A LOWER HUM - SALIENT

http://www.salient.org.nz/index.php?i=36&c=17

Blink: Michael Jackson, Disaster Radio and PR Stunts

It’s 2 o’clock on a Wednesday and I find Blink, photographer and creator of A Low Hum magazine and tours, curled up on the couch, bare feet comfortably rested up and clad in a glorious fluorescent “Hawaii” T-shirt. Rad. He’s also watching the Michael Jackson trial, about which we spend the first five minutes or so chewing the fat. The E! Channel trial reenactments have captured my heart and, considering the scorn often poured on my addiction, it’s nice to meet a fellow fan. “He’s obviously innocent,” says Blink. “He’s done some pretty dodgy stuff in the past but I think for this particular kid he’s clean.”

Odd. Not my view, but it’s nice to swap opinions with a fan of the greatest show on TV.

However, don’t get it into your head that this is some garden-variety bum. On the contrary - Blink started the A Low Hum zine and is the organizer of the highly successful Low Hum tours. A photographer by trade, he found himself disillusioned with Rip it Up and Real Groove. “I was taking photos of a Shihad gig in November 2002 for Rip it Up. I took thirty or forty really cool black and white photos but Rip it Up just said: ‘Sorry, we pay for color pages so we only print color photos’. I was fucked off - they were cool photos. So I put out a five-page zine with the photos in it. I was amazed by how fast they got snapped up. I had people requesting them from overseas. The demand was high.” It spread from there - seven xeroxed issues appeared over the next ten months, and a tour in October 2003 was organised to coincide with the addition of a CD to the magazine. Several tours and issues have come since, with distribution going right across the country. Articles match up to the tracks on the CD, with well written stories, good photography and interesting bands from our fair shores (with the odd overseas treat). A Low Hum is a hell of a magazine. “I want it to be a positive read,” enthuses Blink. “We’re not looking for skeletons - it’s more of an A and R thing I guess. You read the story, listen to the track and realise [that] you want to find out more about the band.” Interestingly, the magazine has figured out that it appeals to fans, and focuses now on only positives about the artists covered. “When the magazine was still xeroxed there was a lot of negative shit [about the artists],” Blink says. “It’s funny, but essentially a waste of time.”

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