High Maintenance

by Juliet Fletcher

"Somebody's got to do it, so why not us?" chimes the collective voice of High Maintenance -- exactly the nuanced ennui familiar in zine culture, usually accompanying a lacerating review of a 7-inch or a ping-pong Q&A with a former kids' TV star. Luckily, the editors of this most well-watered of budding publications are rarely blasé, rarely bored: Maintenance engineers Jon Morgereth, Chris Cummins (CP contributor) and Chris Webb credit their time together in a now-defunct comedy troupe for teaching them the meaning of "high-maintenance" -- a project that takes almost as much in time as it gives back in rewards. Now credit -- for others -- is their goal: "We love to turn our attention to unrecognized talent," says Cummins. "We pool our private passions, things we enjoy so much we want to force them on our readers."

Though rendered in the spidery detail typical of anything founded on photocopier paper, HM's interests have broadened in its second issue, seeking to cultivate the talent of fellow writers in the same way they pore over musicians and pop culture dirt. Their issue two release party at Fergie's this week is anticipated as being more of a CD-style "listening": there'll be excerpts of fiction read by Elizabeth Rollins, and a live advice set from columnist Melanie Mondel, whose writings complement interviews with Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze), The Prom and Mull Historical Society on the music front, a chat with Matt Frewer (Max Headroom) and original cartoons by fellow Temple grad Jess Kilpatrick.

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By anyone's standards, that's a lot to digest. The HMers do see themselves as a natural part of the cultural foodchain: soon after completing an interview with Uncle Floyd for issue one, they discovered that a song named after the kid star had been recorded -- by David Bowie. "So we assumed that he was inspired in part by us."

High Maintenance release party, Sun., Oct. 6, 5-9 p.m., upstairs at Fergie’s Pub, 1214 Sansom St. Info and zine-ordering details at www.highmaintenance.org. Issue II available at A.K.A. Records, Spaceboy Music, Wooden Shoe Books, Tower Records and Siren Records in Doylestown.