Wasted Opportunities is a DIY hardcore punk zine hailing from Meanjin (Brisbane), Australia, and it’s just dropped its 16th issue. This edition features long, personal interviews with Rodolfo of the psychedelic-punk panamaniacs Hez and Hassan Dozhaki of the international anti-colonial hardcore unit called Zanjeer. It also includes sharp reviews and the Hardcore Victim photo log by Mark Panizza.
Wasted Opportunities quickly became a favorite of mine, even though getting Australian zines has always been a bit of a hassle due to distance and shipping costs. So, instead of merely reviewing the latest issue, I decided to chat with Justin for this year’s International Zine Month series.
In our conversation, Justin elaborates on the journey and passion that fuels Wasted Opportunities. Inspired by the iconic punk zines of the ’90s, the zine focuses on heartfelt, in-depth interviews that spotlight bands with real impact and meaningful stances in a world sinking deeper into the crap. Justin also talks about the value of physical zines in our digital world and shares some great new zines that have been published recently in Australia and its overseas neighbors.
Congratulations on publishing Wasted Opportunities #16! Sixteen issues so far is a pretty impressive accomplishment. When did you have your initial contact with zines? Have you been interested in some kind of bigger metal magazines?
I’m assuming most cities used to have some form of free street press. That’s what first attracted me as a teenager—the free street press publications that were effectively zines. These were newsprint publications filled with interviews, gig listings, photos, and reviews. A little later, I came across Maximum RocknRoll and Razorcake simultaneously, seeing them in record stores. Knowing they were punk-focused and covered bands I liked or was curious about drew me in. I always appreciated the discovery aspect of the zines. They shared and suggested new music to me that I might never have come across otherwise.
Razorcake, in particular, really resonated with me. Maybe it was because it had a slightly more focused voice compared to the diversity of contributors in MRR? Perhaps they were a little less gatekeeper-y in their approach, making the idea of self-publishing less intimidating and more achievable. Whatever the reason, Razorcake was the big inspiration that opened up the world of zines more to me.
As for larger metal magazines, I was never a metal fan growing up. Metal didn’t capture my imagination like punk did. It wasn’t as prominent in the socio-political aspects that really engaged teenage me. The metalheads in high school seemed kinda dumb too. My appreciation for metal developed much later in life, so metal magazines like Kerrang were never on my radar.
Have you ever published or participated in any other zines before Wasted Opportunities? What is the main motivation behind this project?
No, Wasted Opportunities was the first zine project I ever did. I’ve contributed material to MRR and Razorcake afterward—some interviews and reviews—but nothing before my zine. The main motivation was to get involved in something I loved. I can’t play an instrument. I’ve tried over the years but never got good or even passable, so I was looking for a creative outlet. The combination of inspiration from those established punk zines and a feeling that I could write and interview better than I could play led me to start the zine.
My desire was to spotlight bands I really loved that perhaps weren’t getting a lot of attention. To copy that Razorcake format of in-depth conversational interviews and put that out here in Australia. I figured I had nothing to lose—that is the beauty of DIY punk. Just go do it, that’s the fun part about it.
While Wasted Opportunities still has other features and the usual music reviews, what truly sets it apart are the in-depth and personal interviews. With the rise of podcasts offering lengthy conversational formats, do you think people might lose interest in reading long interviews when they can simply listen to something online?
Possibly? It’s not something I’ve considered, to be honest. Just like a book, I can put a zine down and come back to it, read half an interview, and return later. That’s one of the reasons I enjoy zines: they don’t have to be consumed in a linear fashion, unlike a podcast. When reading a new issue of a zine, I usually start with the reviews and work backwards.
I guess another distinctive feature is the layout of the zine. With an interview, you also engage with the photography of the band and the artwork of the layout. I hope to make use of all three elements to create engaging material for someone, stimulating on multiple levels. I think podcasts are complementary or supplementary to that. It’s great to hear someone chat about their music or even see them on YouTube doing an interview. To me, those experiences are different from engaging with a printed zine—something tactile, something that’s been crafted and edited.
