It’s been a while since Lansing’s had a prominent music magazine, but music fan, writer and Lansing Community College (LCC) student RichTupica is turning up the heat on Lansing music with his new Turn It Down music zine.
“I spent a lot of my life hanging out in Lansing,” says Tupica, who grew up in Detroit and also lived in New York and Kalamazoo. “I kind of missed the area and wanted to learn about the local music scene and see who was good.”
Since more and more bands use Myspace rather than fliers as a promotional tool, Tupica found himself spending a lot of time rooting around social Web sites for new talent.
“I’m trying to get to people who are overlooked and not generic,” he says.
He definitely didn’t have trouble finding content or locals interested in helping him give a clearer definition of the area’s music scene. Tupica’s written about many local bands including The Cartridge Family (TCF), the Breakups and the Plurals.
“It’s like they never really get approached,” Tupica says about the bands he writes about. “Other than the City Pulse, they don’t really have anyone who covers them.”
Tupica released his first issue in June. He distributed 4,000 copies to local record stores, coffee shops and Downtown Lasing businesses. He expects to release the second issue by the end of the month.
Tupica just put up an online version of Turn It Down. He says he’s trying to release new issues every several months.
Source: Rich Tupica, Turn It Down
Ivy Hughes, development news editor, can be reached here.
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