Beer Can Fanzine, nos. 2 and 3
Portland, OR: Beer Can Fanzine, [1999]. Very Good +. Item #50325 Portland, OR: Beer Can Fanzine, [1999]. First Edition. Octavo (20.5cm); slim staple-bound booklet; 30pp each; black-and-white photos, mimeographed collages, and proto-memes throughout. Some smudging and toning; edges lightly bumped. Interior pages unmarked. Altogether Very Good or better. Beer-themed punk music zine based in the Pacific Northwest and featuring bands from across the US — Austin, Albuquerque, Allston, MA, and New York make appearances, and a few abroad — as nearby as Toronto, as unexpected as France, and as far-flung as Japan. Among typical music zine fodder like interviews with bands and album reviews, are write-ups on the history of the beer can and how to shotgun a beer. (“Unlike blowing your head off with a shotgun, shotgunning a beer can be a pleasant experience and a useful exercise in the task of getting drunk.”) This playful through-line also shows up in the interviews — the opening questions ask the musicians to supply their name, instrument, beer of choice, and a description of the first time they got drunk. Adolescent and industry stories abound. Though overwhelmingly (and perhaps predictably) masculine, these issues include a profile of the girl group The Eyeliners and a three-page spread of “50 new wave girls.” In the latter, readers are called to identify each of the musiciennes and their respective bands — the first to do so with complete accuracy is promised a lifetime subscription to the zine and a t-shirt. As of October 2026, we locate just one copy in OCLC, the first issue, held at Bowling Green State University. The fourth (and seemingly final issue) appears in the Hampshire College Zine Collection.
Price: $100.00