So here we are at the end of another New York City summer. Fortunately
it wasn’t as sweltering as last year. Maybe it was the ’Sup
beach house at the Jersey shore that made the hot, sticky, humid summer
days more bearable. Like all good summers this one just flew by, and
as it draws to a close I’m already getting nostalgic and longing
to be back in the sand jumping the waves and going late-night swimming.
I’ve been living the high life for the past year and it’s
been pretty damn good.
Maybe it was the fact that I made it through two summers and over a
year without an office job. It could also be because my best friend
from high school moved right across the street and was instantaneously
assembled into my posse of lady friends (N.Vainglorious!). Maybe it’s
the bike gang we formed and those Sunday evening rides topped off with
a group BBQ. The nights that never ended until the sun came up. Sleeping
until noon in a room with A/C. Whatever the case, as another summer
goes by and my favorite season draws to a close, I’m reminded
that I myself am getting a year older and so is the magazine. But, it’s
okay. It’s great actually.
In the moving-the-office-home process I ran across my big file of all
of the old issues of ’Sup. I laughed at the first photocopied
version with my funny Milemarker and Hieroglyphics interviews. From
the get go, ’Sup was all over the place – very much a reflection
of my life and the music that surrounds me – spastic and all over
the place but in a good eclectic way. I was shocked when I looked at
the date on the cover of ’Sup 001 – October 12, 1998. Had
’Sup really been around for five years? Damn that’s a long
time. At first I was bummed that we hadn’t made it much farther
(i.e. nicer paper, wider distribution, fancier website, etc.), but I
soon realized that keeping it going is a feat in and of itself. And
don’t worry, ‘cause we’re not going to stop anytime
soon.
While my freelance life is officially over tomorrow and I’m going
back to the working world, ’Sup is gonna continue to rock it as
we take things forward one baby step at a time. We’re finally
launching a full content website (which will always be a work in progress)
and starting a monthly email newsletter (so sign up!) and are going
to step up the regularity of our parties (since I seem to have gotten
so good at partying the past year).
Looking back on the first issue, I also chuckled at the mission statement
I wrote when I was 20 years old and a sophomore in college. (Note: I
got burned by my college newspaper and started the magazine in a fit
of rage.) Take a gander yourself, it’s pretty right on:
’Sup, short for what’s up, is dedicated to covering the
happenings of the independent music scene. There are so many artists
who deserve to be seen, heard and appreciated. Due to the shortage of
quality publications, many of these worthy individuals fail to get recognized.
Community involvement and support for these artists is necessary to
sustain a fruitful scene.
One of ’Sup’s main goals is to keep the community informed
about emerging talent and give voices to the artists who tend to get
overlooked by mainstream media. The magazine is created for and by members
of the community to serve as a forum of creative expression.
Honest news can be hard to find, but is definitely available if you
are willing to seek it out. The writers at ’Sup are writing about
topics that interest them. ’Sup’s style is casual and informal,
designed to entertain and provide insight to our readers. Every ’Sup
writer has a chance to share their un-edited views and opinions. We
strive to provide you with personalized writing that shows you honest
insight into the lives and minds of our favorite artists and happenings
of the indie scene.
We’ve surprisingly stuck to our laurels and we promise to take
it up a notch a little at a time. But most of all, we promise not to
ever go away.
Here’s to Fall and 5 years of ’Sup!
Lots of love - Marisa