TOUCH AND GO: The Complete Hardcore Punk Zine ’79–’83, by Tesco Vee and Dave Stimson, Edited by Steve Miller
The complete series 1979–1983. Twenty-two issues in one loud, fast volume. Ships today in a hardcore fun pack with 1 1/4″ metal badge, stylin’ new wave yellow balloon, and more!
ISBN 978-0979616389 Trade paperback
576 stiff full-sized 8.5″ x 12″ pages
Introductory essays by Tesco Vee, Dave Stimson, Steve Miller, Henry Rollins, Keith Morris, Peter Davis, Henry Owings, Byron Coley, Corey Rusk, John Brannon, and Ian MacKaye.
Moisten your earholes with fresh words wet from the mouths of author Tesco Vee and editor Steve Miller:
“I was inspired by how fearless and together Touch and Go were. They were really wild and extremely funny.”—Henry Rollins
“It was really one of the first times anyone outside of Washington really paid us any mind. The fact that Touch and Go took an interest in us really blew us away.”—Ian MacKaye, Minor Threat
“Creem may have taught me how to piss, but Touch and Go taught me how to shit. I owe my career to that magazine.”—John Brannon, Negative Approach
“Easily one of the best hardcore reads you’ll ever sink your fangs into…enthralling.”—Montreal Mirror
“As a hardcore punk primer you couldn’t do better.”—Time Out Chicago
“Anyone who’s ever published a true DIY fanzine owes at least a small debt to Touch and Go.”—Decibel
“Slapdash, ornery, and entertaining”—Popmatters
“If you have any interest at all in hardcore punk or being rude, you need this.”—Austin American-Statesman, Summer Reading Picks
“Influential”—Village Voice, Voice Picks
“Essential”—Washington Post Express
“Lots of energy gets captured in this handsome, perfectbound volume, down to the original, frenetic cut-and-paste layouts.”—Detroit Metro-Times
“Touch and Go was an essential primer for budding punk kids looking for the next great hardcore band and punk rock wouldn’t be the same it is/was without it.”—Portland Mercury
“One massive volume for all your punk-rock nostalgia and/or historical research needs”—The Onion AV Club
“See the history of hardcore punk unfold before your eyes in vivid black and white.”—PopMatters
“Funny, rude, and heartfelt”—Spin, 8 Great Music Books for the Holidays
“It’s an essential document for understanding how ideas about music traveled in the not-so-distant past.”—Pitchfork, Gift Guide 2010
Touch and Go fanzine was the brainchild of Tesco Vee and Dave Stimson and was launched in Lansing, Michigan, in 1979. Major fanatics of the new punk happenings in the late ’70s, TV and DS set out to chronicle, lambaste, ridicule, and heap praise on all they arbitrarily loved or hated in the music communities in the US and abroad.
In laughably minuscule press runs by today’s standards, T & G was made by guys within the Midwest scene strictly for the edification of scenesters and pals in other cities like DC, Philly, Boston, LA, SF, Chicago, et al. Inspired by magazines such as Slash and Search and Destroy and writers like Claude Bessy and Chris Desjardines, TV and DS pumped out seventeen naughty, irreverent issues together, and TV did another five solo.
Magazines like Forced Exposure and Your Flesh, among others, soon fired up Xerox machines themselves, and the rest is history. So is the legendary independent record label launched from this zine, and so are the bands covered inside: Black Flag, Minor Threat, the Misfits, Negative Approach, the Fix, the Avengers, the Necros, Discharge, Iron Cross, Youth Brigade, Faith, Die Kreuzen, Crucifix, Poison Idea—and all the other punks worth their weight in glorious black and white.
USE BUTTONS ABOVE TO PURCHASE INSTANTLY, OR ADD TO CART TO BUY WITH OTHER BAZILLION POINTS BOOKS AND BUILD A FULL BOOKSHELF. [ORDERS OVER US$75 SAVE 10%]
“Hellbent for Cooking”:...
my copy is already falling apart at the binding, and i’ve been extremely careful when handling and reading it.
We are sorry to hear that. Some books from the first printing had a binding problem, and our solution was to change the binding in the second edition and offer replacement books to anyone affected by this defect. Please detach and send your cover to the address printed on the flap, and we will send you a shiny new more durable copy of TOUCH AND GO. Thank you!
im having the same problem.. is this free of charge? is there a pdf version of this?
Yes, we are replacing manufacturer’s defects free of charge as explained above. As for a PDF version —maybe in the future, but as of June 2011 ebook technology can not handle this book! —BAZILLION
Viva Bazillion! Fab book & cunning promo strategy via Bandcamp, congrats! Gave yer a mention here: http://uzine.posterous.com/touch-and-go-zine-book
Tesco, Dave, & Steve, thanks for the posterity and upholding the ethic getting this done yourself and keeping the absolute essence of what you originally did intact. I have come across the lot of anthology books which end up being a taint(ed) version of the original material. Down to the paper stock this thing sticks to the wall like the piece of shit it originally was (joke). Touch & Go (zine & label), along with Dischord, have remained major inspirations and business models I have held close and gained so much intangible insight from. Every bit of it means alot. Thanks for putting your pens and fuckin straight up resourceful enthusiasm to the stone. This is the holy book. (root word: FUCKIN FAN!)
take it easy,
Rob
ps a friend recently sent me a pile of 999 in the mail. i dunno why but they flew under my radar for a long time.
