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Bloodshed Zine 

Blood-Shed fanzine was an awesome zine back in the early 90’s and when I reconnected with editor Mike Minicucci on Facebook I absolutely wanted to do an interview with and he agreed and I emailed him over and interview and here is what he said and keep an eye out for a 20th anniversary issue of his awesome zine:


MC: What led to you shutting down Bloodshed zine and how many issues did you put out?

BLOOD-SHED: Well there were a few things that led to the eventual demise of BLOOD-SHED. Firstly, the underground was at a stage where it was just really infested with trendy, uninspiring bands. It just wasn’t fun anymore. It was more of a struggle to put together an issue. Secondly, as you know, putting out a quality magazine that people will enjoy and purchase is tough and takes quite a while to round up content. And of course family, family, family and work got in the way more than once!

MC: Was it a sad day for you when you decided to stop doing the zine and when you put out your last issues did you sort of know at the time that it was gonna be your last issue?

BLOOD-SHED: Well it wasn't a sad day because it was nothing that was planned. I had a great run in the underground scene for a long time, met tons of great people and saw lots of great shows. The day just came where the next issue just wasn’t happening.

MC: What have you been up to since you stopped doing the zine? Did you write for any other publications and do you write for any now?

BLOOD-SHED: Well, I certainly haven't lost my taste for extreme metal. I'm sure that will never leave my body. I work for a living like a lot of Americans! Maintain my house and family and am trying to put together a 20th Anniversary issue of BLOOD-SHED, to commemorate the first issue released in 1989! No, I don't write for any other publications!

MC: What is your favorite band and why are they your favorite band?

BLOOD-SHED: Well, I have many loves in music. I would say my utmost favorite is Slayer. I have a fondness for them that goes way beyond words. It started many moons ago when I got a cassette through the old tape trading scene. They still reek of greatness and brutality today!

MC: What were some of the highlights from doing the zine? Did you get to meet many bands and stuff and what was your favorite interview you ever did?

BLOOD-SHED: Oh, the interviews were endless. I made hundreds of great friends at a time when bands like Sepultura were just making a splash in America. Some of my favorite interviews were Glenn Benton of Deicide, Paul Ledney from Profanatica, Hellhammer from Mayhem, Trey from Morbid Angel, and the list just goes on and on and on.

MC: Did you get to see many live shows back in the day and what was your favorite or some of your favorite live shows that you saw?

BLOOD-SHED: I certainly got out to my fair share of shows. I traveled the East Coast extensively. Seen Slayer 17 times, Morbid Angel probably 15 times. I think 2 of the most noteworthy shows were the first two Michigan Death Fests 1990, headlined by Morbid Angel, and also on the bill Sacrifice, Deceased, Nuclear Death, Baphomet, and a bunch more. And MDF #2 in 1992 headlined by Autopsy, Vital Remains, Mortician, and more.

MC: For those who don’t know, tell me readers exactly what a fanzine is and did you do the zine all by yourself or did you have some writers with ya?

BLOOD-SHED: Well the fanzine scene was born at a time in the early 80's when there was no such thing as the internet. You had to have an extreme love and dedication to the underground scene to successfully produce a zine. My interests were expressed through my creative writing and page layouts that made BLOOD-SHED the success it was for many years in the underground scene. I did all my issues by myself, no contributors!

MC: How did you come up with the name for your zine and who did your cool covers?

BLOOD-SHED: As I said, I did everything that had to do with each issue. I did the crazy artwork, page layouts, typewriting, etc... The name BLOOD-SHED ZINE stemmed from Slayer's Seasons in the Abyss album, more specifically the track Blood Red, "oppression ruled by bloodshed."

MC: Do you still have copies of all your issues and have you ever seen any of them for sale on the internet at all?

BLOOD-SHED: I still have a few copies of issues 3, 4 & 5, but not many. And yes, I have seen them listed several times on eBay over the years!

MC: What are your thoughts on the underground scene now? Do you think there are way too many bands?

BLOOD-SHED: Well I don’t really know too much about the scene today. It's so vast and hard to grasp in the day and age of the internet. I still rely on my old school tastes for most of my listening, but do dig a lot of new acts Kampfar, The Royal Arch Blaspheme, Sahg, etc... I've recently gotten out to a few cool shows that I'm really glad I did Mortician in NYC and Profanatica in NJ.

