Auxiliary Magazine

This may seem like a bit of an odd article, but it's also one that's well worth putting out to you. In an effort to support the subculture, we've stolen both Jennifer Link and Mike Kieffer of Auxiliary Magazine to have a nice little chat with us about their personal stories, their magazine, as well as their recent Kickstarter campaign to kick off print subscriptions. Read on to find out more about these two lovely denizens of the alternative lifestyle:

Let's get this interview started. It's a pleasure to have two other voices from another Alternative print/website here. Let's first talk a little about yourself, Jennifer. Stories are always neat, really. So, what really started your passion for the alternative life? Was it the music, the art, or a blend of everything?

Jennifer Link - "Thank you for the interview! It was definitely music. Well music that got me into the scene. I guess I've always liked art with a darker aesthetic. When I was young one of the first things I got really into was The Phantom of the Opera musical, I still remember going to Toronto to see if for my birthday. One of my first favorite movies was Interview with the Vampire and that got me reading and watching all things vampire. In high school all my friends were into punk. One day I got a hold of a compilation CD that had Ministry on it. That's when I got really passionate about music. My friends didn't listen to industrial so I had to piece it together on my own and randomly missed and found bands. Through the radio I found Nine Inch Nails and through a NIN remix, I found Meat Beat Manifesto. Through MTV I found Orgy and I think their music video for "Stitches" made my connection to the fashion. I started dressing however I wanted everyday in high school and had this red plaid Lip Service dress I loved. When I was 17, I started going to The Continental, Buffalo's goth club, which has long since closed. There I found EBM and synthpop."

When did you first stick with the idea of creating Auxiliary Magazine? And where did the name come from?

Jennifer Link - "I was living in NYC working a variety of photo related jobs... photo assistant, art director at a photo agency, etc. At the same time I was trying to build my own portfolio and shooting mostly alternative models and alternative fashion designers. That was my passion. And after a year there, I realized I really wanted to take what I had learned by assisting on fashion editorial shoots for major magazines and use it to create alternative fashion editorials. I was finding there were not many magazines for me to submit photo sets to. I got the idea to start one, to make the magazine I wished existed. I moved back to where I grew up, Buffalo and started the magazine with Mike, Meagan Hendrickson, a good, very fashionable friend of ours, and another Buffalo photographer Luke Copping. We worked for many weeks to come up with a name while we developed our ideas for the magazine. Auxiliary was the first name we all liked. We liked it because it kinda means alternative and it also means to provide support, which was part of our mission statement, to provide a high quality magazine to support and feature the best from the alternative scene. It was also a word that wasn't really used within the scene, so it could be our own word."

When you first started the magazine, did you have any help? And did you get any reception from the scene regarding your first issue? Was it positive? Or negative?

Jennifer Link - "We had a lot of help for sure. We had 4 editors at the time. We still do but half our team has changed over the years. Now we have Tasha Farrington as fashion editor and Dylan Madeley as copy editor, both located in Toronto. When we started, I reached out to many of my contacts from NYC and Toronto. We were able to feature our wishlist designers and interview our wishlist artists right away, which was really amazing. Our first cover had Sharon TK from NYC, she came to Buffalo to shoot with myself and our fashion editor at the time Meagan. Our first fashion editorial, Lip Service sent us a huge box of clothes to shoot! I don't think we had a music interview in our first issue, just reviews. But for our second issue we got to interview Fever Ray, Karin Dreijer Andersson, one half of The Knife! And Babyland, this great industrial band from LA that has since broken up. I don't think we showed the first issue to anyone until it was done and released. But we had a lot of contributors to even the first issue. Luckily we've almost always gotten very positive feedback.

I understand that you both contribute photos to your magazine as well as sometimes writing an article here and there. Do you only write when you really feel the urge to go off about something that's bothering you, or is it something you do when you're really passionate about a certain topic that needs to be explored?

Jennifer Link - "I shoot most of the product shots for each issue as they are easier to do here and not very glamorous to do. I try to shoot editorials when I can. The last few issues I have shot an editorial for each issue so I am taking a break and not shooting any for a bit. It's a lot of work to do the editing side of things and create content so I do it in waves. We have so many great photographers we work with now! I write when there is something I'm really passionate about. Mostly when there is something I really want included in an issue."

Mike Kieffer - "Me and camera's don't work well together, everything I shoot comes out blurry. I do help with photo selection when I can and I get really excited when I get my way, which is rare. As far as articles go I write when I feel I have something worth saying but mostly I am too busy handling music related features to contribute any major article."

Recently, you've started up a Kickstarter for the site. You're looking to not only run with a digital edition of your magazine, but also print. What made you want to get out a physical version of your magazine in a world where digital merchandise is becoming increasingly more popular than ever?

Jennifer Link - "Yup we are running a Kickstarter to launch subscriptions. Magazines look best in print. We run a lot of full page photos and they really look best in print. But digital is easier to gain access to and easier to get out there. So I think we will always do both. Til now we had an online edition that was free, a PDF digital edition that was also free, and a print on demand print edition. The free formula will not let us improve or grow anymore, it's kinda become impossible to maintain. So with the Kickstarter we are switching to a paid digital edition and a paid print edition. To get our print costs to a reasonable level, we need to do print runs and print a set number of issues upfront. So the Kickstarter is to get funds to print the next 3 issues so we can fulfill subscriptions. Basically we are pre-selling subscriptions. We have a preview edition of our newest issue so readers can have a peak on our website. We will also continue to have weekly website content."

A lot of the times, piracy is a problem in this smaller, but influential subculture we have. Do you fear that your sales might be effected due to piracy of digital editions? Or is that something you're not too concerned with?

