Welcome to the new RoosterCow store. The most convenient place on the internet to purchase RoosterCow comics, zines, CDs, records, and tapes. I will be adding more stuff to the store in the coming weeks and tweaking it as needed.
Although this store is fresh as a newborn kitten, RoosterCow has been around in some form or another for several decades. Someday soon I hope to post the sordid history of the company, but for now, I’m just happy to get this first blog post up as I say goodbye to the unwieldy former website.
Yes, gone are the days of unorganized web pages with cruddy-looking, wonky, PayPay links. Though I did enjoy designing the original website, I was usually ten years behind the times in terms of technology and skill level, so I am grateful that the tech and price have become attainable to me and the rest of the masses.
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What’s In Store
What is in store is literally what is for sale in the store. What you’ll find in the shop right now is RoosterCow output from the last three years. After ten years of staying in the digital lane, I swerved back into print publishing in 2014 with issue #22 my long-running, ever-evolving zine Reglar Wiglar. As I said in the "Idiotorial" of that issue:
“It's been a long time since a print edition of the Reglar Wiglar has seen the glorious light of day — almost ten years! Since I made the switch to digital publishing in 2005, I've reviewed dozens of records, zines, and comics and interviewed half dozens of bands, artists, and writers. I have definitely enjoyed the freedom that our beloved Internet provides. I love building web pages and plotting websites and, even if I only make one cent off a pay-per-click ad, that's still pure profit. Not like the old days of never breaking even.
That said, the internet... well, it's the internet, isn't it? It's filled to your browser's brim with bunk that muddles your mind and saps your soul. Hyperbolically speaking, of course. Publishing a blog or uploading a web page just doesn't give you the same feeling of creating something with your hands, like when you make a comic or a zine. At least it doesn't for me. Nor is uploading a music file the same as stuffing your band's vinyl record into a silk-screened sleeve. Young people are realizing this as older people remember.”
Comics, Zines, Records & Tapes
So, I’ve got comics, zines, and music available. While I created most of these products, I have gotten some help from friends and fellow creators, specifically with the Used Records & Tapes titles.
The publication of more titles is in the works and I will announce those projects soon. I will also add RoosterCow Records releases soon. Since 2001, RoosterCow Records has consistently, but sporadically, released a stream of vinyl 7-inch records, CDs, digital albums, one cassette, and one full-length vinyl LP with more to come.
Current Titles
Zines
What’s a zine? It’s a small self-published magazine, of course.
Reglar Wiglar
My long-running zine (since 1993!) is currently up to issue #28. I’m going to try to get to #30 in 2023 to mark the publication’s 30th Anniversary. That will be a challenge. Until then, issues #26-28 are available with reprints of #22-#25 planned for early next year. Back issues, such as they are, may be located and posted as well. Stay tuned.
Used Records & Tapes
This perzine/review zine is a celebration of music released in ancient formats. It’s the stuff you listened to as a kid. It’s the stuff you’ve been searching for as an adult. It’s the gems you uncovered in a dusty old record store that changed your life, maybe even saved it. Issue #3 is in the works and UR&T #1 and UR&T #2 are available now.
Gray Flag
Gray Flag is my first attempt at a perzine. “Per” as in “personal”. It’s comprised of journal entries I made as a young student in the Story Workshop Fiction Writing Program at Columbia College in the early 1990s. There was Gray Flag #1, and then there was Gray Flag #2. Collect them both!
Comics
You know what a comic is, I hope. They come in all shapes and sizes including the mini variety.
Sssnakes!
Sssnakes! is a mini-comic, starring Sly & Steven, that I created many years ago. Some of the strips included in issue #1 appeared in the Reglar Wiglar print zine. Sssnakes! comics were supposed to be easy to make, but since I print them on my desktop printer and assembled them by hand, they’re a bit labor-intensive. That said, I love hanging out with these guys.
Music
Records, tapes, and digital releases.
Empire Smalls - Send Us Fools
Empire Smalls is a one-piece turned three-piece, turned two-piece band. We make recordings in the basement of the RoosterCow Lounge. Send Us Fools is our debut 12-inch record. The band included Mike Dixon and Tim Davison as well as myself. We’re quite proud of it. Check it out, won't you?
What’s Next?
Sign Up for the RoosterCow Quarterly Newsletter to find out. Follow RoosterCow on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram: @roostercownow
Support Indie Labels and Press
Visit the store and support indie record labels and publishers! Visit the Threadless Artist Shop and Always read Reglar Wiglar!
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