MC: What do you think of sites like My Space? Do you think they are good for bands and the scene in general or is it bad in some ways cause every Tom, Dick, and Harry band can now go put up a page and say they are in a band?

BLOOD-SHED: Well I guess every band has the right to do whatever the hell they please and it doesn’t bother me a bit. Really the music will speak for itself in the end! I actually enjoy MySpace and Facebook, as I've re-connected with lots of bands and musicians from my past days as editor of BLOOD-SHED!

MC: Do you ever see CD’s going the route of cassettes?

BLOOD-SHED: Well, I hope not. I've got lots in my collection. I really enjoy the ease of my iPod though I must say. Technology certainly has spoiled us! Although I really enjoy ripping trax to my iPod. It’s loaded with absolute mayhem!

MC: Do you think fanzines still play an important part in the underground?

BLOOD-SHED: well, nothing can replace the good old days and the impact they had several years ago. Because lets face, there was no other way to promote the underground besides the zine scene. I know there’s still a lot of zines out there, but I have lost touch with most of them, and unfortunately there’s probably a million that I'll never have the pleasure of reading! I just enjoy people’s creativity!

MC: I know you have a Facebook page as we are friends on it. Have you re-connected with many old friends/bands from back in the day on there?

BLOOD-SHED: Yes, hundreds. Please check out Facebook: BLOOD-SHED ZINE. Join up; check out some of my old zine covers and pics. My Facebook BLOOD-SHED ZINE page has a great throw-back, vintage style to it. Always looking for new and old friends! Also keep your eyes peeled for BLOOD-SHED 20th Anniversary issue.

MC: What led to you deciding to do a zine?

BLOOD-SHED: My love for the underground scene and wanting to make a slight impact in it. I think I did as all of my issues were sold out in 500 copies each and always got rave reviews. I've also been very creative in terms of design and layout since I was a little kid selling Van Halen and Ozzy bootleg cassettes, so it was the right thing to do, putting all that creativity to print!

MC: Looking back was doing the zine harder or easier that you thought it would be?

BLOOD-SHED: Well it turned out to be a little harder as the years went by, which ultimately led to its demise in 1995. Very time consuming and it certainly takes a dedicated individual.

MC: Do you miss the days or writing letters and stuffing every letter and order with flyers?

BLOOD-SHED: Well, not really. I just look back at those days with fondness, and for the people involved, their dedication to the underground scene! But I will take a computer over pen and paper any day!!

MC: Will underground metal ever die?

BLOOD-SHED: I don’t think so, way too may bands for that to happen.

MC: What is your favorite form of underground music and why?

BLOOD-SHED: I've always been a big fan of just evil, grinding death/black metal tunes. I certainly have no affiliation or fondness for all the satanic imagery and stuff of that nature. But I do enjoy that style of music very much. I was like a little kid watching Profanatica at a show a few weeks back!

MC: What are you doing with yourself these days?

BLOOD-SHED: I work for a packaging company as a structural designer. I use my creative mind every day on the job. I've been there for 18 years. In my spare time, I enjoy coaching my kids in softball, baseball and basketball, and do quite a bit of running. And the Mrs. who's somehow put up with me for 20+ years!

MC: Do you like any other forms of music besides metal?

BLOOD-SHED: Of course but not too much. I am a big Staind fan. I absolutely love every song that they ever penned. They are local guys. I grew up with the drummer Jon. Very down to earth group who would give you the shirt off their backs. And they put on one helluva live show! You probably won’t find me poking around any other sections in the music store though besides metal!

MC: What are some of your favorite’s things about doing the zine and not some not so favorite things?

BLOOD-SHED: As I stated, I think doing all the interviews and traveling to shows were definitely the best parts. Not so fun stuff was the preparation and content you need to put together a decent magazine/issue!

MC: About how many copies did you print up of every issue and where did you get them printed at?

BLOOD-SHED: 500 of each issue. I got them printed at various mom & pop print shops around town.

MC: Mike I am out of questions. Horns up for doing this interview and taking me down memory lane with ya. Any last words?

BLOOD-SHED: well, thanks Chris for your time and interest. It’s certainly cool seeing some of the old folks from the underground still hanging around. Check me out on Facebook: BLOOD-SHED ZINE and keep your eyes peeled for BLOOD-SHED ZINE 20th Anniversary issue!
www.facebook.com/mike.minicucci