Still Thinking was a great zine from Mississauga and this was the first issue. The zine was put together by a group of friends the core of which went to Port Credit Secondary School. In reading the review section of this issue I realized that there were quite a few really good zines to come out of Mississauga and at this time some of those included Subject to Change, Tunga Tunga, and Photodrome. Still Thinking also involved a large group of people while most zines were usually the effort of one individual which makes it unusually. Out of the group of listed creators quite a few of them have gone onto do some amazing things, but I won't get into that here. This first issue is 36 pages in length and is a professional looking print job with heavier than normal bond paper and saddle stitching which is the staples in the middle. The zine is 8-1/2" x 11" size and they used a computer to type up most of the transcripts, but the design is also unique. The design was a departure from the cut and paste method of zines prior to this, but the zine was also prior to desktop publishng so pictures and photos appear at the end of interviews and not mixed throughout. However the zine also had a lot of artists and they hand drew a lot of pieces on the interview pages and as a result the design elements were above and beyond what I had seen in zines before. This zine stood out from many zines that have come out of Toronto.
This issues starts out with an interview with Kevin Seconds (singer) and Troy (drummer) of 7 Seconds. 7 Seconds played Rochester the night before a bunch of folks from Toronto went to the show because this was the band's only regional appearances. One of those persons was Jill Heath and she had a show booked the next night with Christ on Parade and Slapshot if my memory serves me. The show had fallen through. As Jill got to talking to 7 Seconds they had a night off, jill convinced them to come and play Toronto. They agreed and they brought up the band they were on tour with which was Youth of Today. Youth of Today had not released their single yet because most of their set consisted of songs from that which culminated in what I feel is their best song to date "Youth Crew". But what was more inspiring was that at least 200 kids showed up to this unannounced show purely based on a punk rock phone tree that just happened of its own accord. None of that is in the interview. But we learn that the band has a new line up and they are supporting the "New Wind" record so it was at that period when U2 was a big influence on them.
There is a great interview with Hype who were an incredible hardcore band from Oakville. Hype lived in a house and there was a fire that burned most of the band's equipment and I believe a reel tape of their new recording. This story actually becomes the name for their second album, but they were still writing for this LP. The band had just had the Barbisan brothers join them so it was their second line up. And an editted version of this interview appears in MRR #40. What I like about this interview is it captures some of the hardships of a band from a suburb trying to break into the Toronto scene which I have often heard as being very clique-ish.
This also contains one of the few interviews I have read on the Crucifucks. The Crucifucks were from Michigan and they played Toronto with a new line up but prior to writing "Wisconsin". Doc Dart is an interesting character regardless and he talks about the first album, about the Rock Against Reagan tour that they played. He also talks about his lack of faith in democracy which i think he is right about and he talks about cops. All of it is super insightful.
There is six pages on skating, two of whhich are an interview with a local skater. There are some photo pages of kids doing aerial tricks which is pretty spectacular. And then there is an article on underground garages and that they should be used in the winter when outdoor places are unavailable. There are tips on how to access them and tips on how to get security guards on your side. All very helpful.
DRI and COC toured up here and this issue has both crossover legends in the same issue. Spike from DRI talks about their "Argument then Tour" tour and the guys from C.O.C. elude to how this is how the band actually operated. The band was playing two songs from "Crossover" at the time but mostly the set was filled with "Dealing With It" material. Mike Dean (bassist) and Woody (guitarist) for C.O.C. are interviewed with Simon Bob making a late appearance. This was prior to "Technocracy" being written and "Animosity" had bene out for a while. C.O.C. makes comparisons between Toronto and Raleigh and express some frustation in working with Metal Blade.
There is an interview with Resistance from Victoria, BC which is one of the only interviews I have seen with this band. They played here and I remember buying the tape which also gets reeviewed in this issue. I think it was called "Irresistable". I do remember them sounding very oi like even though they deny that sound in the interview.
The review section is a real snapshot of the time and I was also gald to see the review of the Death of Gods tape "The Great Omnipotent Deceiver". 21 song tape that laso has a full page add on the inside back cover. One of Toronto's great underrated bands from the Mississauga area. tere is also reviews of the last One Solution zine and the Random Killing single and a Malhovoc demo.
Milo, Bill and Tonyfrom the Descendents are also interviewed and they played up here in support of the "Enjoy" LP even though you couldn;t find that record up here. They talk about the joys of farting, previous releases, Black Flag, and their raison d'etre, which is friendship. Milo and Bill Stevenson were childhood friends and that is how this band came together and stayed together.
Lastly the zine has an interview with Sons of Ishmael as a four piece. Paul Morris had just joined the band and Tim was playing bass at the time. Tim talks about Meaford, which explains a lot about the inpiration behind "Small Town Mentality" which is the song that they are best known for.
The zine ends with a section on animal rights which contains some list of products tested on animals. There is also a vegan recipe. But they promise to improve on the section in the next issue so they didn't feel good about what was in there.
