PUNK PLANET SHOWCASE AND PP78 RELEASE PARTY BLOWOUT

February 25 Benefit Features Bands, Comics, and Zines (Like PP78 Itself)

Chicago, IL—On February 25, Punk Planet magazine celebrates the release of PP78 and the bankruptcy of its distributor with a benefit showcase/release party at the Hideout (1354 West Wabansia). This late-evening Sunday show features all the things you love about the thirteen-year-old print publication: the best music, comics, and zines from independent cultural producers throughout Chicago.

Bands include the catchy, crunchy Telenovela (former Peralta, the puta-pons); The roof-tumbling Chicago Thrash Ensemble (Hooray for Metal!); The over-the-top raucous Fast Product (former Star Vehicle, the Interiors, Hot Dog City); And the half-structured ambient space-rock outfit Magic Lantern (former US Maple).

The Comic Art Battle is a fast-paced draw-off featuring several of the local scene's hottestest stars: Lilli Carre (Woodsman Pete), Kaitlin Kostus (Skeleton News), Lucy Knisley (Stop Paying Attention, Fnews), Jeremi Onsmith (Bombtime for Bonzo), Grant Reynolds (To the Mouth of the Source, Skeleton News), Jeremy Tinder (Cry Yourself to Sleep), and hosted by Ezra Claytan Daniels (Changers, Loaded Blanks greeting cards). The artists will split into two teams to compete in several rounds of comics-related challenges, with help from the audience. Behold the oft-reclusive comics makers onstage as they match wit and talent before your very eyes!

Zine presenters, including local self-publishers Jonathan Messinger, Kate Sandler, and Liz Mason, will contextualize each band with the intricate and likely fictional details you probably won’t get from any other music magazine showcase/release party. Raffle prizes by: Bloodshot Records, Thrill Jockey Records, Love Bunni Press, Checkered Past Records, Bleeding Heart Bakery, and more.

It’s all straight out of the pages of PP78, in which we profile a number of fearless real-life superheroes—regular people who spend time both fighting crime and going online to discuss their superhero outfits; Singer Frida Hyvonen talks about her Swedish roots and Secretly Canadian debut; We look at comics publishing in corrupt Cambodia; We interview the incomparable art-noise duo Matmos, hardcore NYC punkers the Casualties, and the engaging and wacky Edan; We examine the recent wave of students, censored by high-school newspapers, who go out and start their own off-campus publications. Ted Leo sits down to discuss his new album, new label, and ongoing belief in the power of song to fuel change.

After a year and a half of ridiculous bullshit, the magazine is thrilled to have something to cheer for: PP78! Come celebrate the vitality of the independent press—and help the li’l magazine undo 18 months of financial destruction—by dancing your rear into the ground.

February 25, 2007
$7 — seven awesome dollars!
The Hideout: 1354 West Wabansia
Doors 7; Show 8
Raffle at end of evening; must be present to win. (One ticket free; extras $2, or 3 for $5.)

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Punk Planet is a high quality, bi-monthly magazine dedicated to independent music, culture, and politics. By refusing to accept major-label ads or cover artists or projects receiving a majority of corporate funding, Punk Planet has remained a unique icon in an increasingly corporate-dominated climate. Washington Post called the magazine “The New Yorker of punk magazines: It's smart, it's well written, and it looks great.” See www.punkplanet.com for more.