THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 13, 1995 TAG: 9504110140
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: On the Town
SOURCE: Sam Martinette
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
Jeff Maisey's life must seem to him to consist of equal parts of music, words and potatoes.
He spends some 50 hours a week at the Waterside Festival Marketplace as manager of Hasskins, purveyor of fried Idaho potatoes (to the tune of some 3,000 pounds a week during the busy season), and its neighbor, Wolfy's, which sells hot dogs and sausage sandwiches.
When Maisey isn't managing the two Waterside fast-food eateries, he may be playing with his band, ``Severance,'' an alternative music group that has opened for touring acts at the Boathouse.
But most likely he'll be wearing a trio of hats as publisher, executive editor and marketing director of Veer, subtitled ``Virginia's alternative magazine,'' a 20-page, free, broad-sheet publication that was ``born'' in October of last year and has been published every other month since, with plans to go monthly soon, perhaps this summer.
``Those are all of the things I couldn't get a job doing when I graduated from ODU, so I created my own,'' Maisey explained over the counter at Hasskins. ``I handle sales, writing stories, distribution, everything but graphics.''
Maisey started at Hasskins in 1983, when he was working on his degree in marketing and business, and is one of the few people on hand at the festival marketplace who have been there since day one. He credits the owner, Dr. Alfred Schulwolf, with allowing him the flexibility to run the two food operations while pursuing his music and publishing dreams.
``A lot of my friends are artists and musicians, and we realized the people writing about music and art were not the ones creating it,'' he said, explaining how the magazine came to be. ``The people who write stories for us are usually artists of some sort, part of the scene they are writing about. They're not just sitting, making judgment calls.''
As for the name, ``That came from veering off the main path, taking that alternative, more colorful way of looking at things,'' Maisey said.
Indeed, each page of Veer has its own look. The type style is different, the point size of the characters (of letters) will vary, even the copy itself may be turned topsy-turvy. The writing may range from the tough-guy, thumb-in-your-eye prose of ``Vic Demise'' on the Lisa Presley-Michael Jackson nuptials, to the more mainstream approach of Eloise Grey on the alternative music of Siouxsie and The Banshees. The last issue I read had a sadly lyrical poem in blank verse by A. Charles Hassell about the death of a friend at 25 and recalls ``when Ghent was Ghent and we were all still alive.''
``We do that to give each story its own feel,'' Maisey said about the magazine's typography. ``And we're totally for freedom of speech and freedom of ideas.''
Even the music reviews veer from the normal.
``We try to pick some obscure things to review, the independent labels the radio stations are not doing,'' he said.
But not all of the subjects featured in Veer are obscure or unknown. Novelist Anne Rice, best known as author of ``Interview With The Vampire,'' was interviewed a few issues back.
As for the circulation of Veer, Maisey said he prints 20,000 copies of each issue, which are distributed in record stores, clothing boutiques, specialty shops and other businesses catering to those who prefer a more offbeat approach to life.
``And that doesn't mean a certain age group,'' he explained. ``We have doctors and lawyers who pick up Veer. It's more a state-of-mind.''
I asked Maisey about the origin of Hasskins, where the menu is simple (fries in three sizes, $1.55-$3.15, after taxes, beer and soft drinks), and he explained the name:
``A potato has skins, and the owner's wife's initials are H.S.S.''
Wolfy's, right next to Hasskins, serves Hormel ``tough skin'' hot dogs, Hebrew National kosher hot dogs, hot sausage sandwiches, foot-longs, and a ``puppy dog'' for kids, Maisey added.
Manager, publisher, executive editor, marketing director, musician - throw in a family with two small children and a spot on the board of directors of the Waterside Merchants Association, and that makes Jeff Maisey a busy man. And that's no small potatoes. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by SAM MARTINETTE
Jeff Maisey spends about 50 hours a week managing Hasskins.
FIND OUT MORE
Veer, subtitled ``Virginia's alternative magazine,'' also can be
reached via the Internet: veermag(AT)aol.com or directly on America
Online: VeerMag.
The new issue of Veer should be out soon. For more information on
the publication or where to find it, call 626-0125.
by CNB