long, long time, sending in some great reviews and interviews and helping make Black Velvet the zine it is. Around issue 15 Black Velvet went on sale in Birmingham's
Tower Records. We also got in touch with some independent
stores, some of which unfortunately are no longer around.
Rooster Records in Preston was a particular favourite which
has unfortunately long since died. Since then, there haven't been that many big changes. We've just been refining what Black Velvet is. Reducing the font size so we can fit more in, little things like that. Oh, I did pick up distribution around about issue 32 or 33 - so now Black Velvet is distributed by a leading magazine distribution company. It found its way into a bunch of HMVs and is now in more stores in the USA too. And here we are at issue 40. It seems quite amazing to think
that I've been doing it for ten years (one issue every three
months). Ten years is a long time when you think about it.
What were you doing ten years ago? Are you still doing it
now?
Shari Black Velvet
Shari Black Velvet is the editor of Black Velvet. She also reviews, interviews and photographs bands, as well as laying out the zine in its entirety, working on the website, maintaining the MySpace page, Facebook page, Twitter and lots more.
If you're an unsigned band interested in commissioning a band photoshoot for promotional purposes, or a band interested in live concert photographs, contact shari@blackvelvetmagazine.com for more info. Shari Says... On Interviewing I'm on a quest for the perfect question. Basically, I take everything I do really seriously, no more so than interviewing. I pretty much only interview bands I really love, and when an interview has been scheduled I will research for a long, long, long time in order to come up with good questions. In fact, I don't want to come up with 'good' questions, I want to come up with 'great' questions. I'm a perfectionist so something inside of me wants whoever I'm interviewing to think my interview was awesome. I don't want to just do an ok interview. I want to make a mark. I want them to think back afterwards and think 'that Black Velvet was a great and interesting interview'. I will read every single interview I can find online that the artist has done previously and try to avoid questions he/she's been asked before. Sometimes reading past interviews can inspire me to think of new questions - for example if they touch on a subject or say something interesting then that might spark an idea for a new question that's not been asked. I'm constantly striving to make my interview questions the best they can be. Sometimes it's hard when the interviewer has been interviewed a thousand times already - but I guess that just makes me work even harder. Being a perfectionist means I'm also very fussy about interviews that contributors do. I want my contributors to have a similar outlook as me - and not any basic, boring questions or questions that have been asked too many times before, and spend a long time researching for their interview. If I'm unhappy with a contributor's interview I probably won't let them do (m)any more. If I take on a new contributor I like to check their questions for the first interview or two, to make sure it's going to be ok.
On Photography
Concert photography is probably one of my fave things in the whole world. There's a certain buzz with being in a photopit and taking photos of great bands. If I ever go to a concert and am not taking photos I'm bummed out because it's become a part of me. My main camera is a Nikon D2X. When I get home from a show that I've taken photos of I usually feel the urge to try and get some photos on the Black Velvet website as soon as possible. I love other people seeing my photos.
On Black Velvet
I am Black Velvet! It's my whole life. It's the best thing in the world - for me, anyway. I would love it to become a success, although it seems so hard for independent zines to 'make it'. High street chain stores rarely (if at all) stock independent zines... which really sucks. Thankfully there are some independent stores that do. But I have a lot of determination and will continue to Black Velvet, and continually improve it, for as long as I can. It's a lot of fun and very enjoyable. I think I would be lost without it. I think more people need to buy it... so if you're reading and you haven't, you really should. It's not going to break your bank. If you can't afford a subscription tell a friend or relative to buy you one at Christmas or for your birthday. It's way better than a cheapy, crappy present that you don't want! Black Velvet is honest, and real, and all about the good music out there. We don't write about music that bores us, music that hurts our ears, we write about music that inspires us... and that should inspire you too - if you have any taste!
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Black Velvet is a quarterly independent rock music magazine that hits the streets every February, May, August and November. Published and edited by Shari Black Velvet, it mostly covers rock and pop-punk - basically any good, catchy music. We're all about good songs. Black Velvet is produced because of our love of rock music. We write about the bands we love - not those we don't. We can be a bit picky - so if you're a thrash or death metal band with lots of roars we may not be into you, the same as we're not really into hip-hop or watery shoegazer indie. We want to write about the music that inspires us - especially as printing costs money. We don't want to waste paper on bands we're not into. Every issue is 40 pages jammed with the best rock music. Our interviews are in-depth and our reviews are insightful, honest and relevant. If you're new to Black Velvet and have missed the back issues, fear not - you can go to the Back Issues page and stock up! If you're interested, we have cheap ad rates. A quarter page ad is only £20 while a full page is £80. Check www.blackvelvetmagazine.com/info.htm for more info. |
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Copyright: Black Velvet Magazine 1997-2009 All Rights Reserved Please note that all articles, photos and other items on this Black Velvet website are owned and copyrighted by Shari Black Velvet/Black Velvet Magazine unless otherwise stated and must not be used elsewhere under any circumstance. Articles in Black Velvet Magazine should not be put online without the express permission of the editor.
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& velvet kisses