Profane Existence
Anarcho-punk collective publishing a zine, music, and literature since 1989.
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Profane Existence is a Minneapolis-based anarcho-punk collective founded in 1989. It publishes a nationally known zine (also called Profane Existence), releases and distributes anarcho-punk, crust, and grindcore music, and prints and publishes pamphlets and literature. Stacy Thompson describes the collective as "the largest, longest-lasting, and most influential collective in Anarcho-Punk so far." The collective folded in 1998, though its distribution arm, then called Blackened Distribution, continued operating. It restarted in 2000. "Making punk a threat again" is the group's slogan.
History
Launched in 1989, Profane Existence magazine has been called the largest anarchist punk fanzine in North America. Its coverage spans veganism, animal rights, women's and minority rights, anti-fascist action, and punk lifestyle, with feature articles, interviews, scene reports, editorials, letters, and how-to pieces. Thompson noted that the zine functions as a newspaper for many anarcho-punks, especially in the Twin Cities area. Until it ceased publication in 1998, the zine was free locally and cost $1–3 elsewhere; mail orders still require only shipping payment.
Initially a black and white tabloid, it switched to an 8½ x 11" magazine format with issue #23 (Autumn 1994) and returned to a tabloid with color covers for issue #38 (Spring 2000). In 1992 the collective co-published with Maximum Rock n Roll the first edition of Book Your Own Fuckin' Life, a regional directory of bands, distributors, venues, and houses offering free lodging for touring punks—described by Thompson as a Yellow Pages for touring punk bands and punks.
Did You Know?
- One of the label's first releases was Nausea's only full-length album "Extinction," called by John Griffin as important to '90s punks as Never Mind the Bollocks was to late '70s punks.
- Asbestosdeath's second 7" "Dejection" was an early release; its members later formed Sleep, High on Fire, and Om.
More in Independent Record Labels Based in Minnesota
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Profane Existence (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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