11/03/2025
My new zine/booklet Yeastie Girlz Saved My Life: How Punk Made Me Less of an As***le is available for pre-order! It will be in stores April 8.
It’s such a bittersweet release because of the current political situation between Canada and the United States. It leaves me in a position where I feel I must speak about the publisher Microcosm Publishing for reasons of full disclosure while so many of my fellow Canadians are attempting to avoid buying American products, me included. So, if you are living outside of the United States and feel that you cannot purchase this one, or you feel like waiting for better relations between Canada and the United States to return, I understand.
Why I am still okay with Microcosm Publishing. They are an independent publisher and distributor that has been providing an alternative to the big corporate publishers. Although their books still end up in the grimy paws of Amazon, Microcosm does not deal directly with that mega conglomerate monster. Their publications end up there through other distributors and they have no control over that.
Microcosm has been a supporter of all things associated with the dreaded enemies of Donald’s America – Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity since Donald was nothing more that a walk-on character in Macaulay Culkin movies. They support all the marginalized groups that the current Whitehouse regime want to tear down, dehumanize, and inflict extreme damage to. As Canadians, yes, we have to watch out for our own well-being in this strange and terrifying political climate, but I don’t think we should break our connections with American allies who might pour out into the streets and bring down this regime. Allies who bare no ill will towards Canada and are willing to stand up on our behalf because I sure as hell don't want to go there myself right now.
Microcosm supports the types of activists that are needed right now. The people who will not only get out in the street but will also support the people who will be trampled by the new regime. The people who will stand up in ways that the Democrats and Republicans refuse to. People who will provide mutual aid to those who are the victims of slashes to America’s already inadequate social safety net. (No Donald, I don’t want you to replace the Canadian Healthcare System with an overpriced American one. And I don’t mind chipping in to help my neighbours through paying taxes.)
The bottom line in still working with and maintaining a great relationship with Microcosm Publishing is that they are allies to all the causes that need to be supported RIGHT NOW but I totally get why some people might be hesitant to buy this zine at this point. I will have copies soon myself, but they will be sourced the same way. I suppose you’ll be supporting Canada Post more than an American shipper after I receive them if you buy from me. They will be available at Chachi On Acid this spring/summer.
Oh, I didn’t even tall you what the zine is about. So, here’s the blurb from the Microcosm website.
“Have you ever had a band save your life? Or help you along the way to becoming a way different person? This is one such true story in a new zine series detailing real-life episodes of a song or a band that comes along and sets you free from all your preconceived ideas, making a vibrant, less-as***le-ish future possible. In this zine, journalist Colin Burrowes describes his youth in small-town, conservative-Christian Ontario, where he had his teenage notions of s*xuality, pleasure, and feminism totally shaken up after crate diving for Lookout! records and discovering the "vaginacore acapella rap” of the Yeastie Girls’ O***y Action EP. Examining lyrics and the Yeasties’ philosophy track by track, this is an enlivening account of life-changing tunes that still can help each of us be less of an as***le today.”
As a Canadian, I want to say that I can’t get behind the whole sloganeering. In my experience hockey was just a factory churning out bullies and s*x offenders. As far as I’m concerned the USA might have a better claim to hockey since they seem to have elected a bully s*x offender to be their president.
Have you ever had a band save your life? Or help you along the way to becoming a way different person? This is one such true story in a new zine...
