Former MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL editor and Kill the Man Who Questions tour guitarist, current music photographer, freelancer, and ‘Razorblades and Aspirin’ photo zine principal Michael Thorn realized his aptitude for capturing the teeth-bared aggression and danger related to musical performance late in life.
To date, Thorn’s photos (and words) have been featured in a variety of publications, New Noise Magazine, No Echo, Kerrang!, CvltNation, to name a sampling. Thorn has announced that issue Seven of his ‘Razorblades and Aspirin‘ zine is available for pre-order. The zine is limited to a run of 50, full-color copies and features photos of Infest, Gouge Away, L.O.T.I.O.N., Avail and more. The zine begins shipping on October 14. All previous editions have sold-out.
The zine can be mailordered from Thorn directly via razorbladesandaspirin.com and is also available from Revelation Records, Microcosm Publishing, Deathwish Distribution, Quimbys, Ebullition Records, and more.
For those unfamiliar with Thorn, from a young age, punk rock resonated with him. He “found himself” as a result of being immersed in music and leveraged it to seize control of his life.
“Music has played a central role to my life since I was around 11 years old—maybe even before.” Thorn admits. “Akin to how photographs are able to more effectively transmit feelings and convey stories, so is music. Punk rock and its bastard children resonated with me in ways it can be hard for me to describe at times.”
“And it wasn’t just about being pissed or sad or being crippled with anxiety—it was also about how it inspired me to try to take life by the throat and define my own life. Don’t like the music on the radio? Make your own. No one booking the bands you like? Book them yourself? No one wants to put out your record? Do it yourself. “
In his own words, Thorn pursues this passion for a variety of reasons.
“I feel that punk rock and the underground should be documented and promoted. There are amazing artists crisscrossing the country and so much of it gets overlooked by the mainstream music world and I want to do my part to correct and move the narrative about music.”
“More importantly, music changed and perhaps saved my life—its kept me sane in times of madness, brought me joy and comforted me in my deepest depressions and has taught me to drive and control my own life. I want to give back to it as best I can. I want to inspire people and help make connections in the way my life involved with music has inspired me and helped me make connections. Music saved me from being an introverted nerd living outside of Toledo, Ohio, and has allowed me to develop friendships the world over—if my work can inspire someone to dream or reach outside of themselves, to help find the greater world the way music helped me to do then I feel like I did something. I know that sounds lofty and presumptuous and corny as shit but that’s a lot of why I do what I do. “