I’ve considered doing a podcast myself, taking out the hours and hours of work involved in layouts and just posting the interviews online. But that takes some of the magic out of it. One of the reasons I’ve continued the zine is because of how empty the digital space feels. It’s this yawning mouth that’s forever hungry for content, and once something is cast into the digital pit, it feels like it disappears in an instant. It holds no weight and might end up on a dead platform once the corporate masters of digital platform XYZ sell it, or the next big digital trend occurs. It feels more disposable.
Digital spaces can have lots of value too. I can find and connect with bands from across the world, share info about my zine, and do interviews with you thanks to digital platforms. So, it’s not all bad, nor all disposable, but it feels much more ephemeral than a zine in hand. Same with the piles of zines and records in my living room, the books on my shelf. I think there’s still value in that, and despite everything becoming more and more digital, there’s an important place for physical material.
Personally, I’m not a fan of zines where the cover looks like a fucking festival poster. If I see more than five band interviews in a single issue, I know I’m going to be disappointed. I’m all for interviewing fewer bands, but having meaningful conversations and doing a bit of research rather than interviewing fifty different bands and asking the same questions over and over again.
I’m the same. There’s nothing that disappoints me more than pro-forma questions over and over. “Name your top 3 bands?” etc. I do my best to avoid that type of interview. There’s nothing wrong with that approach; it can be helpful in doing my research by providing some basic information I can dig into further. Ultimately, I’m trying to understand how someone creates, how they go about making a record, and what informs their writing. What are their lived experiences that can hopefully give people something to relate to and also excite them to check out the music?
If you’re already a fan, then hopefully there’s some depth for you to get stuck into. It’s both what we share in common and the differences that make things interesting. That’s what I find engaging about it. So, I guess I try to do what I would like to read, which is something more than just a few surface-level questions that can be answered via email just to promote a record, etc.
While working on these sixteen issues, did you ever have an interview that you decided not to publish for any reason? Perhaps because it was too short and lazy on the interviewee’s part, or because you didn’t agree with some of the things they said?
I’ve definitely got a handful of interviews that were never published. It was never due to anything on the interviewee’s part, though. I just lost focus when trying to pull an issue together, often due to writer’s block or the challenge of creating content. Then, after a little while, the interview becomes out of date. The information and situations discussed are no longer really relevant or current—it’s kinda passed its use-by date. In the digital age, this period is shorter and shorter.
Years ago, I was going to do an issue on punks who practiced Buddhism as I was exploring it at the time. They were great interviews, but I just didn’t have my heart in it enough, so I shelved the entire thing. The closest I came to not including an interview was one in Issue 14, with a Perth band, Gutter Oil. I try as much as possible to do interviews face-to-face or via Zoom. They wanted to do an email interview, which is fine, but it doesn’t typically allow for the back-and-forth flow of conversation. They left it to the last minute to send their answers back. Their answers were too funny not to include, so I squeezed it in with a rushed layout—for better or worse.
I’ve done a few interviews that haven’t been published because they sucked. And I’ve done a lot of interviews where I disagree with some or a lot of things, but published them anyway because I think they’re genuine and challenging. Do you think many punk zines try to get bands to say what the author wants to hear? On the other hand, if you publish controversial stuff, you might get attacked for giving a platform to problematic ideas and individuals.
I guess I always follow my heart. By that, I mean I have to really love a record or a band’s work to want to interview them in the first place. I’m following my passions and my heart. I’ve learned that when I try to force something, it never comes out well, or I don’t follow through on it. So, for me, I guess I’m talking to people or bands that speak to me in some form or another before I ever reach out to them. Due to that, there’s probably already some natural alignment of values and views on things.
Not always the case, but I can’t think of an example where I’ve interviewed or talked to someone in a band I’ve enjoyed and found out they held drastically different or controversial views. I wrote about Amyl and the Sniffers performing at a festival in Sydney that was receiving Israeli government sponsorship and was being boycotted by artists. This was prior to the current Israeli genocide in Palestine. The band was called upon to boycott and performed anyway. It was only after a US tour that they tried to walk back their decision. I had no desire to interview the band—I don’t like their stuff.
