BAST ZINE - Interview with Martha Hughes and Ian Heran by Dave Wolff - Music

What inspired you to begin a fanzine? Tell us of the history of BAST. Who named it and what and what was the inspiration?
Martha: I had wanted to do a zine for a long time and decided to finally get it going. I had done a lot of freelance writing for other publications, but I had my own ideas about what a magazine should be. The name BAST is taken from the great Egyptian cat-goddess known as Bast or Bastet. She is the goddess of music, pleasure and all things feline. Cats rule!

When was the first issue of BAST released? Who was featured within?
Martha: It was June, 1997 and featured OLD GRANDDAD, ENTHRONED (now called PSYPHERIA), ERIK CORE, VILE, GALAXY CHAMBER and many others. It was statred to cover unsigned bands only, but I soon realized how limiting that was.

How has response to BAST grown and the zine itself improved since the first issue?
Martha: It's pretty amazing, actually. BAST has grown quite quickly. Especially after my trip to Europe this summer. I went to Dynamo and Norway and gave away almost one hundred copied of issue #8.

Who else have you featured in the zine?
Martha: We've had a lot of bands. Lots of local bands like THE SICK, VILE and LOST GOAT to great international acts like BORKNAGAR, GRIP INC., KRISIUN, POISON IDEA and HAMMERFALL. However, I must correct you in that I don't consider BAST a fanzine. What's the difference? I think the glossy cover and quality of BAST is more in line with magazines.

Which other fanzines would you recommend to the public?
Martha: Other mags/zines I like are PROMETHEAN CRUSADE, METAL CURSE, METAL CORE, and from Europe, FROM BEYOND, SCREAM and ENCONOMIUM.
Ian: My faves right now are DISCORDIA zine, METAL CRUSADE, CANADIAN ASSAULT and METAL CURSE.

Which bands have you been listening to in large quantities of late?
Martha: EMPEROR, BORKNAGAR, TULUS, BLOODTHORN, WAGNER, KAMPFAR.
Ian: DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, OBSESSED, OPETH, DISMEMBER, and a lot of my old '90's Death Metal albums.

Ian, tell us about your experiences with your band GORGE who you were playing with for a while. The music you played was unorthodox and progressive Death Metal. What were your influences? What inspired you to cover the MISFITS' "Bullet" and SICK OF IT ALL's "Friends Like You?"
Ian: GORGE was trying to push the boundaries of Death Metal and Grindcore a little bit. On some levels we succeeded; most of the material didn't live up to their ideas. The one band we all really appreciated was DISHARMONIC ORCHESTRA. Nobody did prog-Death Metal better. The MISFITS and SOIA covers were done 'cause the guitarist and I liked the bands, the songs were easy, and we were putting out a seven-inch so what goes better on vinly than Punk, right?

Are you involved with a band these days, Ian? If so tell us of it.
Ian: Right now, I'm jamming with the bassist from GORGE on some new ideas. And I'm jamming with the guitarist from my short lived LAND OF NOD project. That stuff is more straightforward thrashy Death Metal. Nothing new will surface till next year.

In the U.S. there is a great deal of schism between fans of Black and Death Metal. What's your take on it and it's effect on the Metal underground?
Martha: Being involved with both scenes, I don't see to much infighting really. I think there are those individuals who are too immature to be able to handle more than onle type of music. But, after spendng a weekend at Dynamo in May and seeing how cool European Metalheads are, we Americans have a lot to learn.
Ian: I think it's settling down now that people are realizing there wasn't much difference in the music, just the ideas and presentation. I try to listen to music for MUSIC, not all the other B.S. that comes with it.

Do you believe if the voices of intelligent zine editors were heard (there are plenty of them) the negative image imposed upon the Metal community by the media could be disproved?
Martha: Why would we want to undo that image? Metal has always been on the outside! It's supposed to be hated! The only way Metal could undo its image is by having really shitty, top 40 bands like SELLOUTICA! Fuck that, I say! Real, true Metal belongs in the underground, not on radio or MTV, and not being sponsored by Nike and the like.
Ian: I've met and read several intelligent zine editors and contributors and I've read zines done by chowderheads. The bottom line is. even a mag like METAL MANIACS which has great writers gets in the hands of an "outsider" I don't think it will matter to them if the writing is good or not. If they're not interested in the scene or the music they won't care one way or another. I crave the intelligent and well written (creative too) zines because there are so few out there in the U.S.

What do you hope to accomplish with BAST in the days to come?
Martha: BAST music magazine will continue to grow in the future. My vision for BAST is great, as are my plans. Right now, it is the best music magazine out of the SF Bay Area. I want it to be the best in the country.

And closing comments?
Martha: Yeah, keep music evil!
Ian: Yeah, everybody write. I still have GORGE merchandise for sale and I'll have new music and a new zine early 2000. Support the MUSIC!

BAST MUSIC MAGAZINE
Martha Hughes, 334 Hyde St., #2, San Fransisco, CA 94109 USA
Ian Heran, PO Box 362, Sonoma, CA 95476 USA
www.bastmagazine.com

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