Scroll down for the Issue 10 pre-order and giveaway info. But first, a little story.
It's not an exaggeration to say that music literally changed my life.
While I grew up in a family devoid of musical talent (my attempts to make an electric guitar sound
like Quicksand's Walter Schreifels were earsplittingly poor), music was ever-present in my childhood home. I knew Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and John Denver songs by heart before I knew my times tables. As a 17 year old, I stumbled onto a band called The Afghan Whigs and my descent into college radio and indie rock began in earnest. I learned about a whole new world, and not just one confined to music. I began to care about and support all things independent, from restaurants to pharmacies, hotels to bookstores. I began to understand that beneath the surface of what was fed to us on TV, at the movie theater, and over commercial radio airwaves, another, more vibrant and passionate world existed. This was the mid-90s. Over the subsequent years, Fugazi, Lungfish, Silkworm, June of '44, Texas is the Reason, Sensefield and a slew of other obscure bands laid down the music bed of my first endeavors as a young man who longed to be a part of something bigger than his own oversized self. I started booking hardcore rock shows in church basements and began a fledgling record label. I was creativity-adjacent, and was in love with being a humble conduit for independent, emerging artists to express themselves.
I still can't play shit, but music is no less important now as it was then. As I read submissions, I know for certain that a piece of writing has its hooks deep into me when I stop hearing the songs, stop singing along. And when I edit, design, and work on the admin side of running Stanchion, there is always music playing. Records by Lucius, Rina Sawayama, Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, Sam Cooke, Nation of Language, and Plains are spinning these days, with the crisp sound emerging from my trusty red JBL Bluetooth speaker as I cook, clean, and live as happily as possible.
I'm excited to be able to offer up this gorgeous Marshall Emberton Bluetooth speaker that looks like an adorable miniature Marshall amp you'd see on stage at a concert as a giveaway during the Issue 10 pre-order period. One person who either pre-orders Issue 10 or subscribes (or renews their subscription starting with Issue 10) between today and when the issue is published in mid-January will be entered into this giveaway that is open to all, no matter where you live.
**I'd love it if, during checkout, you leave a note letting me know what the first song is that you'd play through he speaker!**
Thank you for believing in Stanchion and taking a chance on Issue 10. I think it's going to be fantastic, and that you'll love holding it in your hands and spending time with the writing and photographs inside and out.