DESPERATE TIMES #2: Anyhow, Anyclub, Anywhere: The Rise & Fall Of Safari Sam’s
Punk Zine, Ralph Heibutzki, 92 pgs, chairmanralph.com, $7
My first impression of this zine was auspicious to say the least. An opportunity to eat up some awesome fan content via a punk rock history lesson. However I found that what I was actually in for was more of a prolonged essay on ultra-niche punk lore.
The history of Huntington, California’s Safari Sam’s is interesting, I admit. The ‘80s establishment delved into some sociopolitical issues, which fit in nicely with the punk alternative scene they tried to represent at their shows. But it seemed like the author was a little too excited, jamming in way too much content. And despite that generous length, I felt like there were so many missed opportunities to dive deep into a particular anecdote on bands such as Black Flag, The Meat Puppets, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Minutemen, among others. Rather, we’re simply given surface level descriptors of these great bands, repeatedly, again and again.
Asking for this, however, is requesting the objective of the zine to be different entirely. For what it’s worth, the zine is an educational moment in something ultra-personal and localized. Recommended to the music nerd who wants to live vicariously. Though Heibutzki could have found another way to tell this great story in half as many words, it’s a history lecture that won’t bore the hell out of you.