The distribution issue seems to come up quite a bit when these mag threads come up. I'm pretty concerned and would like someone to come up with some answers, especially since I plan on going to print with Skin & Tin after I run it as a website first . As far as advertisers go for my concept which basically takes everything that seems to scare off advertisers and turns it into an ENTIRE magazine, I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it... Garage was a big influence on my wanting to start a mag in the first place. I doubt they'll lose the artistic integrity they've managed maintain in each issue. Keep buggin' the bookstores and keep buyin' the mags when you find 'em.
WOW. I just saw this post and ain't it funny what happens when you're away from the phone and the computer for a day? First, we can't thank you enough for the support. That means more to us than anything. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the hate mail just as much, but when you try to do something different, you hang on every last word of feedback--good and bad. It's just that it's good to get a few more words of praise than hate at the end of the day. Conder's right--we experienced our first taste of censorship. It didn't go down well AT ALL. We were on press when I got a nervous call from our rep. She said that there was an EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE meeting held because of the content of this latest issue and that everything was on hold. Now, I can tell you, from spending many years in the real corporate world, that an execomm meeting is usually a bad thing. They weren't getting together to see how they could help us improve, I can tell you that much. So, she told me that there were "objectionable images" in the issue on press that they, as a company, could not support and would not be able to finish our job because of. On page 52, you'll notice a girl with an amazing back-piece tattoo. Well, there's another 30% of that image that you can't see where her hands and ankles are tied up with ropes. I had to enlarge the image so that you can't see that. They could still see it on press, because of the way image 'bleeds' work in printing, but you can't. The second instance is on page 36--the piece on Coop's sticker. I had to give that image the "COPS" treatment because they found it objectionable--which is ironic, given the whole purpose of the story. BUT, they had me by the short and curlies because we were already on press! They said that they had no problem if we wanted to go to some other press with the job, but they knew dern well that the only real choice I had was to change the content. Now, you're prolly saying to yourself, "****, Stoner, that ain't no big deal. Why you gettin' your ******* in a wedge over that?" Well, it's not so much the actual examples, it's the fact that we were forced to change what we wanted to publish because of the press we're paying to print it. We work so hard as it is, the last thing I'll tolerate is someone putting any kind of restraint on us before we even get into the public domain! Trash it when you get your copy, scream at me and tell me I'm a worthless ****, but you have the right to do that when you see what I have the right to put in front of you. But this is a privately-owned press and they have the right to censor what they wish. But DAMN, they had me over a barrel. I was faced with either missing every deadline and putting distribution contracts in jeopardy OR changing the content at the whim of the press. And I chose the latter. How would that make YOU feel? OK, so I want you to know that your opinions mean a great deal to me. I'll never be completely satisfied with an issue, but I figure that's what will make sure we always try to improve. I'm glad you see improvement in each issue. As with anything, I've had to get through some tough times and past some people who were only bringing the magazine down. But I think that's the natural progression of things. You're right, David Perry is not involved with the magazine anymore--money was probably part of the reason, but he just disappeared from the scene altogether. Frankly, I was worried about that at first. But, just take a look at the differences between the cover and centerfold for Issue #6 (his last work with us) and Issue #7 (the first issue he wasn't involved with at all) and make your own decisions as to the value of his contributions. After all, it's your opinion that really matters in the end! It's also been mentioned that we may detract some advertisers because of the shotgun on the cover and the instances of firearms inside this issue. I don't know if that's true or not, but I guess we'll find out in the coming weeks. I'll tell you this: everything in the magazine is done for a reason. Every element of every cover is there because of a specific reason and there are no accidental slips. And I really don't think you, the readers, are going to suddenly NOT buy something that you saw in GARAGE because of a shotgun on the cover. I give you more credit than that and I have more respect for your intelligence than that. But there may be advertisers out there who won't be able to understand that--hey, we've lost a few already because of our content! And that brings me to my final point: our content is really all we have. Lord knows, I'm not writing this from some puss lounge in my executive suite. We live and die by what we put on the page--that will be our success or our demise. I want to bring you something DIFFERENT. Something great. Something that moves you--one way or another. I want you to love car culture as much as I do. I want you to know that you're a member of one of the most important parts of American Life. And that there's SO much more to it than just the car. I've said it in past issues: the culture culminates in the car. But there's a whole big wide world out there that swirls around you and that car in the garage and that's where we fit in. Thanks for getting through all this. I know it's hard to read a rant as long as this one here on the HAMB, and thanks to Ryan, I have the freedom to do it! STONER
[ I want to bring you something DIFFERENT. Something great. Something that moves you--one way or another. What he's trying to say,folks, is that GARAGE is really a FETISH mag.... Ain't that right, Danno?
hey stoner! dont change a god damn thing! killer mag. i'd cough up another buck or two an issue for what you want to print and im pretty sure every other reader would too.
