My Indie Music Publishing Journey...So Far

The Whiffs, Uni Boys & Lessons Learned In 2024

So then I got this idea to publish an indie Guitar Pop Journal.

Actually, the thought didn’t come out of nowhere. I’d previously co-edited two power pop essay collections with Paul Myers, Go All The Way: A Literary Appreciation of Power Pop and the sequel Go Further. A seed had been planted.

I had a great experience working on those books with Paul, the team at Rare Bird Books and our incredible list of contributors ranging from Michael Chabon, Annie Zaleski, Dave Holmes and Heather Havrilesky, to Alex Segura, Mary E. Donnelly, Mike Randle, Thierry Côté and many, many other talented writers and musicians.

Go All The Way and Go Further offered interesting, well-written perspectives on the history and evolution of the genre from the ‘60s to the 2000s, but I also wanted to go beyond that to spotlight modern power pop artists and adjacent genres like indie rock, garage rock, pop punk, etc., all of which I group under the term “guitar pop.”

So, I launched this free newsletter in January and set the wheels in motion for the first print/ebook Guitar Pop Journal. We released two volumes in 2023—the blue one with The Whiffs on the cover in April, and the red one with Uni Boys on the cover in October—and the experience has been surprising in many ways.

I have been blown away by the overwhelmingly positive response I’ve gotten from potential contributors.

I wasn’t sure if writers would understand my vision for Remember The Lightning: A Guitar Pop Journal (an indie print publication that’s part fanzine and part essay collection…in 2023?!), but most of the successful authors, music journalists, and musicians I contacted have contributed something.

Their enthusiasm has given me the confidence to keep going despite the inevitable hurdles, so I’m incredibly thankful to all of them. That list also includes Brian Walsby, who draws our custom cover art; John M. Borack, who has contributed to both volumes and served as our copyeditor; and contributor/cover designer Eric Beetner.

I’ve also been pleasantly surprised by the positive reception from music fans and readers. We certainly aren’t climbing the New York Times bestseller list, but both volumes have popped up in various Amazon rankings this year…including a few #1s.

Big thanks to everybody who picked up a copy of volumes 1 and 2. And high fives to anybody who leaves a quick review and five stars on Amazon which really helps other readers find these journals courtesy of the magical algorithms.

And I deeply appreciate the support of music publications and podcasts that helped spread the word including Add To Wantlist, On Repeat, Abandoned Albums, Tony Fletcher Wordsmith, Poprock Record, The Ledge, Sweet Sweet Music Blog and many others. One of my newsletters even got quoted in Shingdig! magazine this year.

Remember The Lightning: A Guitar Pop Journal operates in a small musical niche, but I’m thrilled that these great essays are finding the right readers. My plan all along was to keep the newsletter free, but sell the Guitar Pop Journals for less than 10 bucks a pop—which seems to be working out so far.

The most important lesson I (re)learned this year is this—if you’re passionate about something, chances are there is an audience of likeminded fans out there.

So, volume 3 should be arriving in March…or maybe April. I’ve also learned that there are a lot of moving parts to putting together an indie publication that rarely adhere to predictable deadlines. And that’s fine since this is first and foremost a labor of love.

Much as I’m invested in this project, the world won’t end if it comes out a few weeks later than originally planned. What does matter is that everybody involved gets to spread their writerly wings and that we’re all collectively proud of the end product.

That means doubling down on strong writing about modern guitar pop artists (Annie Zaleski on The Beths, Walter Chaw on The Pretty Flowers, Mary E. Donnelly on Sloan, etc.), inspired odes to classics (Mo Troper on Chris Bell, Paul Myers on Tinted Windows, Nadja Dee on Fountains of Wayne, etc.), global scene reports (Tyler Asay on the Philadelphia pop scene, Aidil Rusli on Malaysian power pop, Allen Lulu on power pop in Spain, etc.), and unique perspectives (Ryan Allen on the ties that bind hardcore punk and power pop, David Laing on power pop's country roots, etc.).

In that spirit, here are a few favorite Remember The Lightning quotes from our 2023 cover artists—two of the bands leading the current guitar pop golden age.

⚡️💥 The Whiffs (from “Talking Power Pop With The Whiffs”)

Power pop has a well-earned reputation as “the debate club of rock and roll,” but there’s one thing most modern fans can agree on: The Whiffs!

Hailing from Kansas City, Missouri, this four-on-the-floor Midwest quartet has delivered three solid collections of punk-infused guitar pop that would be just at home at the Cavern Club in the ‘60s as it would at Jay’s Longhorn in the early ‘80s—or on a Nuggets compilation, for that matter—but this is the 2020s and the Whiffs are among a handful of exciting new bands driving the beleaguered power pop genre ever-deeper into the post-rock Millennium.

Rory Cameron (Guitar/Vocals): I’ve never really cared that much about subgenres other than when they’re used as descriptors. People tend to get dogmatic about what something is and isn’t given their personal preferences... It’s ultimately rock and roll with a good hook.

