Maximum Rocknroll Archive, Mid 1990s Peak Circulation: Eight Issues Chronicling the International Punk Underground

Punk Zines Maximum Rocknroll

Archive

Maximum Rocknroll magazine archive from 1994 to 1999, documenting the San Francisco periodical’s coverage of international punk, hardcore, garage rock, political commentary, and DIY touring networks. Founded by Tim Yohannan in 1982, Maximum Rocknroll became the masthead of the international punk underground, indexing bands, labels, scenes, disputes, records, venues, and cultural critique for its readership. These eight issues preserve that bibliographic function in the mid-1990s, when Book Your Own Fuckin’ Life segments show the magazine gathering current DIY contacts for a touring and distribution network still organized through mail, phone numbers, and reader-supplied listings.

Maximum Rocknroll. San Francisco: Maximum Rocknroll, 1994 to 1999. Eight tabloid format issues, approximately 11 x 8½ inches, printed in black and white on newsprint.
[1] Maximum Rocknroll. Issue 136. San Francisco: Maximum Rocknroll, September 1994.
[2] Maximum Rocknroll. Issue 146. San Francisco: Maximum Rocknroll, July 1995.
[3] Maximum Rocknroll. Issue 150. San Francisco: Maximum Rocknroll, November 1995.
[4] Maximum Rocknroll. Issue 151, Part 1. San Francisco: Maximum Rocknroll, December 1995.
[5] Maximum Rocknroll. Issue 154. San Francisco: Maximum Rocknroll, March 1996.
[6] Maximum Hopnroll [Maximum Rocknroll]. Issue 164. San Francisco: Maximum Rocknroll, January 1997.
[7] Maximum Rocknroll. Issue 173. San Francisco: Maximum Rocknroll, October 1997.
[8] Maximum Rocknroll. Issue 179. San Francisco: Maximum Rocknroll, April 1998.

Issued before the displaced of printed touring directories by internet forums, this archive documents the mechanics by which independent punk communities exchanged information across North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. Issue 136 joins band coverage to Ben Hamper, the unemployed auto worker known from Michael Moore's Roger & Me, and Homocore Chicago, placing this record of music documentation alongside a cultural, political, and social record of the 1990s. Issue 146 marks the start of "Chopping Onions," while Issue 150 records internal editorial changes and the launch of new columns, including "Forth Reich," showing the magazine actively revising its own political and editorial structure. Issue 164 is notable as the Maximum Hopnroll parody number and for "Ten Years of Gilman," a feature connecting the magazine to 924 Gilman Street, the Berkeley all ages venue central to Bay Area punk. Issue 179 closes the group with the Dangerhouse Records feature, China and United Kingdom scene reports, and a documented change in editorial coordination, capturing the magazine as both historical record and working institution. Many issues show wrapper tearing and bent page corners, with toning, occasional creasing, and scattered small tears consistent with use; contents remain legible and staples intact. Overall good condition.

Item #23616

Price: $325.00