I could have tried to explore something “controversial” or “problematic” about their choice, but my heart wouldn’t be in it because I’m not passionate about the band. So, for topics that may fall into those categories, I’d prefer to write an article about it or have someone do a guest article to explore it. That way, I’m not putting myself in a position as an editor as to who I’m opening my platform to. Maybe I’ll be in that position unexpectedly in the future, but currently, I haven’t found myself having to make those decisions.
In the last few issues, especially with Hassan from Zanjeer and GELD’s Cormy article, Wasted Opportunities has been pretty vocal on the Palestine issue. What feedback have you received so far?
None at all, at least that I’m aware of. I’m not sure if that’s because the zine has such a small circulation and specific audience that it’s not capturing the attention of pro-Zionist bigots? Possibly it’s a matter of not shooting the messenger, so to speak. Hassan and Cormac have much larger audiences, which is great because they are so bravely speaking up for Palestine. More and more people need to do that. So, they most likely catch more attacks. This again makes it important that we all speak out, so it’s harder for brave individuals to be targeted while everyone else remains silent. We’re stronger together.
While there are still many print zines that uphold the spirit of the more politicized hardcore scene and zine communities of the ’90s, do you think hardcore punk websites have become too promotional these days?
I think websites like yours are more than just promotional tools. I’m sure there are bigger platforms that I’m not aware of, that are. I can’t think of a punk website I visit to discover music that is just promo. I find out about music from social media, mailing lists, zines, and Bandcamp. I definitely think social media is purely a tool of promotion. Then it becomes a question of “what are you promoting?” A lot of people approach me to promote their band or new release. I’m always happy to do a review of a record, but the zine isn’t a platform for just general promotion for the sake of it.
I won’t interview your band unless I really love the band and music and feel there are interesting questions to be asked about it. Which is also a form of promotion but hopefully more meaningful and with intent rather than just sharing whatever comes through the inbox for “content.” There are still great blogs and writing on the internet, though. Some are old and never updated; some keep current. Like anything, it’s a matter of what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for something a bit more in-depth and a bit more real, then it’s out there—you just have to find it.
Do you think the purpose of a DIY punk zine today is still to protect the community and its ethics? To express opinions and fight back against big business, oppression, colonialism, co-optation, and to keep hardcore ideas radical and accessible?
I’ve never viewed my zine as one that gatekeeps. My motivation has always been one of sharing and curation. There’s so much music out there, so many bands, that I’m just highlighting some that I think people should check out. Within those aims and motivations, I try to follow a set of ethics and values and reflect those within the zine too. So inherently, I think zines made with a DIY ethic, made with the desire to explore and celebrate music that has meaning in a disposable, plastic world, will naturally be part of the fight back against those things that use and destroy such values. As the saying goes, the medium is the message.
You have some zines from Singapore and Malaysia in your distro. What zines have you been interested in lately, especially those from Australia, Aotearoa, or Southeast Asia?
Rotten Times is a great glossy zine/magazine from Singapore. I’m amazed at the production value of the publication. Rate of Decay zine is a fun little zine I checked out recently. Fuzz War released a new zine which is great, with a really blasted copier look to it and great interviews. A noise label here in Brisbane called Minimal Impact released a collection called Consumption of Signs #3, which is just a labor of love. The Barely Human series from Sydney is amazing too. The artist FleshFromTheAcid did a mini artwork zine that I distro’d out here—really amazing punk artwork.
Living For Chaos photozine from Perth is great. Wiggin’ Out from the UK is a really great zine too. Just a Nightmare zine covers all things crust and dbeat. Gross Inc’s Fight Comix and art zines are wild and entertaining. Neil Bramley from Teargas has shifted his Adult Dreams zine into an online blog called Language of the Damned if you want more considered fare about punk and culture. I know the first issue of Brisbane Music Spew zine is coming out soon from a new zine maker in the local area.
I’m sure there’s more that I’m forgetting. There’s been a real explosion of zines coming out around punk and hardcore communities, which is great to see.
Wasted Opportunities is available through their Bandcamp distro, Instagram, and worldwide distribution through No Norm Records in the US and Sonic Rage Records in Malaysia. Wasted Opportunities also runs a small DIY tape label called Wasted Tapes.
