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Request a zine

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What is This?

  • A record that isn’t a record. This is a physical zine that has lyrics, chord charts, artwork, and a QR code that leads to the music. There’s no CD, cassette, or vinyl — the music lives online, but the album was meant to be experienced as a physical object all the same. Something to hold, read, and spend time with as you listen.

  • You’re here! This is the album’s home on the web — the player is above. The QR code in the zine brings you to this page, where you can listen to the whole thing.

  • There’s something wonderful about physical records, reading liner notes, and studying artwork. I wanted to make an object that has that quality, something you could hold — without the added cost and complexity of producing a playable format.

  • They’re inspired by the Voyager Golden Record, instructional diagrams, and nuclear semiotics. The songs are interested in what happens after the end of the world — and in the strange fact that the world has ended, in one way or another, several times before. Empires collapse. Species disappear. Asteroids hit the planet. And somehow things keep going. People keep making things and taking care of one another. They keep falling in love, writing songs, planting things, and trying again.

What do I do with it?

  • Okay. The idea is that each copy doesn’t really belong to one person. It’s supposed to pass through you.

    The record of circulation is inspired by old checkout cards you used to find in library books. When you receive this zine, write down your name and date. When you pass it along, you can record that too. If there's room, add anything else you think future recipients might find interesting. Over time the hope is that each copy accumulates evidence of everywhere it has been. Maybe it stays in Virginia. Maybe it ends up on another continent.

  • That’s the idea! While you could definitely just pass it directly from one person to another, each original copy is sent with a blank, postage paid envelope so that it can keep on moving. When you pass yours along, you’re welcome to include another blank envelope so the next person can do the same.

    Think of it as a chain letter, except instead of threatening you with a 1,000 years of bad luck if you don’t forward it, this one just contains a record I made with my friends.

  • Nope.

  • That’s okay! I don’t mean for this to be an assignment.

    You might give it to a friend, or leave it in the hands of a musician acquaintance. You could send it to someone you’ve never met or leave it in an unopened library book.

    The idea is that it gets used and passed along rather than sitting on a shelf. But hey, if it does sit on your shelf for a while that’s cool too.

  • Yep. Thanks.

  • Of course! I’m not interested in policing how the album travels. Once the QR code exists in the world, there’s not a practical way — or reason — to prevent the link from being shared. If you want to send it to a thousand people, post it on Instagram, put it on TikTok, or email it to everyone you know, go for it.

    But I’ll hope you’ll consider the zine part of the project too. The idea is that music can travel in a way that feels personal rather than disposable.

    So share the link however you like. But if you know somebody who might appreciate the project, I’d encourage you to help the zine find its way to them.

What if I want one?

  • Cool! Maybe someone sent you this link. Maybe you stumbled across it. However you got here, you’re welcome to listen. If the project interests you, I’d encourage you to request a physical copy. The zine isn’t just packaging for the music, it’s part of the work itself — it’s meant to be held, written in, repaired if needed, and eventually passed along to someone else.

    Request a copy here. If there are copies available I’ll mail one your way. There’s no mailing list or database attached to the request — the information you provide will be used only to mail you the zine and won’t be stored or kept afterward.

  • If there aren’t copies available when you request one, sorry. I’ll make more when I can, and the digital album will remain available in the meantime. Part of my ability to make more copies is based on resources — if you’d like to keep the project moving, there’s a name-your-price option on the bandcamp page. Any money that comes in will go towards printing and mailing more zines.

What can I do with the music?

  • I want these songs to have a life beyond these recordings. The lyrics and chord charts are an invitation to perform the songs yourself, rearrange them, teach them to someone else, or use them as a starting point for something new.

    They’re licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0, which means you’re welcome to share and adapt them for noncommercial purposes with attribution.

    If you want to make your own recording of one of these songs, I’d love to hear what you do with it. The point is for these songs to keep moving, changing, and becoming something new in other people’s hands.

  • Please ask! Most likely yes. The original sound recordings aren’t released under a Creative Commons license, so using one in a film, video, game, or other project requires permission.

    That said, I’m very interested in hearing from people who want to use the recordings creatively. Permission will often be available for independent and noncommercial projects, and I’m happy to discuss arrangements for other uses.

    If you’re making something interesting, get in touch and tell me about it. I’d much rather hear these songs in someone’s film, video, or strange little art project than have them sit behind a wall of permissions.

Why?

  • I wanted to try something different. Streaming has made music incredibly convenient to access, but I don’t think the major platforms are doing enough to support the people who actually make the music. For small artists, the economics are pretty bleak. Current release models make it difficult for artists — and art itself — to survive, let alone thrive. So this album is intentionally opting out.

    This isn’t meant to solve the problem of streaming. It’s a personal experiment: what happens if we make something that exists outside of the current music delivery system, and see if it can find its way to people anyway?

  • There is a long tradition of thinking about art as something that moves through communities as a gift rather than simply as a commodity. This project is a small attempt to participate in that sort of gift economy — to make something, give it away, and see what happens next.

  • Please don’t feel any obligation to. But if you want to support the project, there’ll be a name-your-price option on the bandcamp page. Any money that comes in will go towards making more zines, getting them into people’s hands.

  • I’m glad you asked. A village. The songs were written by me, but they were recorded, built, and polished by a lot of friends, musicians, and creative people in the Shenandoah Valley, Richmond, and D.C. I’m grateful to these people for helping me make a cool thing:

    The full credits are available on the zine. Hope you’ll check out who did what.

Request a Zine

There’s no mailing list or database attached to the request — the information you provide will be used only to mail you the zine and won’t be stored or kept afterward.