You Can Work Any Hundred Hours a Week You Want (In Your Underwear)!!: The History of Microcosm Publishing As Told to the Best of

Description

The history of the first ten years of Microcosm Publishing, told in graphic detail! For the first time ever, read about how we got to where we are today through working long hours at low (or no) pay! Join us on our journey through starting out in a bedroom, putting out records, growing, moving to Portland, publishing books, growing, moving into an office in Liberty Hall, amassing more zines than anyone could ever konw what to do with, and more. A fun foray into getting inspiration and perspective for making your own projects.

Joe Biel is the founder of Microcosm Publishing and creator of the documentary about the DIY music scene,If It Ain't Cheap, It Ain't Punk. He is the coauthor of 13 Years of Good Luck and the author ofBipedal, By Pedal!; all volumes of the The CIA Makes Science Fiction Unexciting series and The Perfect Mix Tape Segue series; andYou Can Work Any Hundred Hours a Week You Want (In Your Underwear)!! He lives in Portland, Oregon.

"A detail-filled synopsis of the history of Microcosm Publishing and how it came to be. The zine chronicles the start of Microcosm, the move to Portland, OR, the idea to publish their own books, tour to support books and zines, and operate on a collective basis. It's a description of what it feels like to pour your heart and soul into an idea, to see it rise and fall with your passion and pocketbook. The end pages are reserved for the folks that put their time and efforts into Microcosm, what they do, where they come from, and how they came to be a part of the Microcosm collective. A great fact-filled zine for folks that love this collective, as do I, and a really good primer for anyone crazy enough and passionate enough to think about starting up their own lifelong project!" --"Profane Existence," #54 "This little printed zine is mostly written by Joe Biel, founder of Microcosm Publishing and active member of their current collective. The content of the zine is pretty self-evident from its title; this is the story of Microcosm from its modest beginnings as a tiny distro and record label to its current incarnation as book publisher and zine-making collective. The title is an allusion to the old cliche that when you're self employed, you have the "luxury" of making your own hours...whatever hundred hours a week you may want them to be. I have to say, I totally related to that idea, as it is similar to a joke I make a lot about getting to be coordinator of "Maximum Rock and Roll." Anyway this zine is great. It's nice to read a DIY success story that is based in ethics, integrity, and the desire to have fun with your work, and one that doesn't end in disaster, betrayal, or heartbreak. Joe, along with the rest of the Microcosm crew, does a good job of describing both the high and low points of running the business, but overall you get the sense that the enterprise is totally worthwhile for the involved parties. This doesn't mean that it's all fun, but it clearly beats being a worker drone for somebody else. Anyway, like I said, I saw a lot of parallels between working at Microcosm and working at MRR, which may explain why I enjoyed reading this zine so much. But it's well written and cheap, and you should tack it on to your next Microcosm order for sure. Nice work, Microcosm - keep it up!" --Golnar Nikpour, "Maximum Rock and Roll" #286 "Joe Biel takes us through the first half of this book, and then allows various Microcosm employees who have passed through the house over the years to take it from there. Rarely do D.I.Y. distros survive as long as this one has and the key to their success is clearly hard work and conducting business with like-minded individuals who also believe strongly in what they represent. It's also worth noting that Joe believes in the importance of doing things like this full time and thus drawing a living wage from the monies, otherwise it's likely Microcosm would collapse due to day to day jobs taking far too much out of people. It's a thought provoking read for sure and will serve as good advice for anyone considering embarking on a similar path in life." --"Riot 77 Magazine"