Ian Stewart
A compilation he did for his own zine called Turbogrooves. Some of the bands featured were: Star*Pillow, Daniel Prendiville, Evolution Control Committee, Big City Orchestra, Scott Brookman, Cosmonauts Hail Satan, Magic Moments At Twilight Time and more.
Auutoreverse Magazine was published by Ian C. Stewart. Above, an issue where I was on the cover.
In addition to publishing Autoreverse Magazine ( and later the Mouthy zine), Ian C. Stewart produced his own music. With his electronica project, FzzyPmpr, he doled out the beats and samples and with his rock band, Devilcake, served up hearty portions of songs about food… and only about food. If you are getting the idea that Ian had a caddy sense of humor you’d be correct but his real calling was his review writing which was some of the best, funniest and idiosyncratic of the time. His way with a negative review was side splitting even though one knew the artist in question might not think it so funny. For awhile in the mid 90s, Ian was one of the most important contributors ( along with Bryan Baker with Gajoob Magazine) to the underground music scene with Autoreverse heaping high praise on bands such as Warser Gate, Mark Ritchie, Jehn Cerron, Michael J. Bowman and many others. His astute eye for graphics and keen sense of critical thought made him a singular and valuable entity.
My first experience with the Cassette Underground, as I’ve heard some refer to it, was in 1990 or 91, when I put together an XTC tribute tape. THE first tape trade I did was with Terry Burke (whatever happened to that guy?) around the same time.
I was doing the XTC tribute around the same time he was assembling a compilation on the theme of fruits & vegetables, entitled PRODUCE. Itself a minor revelation, of course, since it featured many of the key players of the early scene and then there was this Campau dude on there? Whatever happened to that guy?
The big mystery to me, to this day, is where/how I could have possibly heard of Lonely Whistle so that it emerged in my brain later, subliminally regurgitated as “my” first tape label name………“Lonely Whip emissions”……….. I’m still confused & embarassed about it. Sorry, Don.
