Matt Kelly

My fiancé, Sugene told me about your project and after looking through your web site I decided it was a fantastic way to reach new people. So I packed up a bunch of magazines (two issues ago) and we came by your space.

Well, so far there have been 15 issues. Each one is a different theme -- ranging from coffee to travel to evictions to the last issue which was about my experiences over the road as a truck driver (#15). Each issue comes with a compilation CD -- mostly indie rock bands -- mostly friends -- that either wrote a song about the theme, or just have a great song they said I could release. Generally each issue will include cab driving stories (my day job) and a bunch of interviews with fascinating people -- like William Burroughs, Daniel Johnston, drug dealers, whoever will tell me good stories.

It was a while ago -- 1993 or so I'd done an interview with Aaron Cometbus one with Lou Barlow and one with the Jesus Lizard and I decided I'd rather publish them myself than try to get them printed in Flipside or another fanzine. I always loved long-long interviews with bands -- Forced Exposure used to run these super long interviews -- and I was also interested in growing the magazine into a label -- sorta like Subpop -- which also started out as a fanzine.

driving a cab is a bit grueling. But I drive in San Francisco, which is a fairly challenging place to drive--and that can be kind of fun. It's nice to have someone else's car to take screaming up and down some of those steep streets. I get tired of dealing with yuppies who think the world owes them everything, but I've discovered that most people are generally pretty pleasant.

I have some cash to spend...? I'm tired from 10 hour shifts and dream of making my living some other way...? But yeah, the grass is always greener, and whenever I'm driving a cab I fantasize about other ways to support myself. Whenever I do something else, I always miss cab driving.

Yeah, the shifts are long -- not to mention first I have to drive over to San Francisco to pick up my car.. BART stops running before my shift is over. Grr.

The worst things that have happend in the cab were being nailed by a drunk driver who ran a red light, and being attacked by a tweeker skate boarder with his skateboard. I wasn't hurt in either incident, but they were both scary. The skate boarder was a passenger and he just FLIPPED OUT on me.

He wanted me to change the radio station, charge his cell phone in my cigarette lighter and something else--and when I said no, he flipped. I jumped out of the car, but had my radio microphone in my hand and I was able to call in a "May-Day" -- which brought the cops and other cab drivers from our fleet to my location within a minute or two. He took off right before people started arriving.

I've actually been driving off and on for about 10 years.. so not a lot new happens anymore. And I actually prefer to have sorta-boring lucrative nights. Every once in a while someone will be in the cab and see my ID and say, "Hey, are you that zine guy?" and it freaks me out. But mostly people thought I was the Night Cabbie -- the guy who used to write columns for the San Francisco Chronicle about his adventures behind the wheel.

I've only ever been asked for my autograph at disc golf (frisbee golf) tournaments.

Nope. I just signed some people's golf discs.

I doubt I'll try to run the label full-time. It's more like a hobby. I enjoy putting out records, but I don't enjoy the marketing games that are necessary in order to grow in size. I hope I won't be driving cab forever, but you do get used to doing that sort of work. All the crusty old drivers said to me when I first started not to do it for too long, because "cab driving will ruin you for other jobs" ...I'm exploring the idea of going back to school and getting my masters. But I haven't decided whether I want to continue to pursue communications, computers or if I will enter an Architecture program.

Thank you. I always assumed when I was in school that I'd be going into radio, but I didn't like it at all in the real world.

If I was better at it I'd be able to give you some tips--unfortunately I always end up neglecting one or the other. I find myself broke from not working enough, or a year or two will pass in between magazines. It's difficult to have a real life, a full time job and hobbies that most would classify as yet another job.

I like a lot of per zines. But I'm not so impressed by cookie cutter zines that cover all the same topics as all these other ones. I prefer when the person writing them has a really unique perspective and isn't trying to do a "me too" kind of thing.

I obsessively read lots of internet news sites and I read a few magazines regularly. But they are magazines like New Yorker, Outside Magazine, Disc Golf World News.. I get a few self-published zines in the mail whenever they come out -- Bill Brown's Dreamwhip, Tim Hinely's Dagger, SLUG from Salt Lake City.. But I don't send off for zines anymore. Often Sugene will tell me about something she really likes and I'll read her copy -- like "I Was a Teenage Mormon."

I suppose I am critical of everything I read and then when I put my own thing together I try to meet my own high standards.

Not at all! I love to talk about my own projects -- especially on an instant messenger, because then I have a minute to get my thoughts together before I answer.

me too!

Sonic Youth, Dreamwhip. I wanted to list a film.. but I'm having a hard time coming up with a specific one. I love indie film. I like Harmony Corine. My favorite movie is Two Lane Blacktop with Dennis Wilson and James Taylor. I'm not sure if that's an indie movie though.

Harmony Corine // Is a very disturbed man // Sonic Youth make noise

I think I'd better // stop trying to write haikus // because I'm no good

that might not even work

my pleasure