Hey, I want to go to that "puss lounge" you talked about. I hope you are currently looking into a new print shop that isn't going to dictate what YOU can put in YOUR magazine. Its gotta be hard enough dealing with the advertisers but to have the printer trying to control you as well, I think we should start a good ol' 70's style boycott of that print shop....Oh, and I noticed they didn't censor the tiny picture from page 52 that is on the inside of the cover, now I feel dirty.
Dan, Kudo's to you and your crew for the outstanding magazine. Like any endeavor it takes a while to blossom into what you want. I have been onboard with you from the beginning and plan to keeping up. Speaking of keeping it up, The sweetie on page 74 in the yellow tee and smoking Daisy Dukes is scarring me bad. Can ya hook a brother up? What's the deal? Your loyal subscriber "Perv" (Don't give in, be strong!)
One more thing I wanted to ad here, Coop should thank you for giving his piece the "cops' treatment. How many other people HAD to get on his site as fast as they could to see what the Rhubarb was about? I think I might some of my stuff censored in the future Dan!
That Henry J story was awesome. Imagine a hot rod you owned "disappearing", then reappearing decades later exactly like it was, only legally owned by someone else. I dug all the stuff about cops, the Black Panthers, crazy artists and Sly Stone too. I think the two pictures of Spanky in that red car are amazing...In the first one he's headed into the pile with a full cage and roof intact, (must be 40 feet in the air), then in the second picture he's emerging from the pile, roof AND the cage ripped apart down to the door tops! Imagine, he's still got to LAND THE THING... Jesse kissin' the baby Jesus on the head was great, the Motel girls make me feel funny and whoever is doing the ads for these small shops...just KILLER. It's like looking at features dang near. This magazine is the one for me boys, I get my history from RJ, but these pervs can handle everything else. GO MAN GO.
Been a dealer for Garage since day one. Garage 7 was the most popular issue we've had over here....it's growing slowly, but it's growing, nevertheless. lookin' forward to #8.
Get flippin real. I subscribe to Hustler and ******* as well, hardly put GARAGE in the same pile. If you are hiding that mag because of the pics in it, grow a pair dude.I run a shop AND help run a "*******s club" and if anyone has an issue with me running the club, I show them the door (sometimes I even open it). American Rodder got all those religeous azzholes whinning about them running bikinis a long time a go, so they did what a lot of ball-less people do, they took them out. Damn near buried the magazine. Need I remind everyone that once "Autobuff" lost the ******* pics, they had, what, two more issues, then became a floater. Garage magazine sells because they are cool, but if they cave to a bunch of ***** wearing losers (and their wives), I don't want the mag after that anyway.
They just censoring your content, or advertising too? I'll have no problems running a "******* ad" for my hot rod shop with a chick TIED TO A ROD. Not only do I do rods, but wife and I are in both the swinging and **** lifestyle, and not ONCE did I ever even come close to thinking Garage had any fetish content.
You are right! Maybe I'll get my 8 & 10 year old daughters some g-strings and get them to start posing now! (DEFINITELY sarcastic) Everybody has their own line- obviously you have the priviledge of a more "liberal" lifestyle. The story is different for everyone. You have any little kids? I'm sure you don't take them to "work". I'm not preaching sensorship- but if I don't feel like sharing pics of girls with there *** in your face with my kids that's my own personal option. I still keep buying it, just won't keep it on the kitchen table.
Dude, are you saying the printers are wanting to censor the content ?? WTF ?? ain't they paid to print the freeking magazine not read/censor it ?? Hell Garage and most these other mags do regular household hanging out duty at my place and I reckon they are unoffensive some slightly risky but nothing to get anyone twisted about. I better get hold of my issues 8's and see what the fuss is all about.
******* is cool, but I think there are special mags devoted to just that, in fact those folks might even take offense to an artical on flat heads in thier mag. I doubt anyone is buying Garage to see fetish articals anyway so if it HAS to be censored a little, so what? I like it the way it is but they need to do what ever to survive. I think most guys including myself would like to see a mag like Garage teeter on the edge and be censored once in awhile or even be watered down a bit rather than disappear all together. Hey, all this talk about the mag is good for it anyway. There is no such thing as bad press.
