Melbourne Herald Sun Friday February 4, 2011
We're familiar with our society having an 'Underbelly' thanks to the media's exposure of a criminal world circulating beneath our horizon. But I'm equally fascinated by the 'Underfeet' that scurry around us, and that most of us never even notice.
You see the evidence when you walk down Chapel or Brunswick Streets or go to any alternative store. Those piles of magazines and booklets stacked next to the windows or in doorways, or in racks at the café.
You should take a look inside, it's a whole new world. If you're over 25 you'll scarcely know it exists.
The magazines call themselves "streetpress". They come in all shapes and sizes and qualities. And they are free, paid for by their advertisers.
Born in the 80s out of the alternative "zines" movement, they have become increasingly polished and professional. They have art directors and journalists. And they are a good way for an aspiring reporter to get some experience and a toe-hold in the profession.
Their major source of revenue is entertainment advertising. The live-music rock 'n' roll clubs, the touring overseas stars, the big gigs and little cafes, and scores of singers and bands, a whole industry operating below the radar. These are the magazines that cater for them.
You won't see many names you recognise, this is strictly youth culture. Bands with names like The Bloody Beetroots, Social Distortion, and Trash Talk. Within it cliques are catered for: heavy metal, punk, pop, blues - every style has its groups of adherents who spend a lot of their time dashing from gig to gig, following their heroes.
Their magazines are called Beat and 3D World, Fashion Journal and Impress, Rave in Brisbane and X-Press in Perth.
They give the fans all the news of the stars and the coming events that the mainstream don't even notice. "The first cover picture for Midnight Oil was in a streetpress magazine," said Craig Treweek, publisher of Inpress. "It was three years before the mainstream press recognised them."
Many years on, the dailies are more aware and have learned a lot from the freebies. But in turn the street mags have to be ever more avant garde, otherwise what's the point?
You know those strange outfits and clothing combinations you come across in the street or among your younger relatives? The mismatched tops and tights, the garish layering, the sprawling tattoos?
Well they are following fashion trends just as defined as Dior or Chanel. They are the fashions of the counter-culture, the rebellion against classics and formality.
The irony is that the street is where Gaultier and Lacroix go to seek their new fashion inspirations. From the back streets of Paris or the tenements of Harlem they bring back the ripped t-shirts and sagging jeans, then slap a $1000 designer label on them.
You'll see all this in action in the streetpress. This month's Cherie has a spread of glamorous shots in which the model is dressed entirely in artfully-composed garbage bags and gaffer tape. I don't expect to see that at the Lord Mayor's Ball for a while yet.
"We've made incredible progress in the past 20 years," says Jaymz Clements, Editor of Beat. He credits much of the advance on the increasing sophistication – at lower costs – of publishing software.
"These days we are getting advertisers like NAB and Nissan, who once would not have come anywhere near our magazines."
But customers are customers and their money's just as good, even when it’s carried on the underfeet.
ray@ebeatty.com
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