[...] Bazillion Points Publishing, 576 pages, trade paperback, $15.95 [...]
[...] support of the recently published complete anthology of Touch and Go zine, Tesco will be reading, discussing, presenting a slide show history, signing copies and hanging out [...]
Last month you said you’ve run out of books but the situation will be fixed in november, how’s that progressing? almost 70€ in amazon sounds still a bit too much
We have more books! And all of our normal outlets have them again, too—or soon will. We’ve just sent a few tons to Europe to refill the shelves.
Bought! Can’t wait to read this baby. So damn excited. Thanks!
Check out my review of the book! Click on reviews, then zines. It should either be right there, or navigate with the letter tabs. Review also ran in the printed version of Razorcake.
[...] Oh yeah, and buy this book [...]
Is this is a limited first printing?
Amazon is selling brand new copies for 75 friggin dollars and the used ones are going for 150?!
No! We were caught with our pants down and ran out of books, but everything will be back to normal in November. In the meantime, books are still available here while supplies last…
Why so expensive for international orders? Does it really cost $30 extra for shipping?
Hi JerUK, yes—unfortunately it costs over $30 to mail a 576-page book weighing 1.75kg. Feel free to order the book through your local bookstore, however. Bazillion Points books are distributed in the UK by Turnaround Publisher Services, and you should be able to buy Touch and Go off the shelf or special order anywhere books are sold. Cheers,
[...] Lovely complete edition of this seminal zine was recently released. Folks in the NYC area can attend a launch party tonight at powerHouse Books in in DUMBO (Brooklyn). [...]
We highly recommend this book to all.
http://www.bigwheelmagazine.com/book_reviews/touch-and-go-the-complete-hardcore-punk-zine-79-83-book-review
Stop by the Book Release Party – Sat. July 17th, at The Abbey, Chicago.
more info: http://www.ticketfly.com/tickets/event-details/?tfly_event_id=10237
[...] more information, please check out the Bazillion Points website by clicking here. These guys are releasing bad ass stuff and deserve some of your hard earned dollars. If you order [...]
Ordered mine on Thursday. CAN’T WAIT.
Wow. got my pre-order in the mail today and this thing is amazing! fantastic job on this, It’s fucking awesome!
My book showed up today and holy crap it’s impressive. Awesome job !
[...] podcast about the book’s history and the music it covers. Also, there are lots of photos of the book interior over at Bazillion Points to browse. You can also purchase it directly from them for $30 and you get [...]
[...] arrival today at Bazillion Points HQ, as the printer sent us the first dripping wet samples of Touch and Go: The Complete Hardcore Punk Zine ‘79-’83. If anything, they did too good a job hiding the 576-page girth of this beast in a deceptive [...]
Will the fine folks of T&G be providing similar swag along with the book at the Abbey Pub in Chicago on July 17? Thanks!
it says it comes w/a badge and ‘more’…of course it begs the question, what else(& u mean button when u say badge right?lol)?
Sure—there’s printed black balloon, some cards, a Tesco Vee for President sticker… and the first 100 orders will receive signed copies of the We’re The Meatmean…And You Still Suck! classic live CD. Plus whatever else we can cram in the box!
alright, got my two pre-ordered! me and my brother are gonna worship this, get the fuck out of the way stupid bible!
[...] And don’t forget to pre-order your copy of the complete Touch & Go Magazine – book (576 pages!) here. [...]
can’t wait for this book to drop! it’s gonna go well with this book i just finished laying out: http://revelationrecords.com/news/show/229
Yes it will! And both books are sharing an incredible joint book release show in Detroit this July.
seriously, there’s a heavy metal cookbook but this isn’t out yet? …..
[...] Prima di essere una delle label più influenti del panorama musicale, la Touch & Go era una delle più seguite fanzine punk rock. Veniva fondata nel 1979 da Tesco Vee (vedi Meatmen) e Dave Stimson in un’amena cittadina del Michigan. Tra il 1979 e il 1983 vennero pubblicati 22 numeri che oggi sono merce rarissima. Ci pensa però la Bazillion Points a colmare il vuoto. In estate sarà fuori il volume “Touch and Go: The Complete Years”, curato dagli stessi fondatori assieme a Steve Miller. [leggi] [...]
can you maybe skip the other books you’re putting out and just get to this one already? i want to pay in american dollars very quickly yes.
[...] early for indie rock and hardcore historians. Rather, it will be coming next year. According to Bazillion Points, The complete collection of now legendary fanzine Touch and Go will be released as a softcover book [...]