Joey Rubbish (Guitar/Vocals): It’s obvious why this style appeals to people that love rock and roll—hooks, interesting arrangements, tight 3-minute-or-less songs, countless nods to the timeless pop that came before. But it’s not ‘new,’ so most people won’t pay attention to it. That’s fine. Power pop will forever re-emerge with different aesthetics because it’s a formula that works. The flipside is that it’s a formula that can become tiresome and boring.

Zach Campbell (Bass/Vocals): For me it always started with the Beatles. I was able to work backwards and forwards from there. I specifically love Beatles For Sale for that very reason—amazing covers, and their original material on that record has insane feel. It’s raw, it’s emotional, and the harmonies are just outstanding. There’s no denying the power and the pop of “Baby’s In Black.”

Jake Cardwell (Drums): I’ve always loved Badfinger, Big Star and Dwight Twilley. I didn’t know the Exploding Hearts or Flamin’ Groovies when we first started the Whiffs. Rory made me a playlist with a bunch of stuff on it so I got a crash course in the pop with power at that point. We covered several of those tunes in the beginning as well.

Joey Rubbish: Ya, we’re power pop—so that description is apt. I’m not sure if people are getting anything wrong about the Whiffs, but maybe our approach is not the same as other modern “power pop” bands. Our style folds in a wider scope than just the late ‘70s punk era. We incorporate a little more ‘60s/British Invasion influence as well as early ‘70s proto-power pop (if that’s a thing), and even ‘90s sloshy/noisy stuff.

⚡️💥 Uni Boys (from “The Kids Are Alright…Again”)

Made up of co-frontmen Noah Nash (vocals/guitar) and Reza Matin (vocals/guitar), along with the rhythm section of Michael Cipolletti (bass/backing vocals) and Artie Fitch (drums), Uni Boys is the culmination of childhood friendships formed in the Southern California suburb of Aliso Viejo, where the foursome grew up sharing the same phases of music discovery and obsession.

Instant classics such as "On Your Lovin Mind" or "Downtown" from last year’s Do It All Next Week (Curation Records), or “Let’s Watch a Movie,” “I Want it Too” and “Two Years” from their fourth full length, Buy This Now (Curation Records, October 2023), sound raw and timeless. Nash and Matin take turns singing lead vocals and sound extremely cohesive, which makes sense since they remain thick as thieves.

Reza Matin: As kids we definitely loved the White Stripes, and Noah has a really fuckin’ cool dad who would turn us onto a lot of music when he would drive us around to our shows or whatever. Skateboarding opened up the world of punk rock to us as well. I learned a lot of punk bands from the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater soundtrack.

Noah Nash: My dad’s record collection had [things like] Ramones, Dead Boys, Bad Brains and Dead Kennedys. He would turn me onto a lot of glam stuff as well, and Daniel Johnston and everything.

Michael Cipolletti: We all grew up in Orange County, lived really close to each other; went to the same high school and would just go to the beach and listen to music together. I would go watch Uniform play and think to myself, ‘I wanna do that!’ So when I went off to college, I formed my own band. I played guitar and sang; we were basically a Velvet Underground cover band. When I came back they needed someone to play bass.

Artie Fitch: I started playing drums because of these guys, because we were always jamming together. Reza is really attentive to little details on the drums, so it’s a real asset.

Reza Matin: Me and Noah got into the same bands at the same time, so the progression was really easy because we shared the same vision. We’re definitely influenced by certain bands from different decades, but we just write what we’re feeling. We wouldn’t want to do anything redundant. If anyone wants to listen to power pop, there are so many bands; I find new stuff every day. I love power pop!

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⚡️💥 Indie Music Writing For Guitar Pop Fans ⚡️💥

Quality Music Writing you can hold in your mittens…

Our new semi-annual music journal features some of today's best music writers on guitar pop, and talented modern artists on the music and genres that inspire them.

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VOLUME 1—Spring/Summer 2023

James Goodson (of Dazy) on Being Power Pop-Adjacent

Annie Zaleski on the Beths

Mo Troper on Chris Bell's "I Am The Cosmos"

Rob Nesbitt (of the Suitesixteen) on the Exploding Hearts

S.W. Lauden on the Whiffs (Our debut cover models!)

Mary E. Donnelly on Sloan

John M. Borack on Juniper

Paul Myers on Tinted Windows

Mike Randle on Popsicko's Off to a Bad Start

David Laing on Power Pop's Country Roots

PLUS: Custom Cover Art By Brian Walsby

VOLUME 2—Fall/Winter 2023

Ryan Allen on The Ties That Bind Hardcore Punk & Power Pop

Tyler Asay on the Philadelphia Power Pop Scene

Eric Beetner on Kate Clover's Bleed Your Heart Out

John Borack on the Muffs' Legacy

Walter Chaw on the Pretty Flowers

Nadja Dee on Fountains of Wayne

Marko DeSantis on Uni Boys

S.W. Lauden on The Replacements' Lasting Influence

Allen Lulu on Kurt Baker: The Spain Years

Aidil Rusli on Southeast Asian Guitar Pop

PLUS: Custom Cover Art By Brian Walsby