The ultimate guide to the new and hip -- A.P. Magazine!
Alternative Press is an American music magazine based in Cleveland, Ohio. It generally provides readers with band interviews, photos, information on upcoming releases, and music charts. It was founded in 1985 by Mike Shea.
The first issue of Alternative Press was simply a photocopied fanzine, distributed at concerts in Cleveland, Ohio beginning in June 1985 by AP's founder, Mike Shea. He disliked the music that was then being broadcast on radio stations and believed that bands playing underground music should be given more media coverage "all in the same spot", he said. Shea began working on his first issue in his mother's house in Aurora, Ohio. Shea and a friend, Jimmy Kosicki, targeted the Cleveland neighborhood of Coventry. "I took my high school newspaper from Aurora High that looked nice and clean and offset print. I'd walk into these flower shops and Hallmark shops, and I'd say 'We're going to put out and entertainment publication, and it's going to be for kids and [the ad is] only $25.' And they'd look at my high school newspaper and say, 'It's really professional...' That's how we got enough money to make the first issue."
With the growth of alternative rock in the early 1990s, circulation began to increase. AP's covers included bands such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and Soundgarden, prior to each band's mainstream success.. Artists who have graced AP's cover over the years:
Congratulates Alternative Press Magazine on their 300 issues!
In 1994, the magazine was doing cover stories on Beastie Boys, Henry Rollins and Love and Rockets. Norman Wonderly, now the publisher, was credited by Shea as having "made most of these happen and the more Norman got what he wanted, the more artists wanted their cover shoots to look the way Norman wanted, and so on. It wasn’t always easy; there were some nasty phone calls exchanged between everyone, and there was always some publicist who wanted to give us one half-hour of shoot time so the artist could go shopping or some stupid thing. Did we sometimes protest too much? Maybe, but we were up against a lot; we were underfinanced and still underappreciated in some corners of the music business, so we had to fight scrappily and mean when it was called for. Nobody takes you seriously unless you take yourself seriously, and that’s what Norman brings to his position to this day."
By the time of Alternative Press Magazine 20th anniversary in 2005, AP had grown to an average size of 112 pages per issue and now averages between 198 to 220-plus pages a month. The magazine's monthly columns include "The AP Poll", "In the Studio", "AP&R (unsigned bands of the month)", "Chalkboard Confessional", "Musician of the Month", "My Favorite Gear", "Next Exit", "Gig Bag", "1000 Words", "Beauty and the Band", and "10 Essential."
Alternative Press has also sponsored a radio show aired on XM Radio, a podcast featuring in-depth discussions on various topics with people such as Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz and Kevin Lyman, and a compilation CD. AP is a major sponsor of Warped Tour, the Taste of Chaos tour, and its own "The AP Tour." The magazine's CEO/founder is Mike Shea, with Joe Scarpelli as the general manager. The company is currently located in Cleveland, Ohio.
Alternative Press Magazine -- The ultimate guide to the new and hip!
Includes music, movies, books, music charts, and bands. 1 Year, 12 Issues Price: $14.99
Covers underground, alternative and punk music. Find brutally honest reviews, news and features on new music, style and more in each issue of Alternative Press magazine.
A Flash 2A View: You’ve probably heard the song “Informer” by Snow (Super Notorious Outrageous Whiteboy), even if you don’t know you have. A catchy early-90s dancehall reggae song with a “stop snitching” message, “Informer” spent seven straight weeks at #1 on the Billboard Singles Chart in 1993 ---
making it the biggest reggae single of all time that made it to platinum.
Some people may have an collective consciousness about "Informer", but what became of the song's producers/writers/lyricist and it's star singer? They seem to have disappeared.
A Flash 2A View Moment, Thanks for Joining Us!
