✷greetings ✷

happy summer! i'm writing to you on the cusp of another vacation, this time it's a trip to pennsylvania to see my family for the first time since 2019. i'm excited but a little stressed! i'm scared about flying while the delta variant is surging. everyone i'll be seeing is vaccinated except my grandmother and the relatives who care for her (thanks far right conspiracy theories). i plan on popping by while masked up and i imagine i'll be hearing some choice words about it. sorry i don't wanna kill you, y'know?

i'm also wondering if my parents will use my pronouns, since this will be the first time i see them since coming out to them via my nonbinary zine and a letter in the mail this past february. my inkling is probably not! i'm still looking forward to seeing family though, even though i know it's going to be complicated. i'm ecstatic to see the few friends i made concrete plans with, and to visit my parents beach house for the first time in 9 years. i'm definitely going to be more nervous than i'd like, and playing it as safe as i can in regards to covid. but i digress! i'm writing y'all so early in the month again because i have big news and lots to report.

✷ zines news + limited time patreon offer(ing)! ✷

the mini zine to accompany the wanderer issue 7 playlist is done (and so is wanderer 7, but you knew that)! it's full of digital collages featuring lyrics from some of the songs, like we used to do with mix cds back in the day. and so, drumroll...!

if you become a $5 patron between now and august 22nd, you'll receive the playlist mini zine in the mail! these will never be printed again, and they're only for patrons. OG $5 patrons and $10 patrons will get 'em too. tell your friends! you can always cancel or downgrade your pledge to $1 in september. i'll be treating this sort of like a preorder, and i'll get all the mini zines (and wanderer zines for $10 patrons) in the mail in the end of august/beginning of september. wanderer 7 will be up in my etsy shop after that. thank you A ZILLION TIMES for your support if you're already a patron! you're making my self-employment dreams a reality!

in other zine news, the reading i did for virtual portland zine symposium (hosted by independent publishing resource center), was really great! i was ridiculously nervous but i got through it, and i loved hearing the other readers share their work.

final zine news tidbit- a spanish translation of how to support your non-binary family member is now available as a pdf in my etsy shop, thanks to my bud tapes label mate daniela sandoval :) a handful of people asked for the translation for their parents who don't speak english, and i'm glad i was able to pay a bud to make it a reality. i know the zine/some of these concepts are very usa-centric, but hopefully it's still helpful.

✷ new in my etsy shop ✷

friend to plants stickers: i decided to get a small batch of these stickers made, get 'em while you can because i probably wont re-print them!

✷ music! ✷

i went to two outdoor gigs this month, and i can't even express the joy i experienced! i missed live music so much. i got to hug a few friends, catch up with folks i haven't seen in-person in eons, and was reminded what it's like to not know what to do with my hands, since i quit drinking and smoking lol. i'm bummed to be missing some excellent portland shows while i'm gone, but i hope a few more outdoor gigs materialize before the rainy season starts.

which brings me to a question- what really makes a show for you? what do the most memorable gigs have in common? what fun diy stuff have you encountered over the years?

when i think of really fun gigs, i immediately think of 'my parents house,' an aptly named house in west chester, pa where some of the spraynard folks lived. it had many of the ammenities you might expect from your parents house, including a trampoline, mini ramp and delicious (vegan) food. sometimes they'd project movies on the side of the house after a show. one time they had a root beer keg, and people were doing keg stands. at their last show, there were sparklers, a tretcherous diy slip-n-slide, and people skateboarding in the living room.

in july, i got an email from someone who bought my 'best show ever' zine at mold to gold, asking if i wanted to scheme about gigs. we met up and did just that, it turned out he had booked one of the gigs someone wrote about in the zine. ever since that meeting, i've been thinking about ways to build community and step outside the tiny bubble of a scene i was part of pre-covid. there's SO much diy music in this town, and yet so little crossover between scenes. i wanna build some bridges and collaborate. i would love to help facilitate some really fun gigs that people remember for a long time.

✷ fucking hooray ✷

july was maybe the best month of my life so far. i seriously felt on top of the world. i got in some seriously nourishing best bud time when john visited. i did my first zine reading and was also invited to include my zines in an exhibition at the houston center for contemporary craft (more on that soon). i had a record etsy week, after taking a week off, which was a relief! i got to spend a lot of quality time with the new person i'm dating, new and old friends, and my nesting partner. i wrote a song for the first time since before the pandemic. just all the good things! i felt very loved and cared for.

3 days at a beach house is my future fucking hooray. i had so many dreams about that beach during the pandemic, it's going to be bizarre to visit, in the best way. i can't wait to make dinners with friends and find little hermit crabs at the sandbar and ride my mom's bike around the dirt roads. anyway, i love y'all and i hope you have a good day today!

love, alyssa

~ past perzine newsletters ~