Guys, dont mean to shoot a dead horse, just got back from a short trip, but dammit, I would'nt feel right not sayin' anything on this one. Better late than never I guess. I am a contributor to this killer mag and will continue to do so as long as Dan will keep me aboard. I feel a part of it and take alot of pride in it. I have taken time away from my family and work to travel for interviews, stories, etc to add to this mag for you all to enjoy. Ive stayed up late trying to write pieces so that you would feel just as connected to the story as much as I have. And believe it or not, I have not been paid a dime for any of it, nor do I hope to collect anything in return. In fact, I feal it is a honor to be able to do work for something I feal so connected to. I sat with Mike Ness for a day B.S'ing, became pals with the Paladins, witnessed first hand the Sinners comradary for an evening, met countless cool, talented people and Dan has a few other of my pieces for future magazines that I cant wait for you all to see. This magazine is truly from the heart with most of the contributors delivering from all areas and backgrounds, most likely never have meeting each other and doing what they do for free as well. Dan is basically the hub who collects and delivers whats going on out there from many different angles. I thank him very much for all the opportunity he has given me. Sure there are haters in every crowd, and trying to please everyone never gets you too far other than becomming mainstream. Thank god we are not that. I thank all the supporters of the mag and hope you continue to do so. Once again, Thank you Dan and all the other contributors for such a killer magazine. Keep it up.
As a designer, I thought the Coop article benefitted from the pixelized image. It fit the tone of the story. I knew exactly what sticker it was even pixelized. BTW, that happens alot. I know some low rider guys got into a bunch of **** because of a mural they had on a trunklid. I want to get that Motel book one of these days. That pic was nothing to get up in arms about. It's not the newest issue of Nikelodean.
Not little anymore. 1-16 year old and one 13 year old BOTH GIRLS. Do they know what a human body looks like? Yes, taught them that ****** is a part of nature (even 4 year olds flirt) but VIOLENCE is an evil. Simply amazes me how some parents will let their kids watch war movies, but god forbig they see a ****** (not saying you fall under this).You are right, I don't take them to "work" (if you are meaning the *******s club, not the street rod shop), because IT'S AGAINST THE LAW. You have the right to censor whatever you like in your household, but if you REALLY think that Garage falls along the lines of ****, then why are you subscribing? Think your daughters don't snoop? Also got news for you at 10 years old, she is already being exposed to more *** **** on TV, at school, in the movies, then Garage has in all its issues COMBINED. As for "my priviledge", we created our openess, it wasn't given to us. My mom told me when I was young "never do anything you are ashamed of doing". Too many people today are hypocrites. One of the cops that raided one of the clubs 2 years ago, was spotted in our club by me a month ago. Stand up for what you believe. If you think it is truly ****, then I HIGHLY recomend you don't even let in through your front doors on even a 1% chance your daughters stumble across it. Haven't seen anything there you can't see on a beach on any given day.
Was an offer to "shake em up" a little. Wasn't talking full gear (hell, it would scratch my car). Funny how so many people react around *** and ******. Many groups are out there trying to get FHM and Maxim type magazines off store shelves (and they show WAY MORE then Garage), yet not a one trys to censor Cosmopolitan or Vogue and they actually show a LOT MORE then all of those. I guess an *** or *** is only ****** if wearing specified clothes. Just wish someone would make a handbook saying when a ****** isn't a ****** and when its good or bad. "That's probably the ONLY time the newspaper EVER said ****** and beaver together",Jeff Foxworthy(actually says a lot about people and ***ual censorship)
I think you both have valid points and are both right according to your view. The story here though is if the mag needs to be censored in anyway to stay in print. I don't think it needs any censoring but if the print shop dictates what can be printed and they are the only print shop affordable enough to print the magazine, well then a choice has to be made. The tiny bit of stuff that was a problem isn't any big deal to most people.... I kind of wondered how the ****** you can see on the one girl made it through OK when a drawing didn't? Keep up the good work Dan
Start off with love your work,Jeff. If the print shop is censoring, then I would do what needs to be done to get the next magazine out, but look around, as there are many printers out there. There is always SOME way around a problem. Small magazine here in Phoenix called Playtime, check into their printer. It was a VERY small magazine a couple years ago, can't imagine that their printer is higher cost. Just saying, with all the small "adult" publications in the world, the VERY minor material wouldn't offend them, and many are working on a song and a dance.
The Jalopy Journal
