Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 12, 1993 TAG: 9308240767
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD HARRINGTON THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Elvis Presley commemorative stamp issued in January graces the cover of the current Elvis International Forum. Inside, psychic Margo Blu tells Col. Tom Parker that she has a message for him: Elvis likes the stamp. And this magazine's readers obviously still like Elvis, a feeling revealed in poems, a Reader's Forum ``where Elvis fans everywhere can share their personal feelings and memories,'' anecdotes from the Memphis Mafia, fan club reports from around the world and, of course, lots of pictures. Apparently 50 million Elvis-stamp fans can't be wrong. (Published quarterly: $4.95 on the stand, one year for $19.95 from P.O. Box 3373, Thousand Oaks, Calif. 91359.)
Isis bills itself as ``Dylan News,'' and issue No. 47 notes that ``for the first time in his life Bob Dylan is older than his president'' (whom he performed for during inaugural week). This funkily acoustic magazine features reproductions of the weekly one-page ``Wicked Messenger'' Dylan newsletter, emotional and occasionally intense letters from assorted Dylanologists, reviews (good and bad) from pit stops on the Neverending Tour, a chart of repertoires for those concerts (with the order of songs from night to night), Dylan news bites from papers around the world and reviews of bootleg tapes and CDs (Dylan, after all, virtually inspired the bootleg industry). Outside of the Beatles, no one has been analyzed more, and written about more passionately, than Dylan, and Isis is there to keep track of it all. (Published six times a year: available one year for $45-$60 by air - from the Efficiency Service, 139 New Union St., Coventry, England.)
Another bootlegged favorite is the constant subject of Backstreets, which primarily covers Bruce Springsteen and his mates, but also keeps an eye on the Jersey shore music scene. The spring issue looks back to the glory days of making the ``Born to Run'' album, with an interesting corollary in the exchange of letters between Marc Eliot and Erik Flannigan arguing over Flannigan's review of Eliot's book, ``Down Thunder Road: The Making of Bruce Springsteen.'' There are city-by-city reports on the end of Springsteen's fall tour; letters reflecting fans' concerns over Bruce's recent directions; and reviews of legal, promotional and ``unauthorized'' releases (along with ads for memorabilia and tour merchandise). (Published quarterly: $3.95 on the stand, $15 for one year from Backstreets, Subscriber Services, P.O. Box 51225, Seattle, Wash. 98115.)
The Grateful Read - er, Dead - have two magazines for their fans. One, Relix (Music for the Mind), is decidely more inclusive, chronicling the sounds of San Francisco and the Bay Area. The current issue features cover boy Jerry Garcia in interviews drawn from the magazine's 20 years of coverage. For the Dead-icated, there's a roundup of favorite concert tapes (a practice the Dead actually encourages, as long as tapes are merely traded), tons of Bay Area music news, reviews of appropriate books and records, memorabilia ads and an environmental column. (Published bimonthly: $4 on the stand, one year for $23 from Relix Magazine, P.O. Box 94, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11229.) Dupree's Diamond News (Documenting the Deadhead Experience) believes that the Dead's music is ``a potent catalyst for the creative and spiritual growth of those who beckon to its call ... an opportunity for personal and planetary healing.'' The current issue includes a list of the number of times each of the group's 133 songs was played in concert last year and lots of little sub-lists, such as ``songs just before Drumz'' and ``songs just after Space.'' (Published quarterly: $3.95 on the stand, one year for $14 from Dupree's Diamond News, P.O. Box 148, Purdys, N.Y. 10578.)
by CNB