Jennifer Link - "I know that's a reality and there isn't much you can do about it. Music gets stolen all the time. Same can happen with our digital editions. But I hope our readers understand that doing that means we can't produce an issue. I think people are becoming more aware of that now. Art deserves to be supported. Many of our readers are artists, models, designers, musicians. They understand supporting art and creativity. In subcultures everyone has their own creative outlet. It's all a big web. I see that more than ever now. We need to spend money on the things we love, we need to spend money on our own scene, keep it in the scene, support each other. Don't shop at huge stores, buy from small designers. Go to shows and give your money directly to musicians, buy merch, support them. It's more important than ever now."

Alright, we'll let Jennifer settle down for a bit. Mike, it's time for you to speak up. Let's hear your "How I Fell In Love With The Alternative Scene" story.

Mike Kieffer - "It is hard for me to remember that far back, but I do remember my first taste, it was in 1990 or '91 when a bunch of my friends were hanging out at the mall and we bought Ministry's Mind is a Terrible Thing To Taste. They didn't like it and I fell in love, this started me into the music. As far as culture goes it would be going to The Continental (local goth club) when I was 16, we got in because a friend of ours was dating the bouncer, I was naive and really just stood in the corner until it was time to go home."

Jennifer Link - "We can't both say Ministry and The Continental!"

You are the head music editor for Auxiliary Magazine. This is definitely of interest to me as Brutal Resonance is mainly a site that reviews music. Do you hold any standards over your music section when an article is submitted?

Mike Kieffer - "I have a great team of reviewers who have great taste so I don't have to monitor them too much. I just end up coordinating what is going to get reviewed and settle any disputes if they all want to review the same thing. I do end up filtering through everything we get submitted and try and keep up on what is coming out and make strong recommendations that things do get reviewed. Being that we only review 12 albums an issue we are pretty lucky that we don't have to cover average music."

You also write reviews and interviews yourself. Do you mainly try to review music that you enjoy, or do you just find random artists to explore into?

Mike Kieffer - "I am always on the hunt for music that no one has heard of yet. I was heavy into raves from '99 to '04 where I was a DJ, I always wanted to have the freshest beats dropping and challenge the dance floor. I am the same way when it comes to reviews, I want people to find out about something through my reviews, not read about something they already own."

Something that I've had happen to me before when giving out a negative review is that I can sometimes receive hate mail. Did you ever write a negative review and get hate mail? And, if so, how did you deal with the situation?

Mike Kieffer - "I rarely get negative hate mail, but when I do I just let them know that I am only one opinion and any publicity is good publicity. If they want to post on their fFacebook about how Mike from Auxiliary is a fucking tasteless jerk then do it because all 20 of their friends now know about us. I did have an awkward situation when I reviewed The Gothsicles album, which I gave and average review, and we ran into Brian (lead singer) at a bar where he started going off on how Auxiliary gave him a bad review, I just said, 'Yeah, them jerks!'"

You also try to market Auxiliary Magazine as best you can. What methods do you undertake to do so?

Mike Kieffer - "I feel music is an afterthought in alternative culture now. We have models and designers we deal with all the time and I ask them what they listen to and I get a range from metal, 80s, nothing, country and everything in between. So I just try and keep the music on the darker side of things; electro-industrial, postpunk, witchy shit, dark techno, etc. It is what I like to listen to and it visually fits the image we are going for."

Now, these questions are directed towards the both of you. What do you think the main appeal behind Auxiliary Magazine is? Why does it attract so many people, and what does it hold over other sites?

Jennifer Link - "We aim to make high quality content, sophisticated content that takes the scene seriously, and it's made by really talented contributors so I think that shows and is the main appeal of the magazine. I hope it's that, that it covers things that people love and are very passionate about and the coverage is done well. We try to feature a wide range, it's not too wide as there are a lot of genres we don't cover, but we try to cover many subcultures and mesh them together. The scene, at least here in the states, is too small to compartmentalize. I think things need to mesh together more. So we cover many styles and that brings more people. I want to interact more with other subculture media out there. Doing this interview is really great. Webzines and blogs can cover things in a way we often can't but I hope we can paint the larger picture. I hope with our new format to pursue ideas more. I hope we can do even more collaborations with other sites and magazines and blogs. Again a big web, a big network."

Where do you think you could improve Auxiliary Magazine? Do you see it having any weaknesses?

Jennifer Link - "We are consistently trying to improve the magazine. With each issue I think we get more and more ambitious. With print on demand we have had a limited page count because it's so expensive to print that way. So if the Kickstarter is successful, we can increase the page count. That will open up room for more articles. I want to bring more in depth articles into the issues, we've done some but I want more in every issue. And more opinion pieces again. We have a lot of ideas we want to try out."

And, aside from the physical print version of the magazine planned, do you have anything else big planned for Auxiliary Magazine? Perhaps even an event sponsored by you guys?

Jennifer Link - "I don't want to get to ahead of ourselves but yes, that is the hope. The format switch with the Kickstarter will make the magazine more stable. That will allow us to pursue other ideas. We have hopes to do special editions, smaller digest style issues that come out in addition to regular issues once a year. We would love to do more events. We have done release parties in Buffalo, Toronto, LA, and elsewhere. We have done fashion shows and special events too. Would love to get back to doing events. And sponsoring other events and getting out there more with that. Going to festivals to vend, sponsoring festivals. The last year we've had to focus on issues to really keep the magazine afloat. If the magazine becomes more stable, then we can expand and grow."

Now, as far as the Kickstarter campaign regards, how is that going so far? Do you think you'll be able to reach your goal in time? Has the response been well?

Jennifer Link - "We are at a tough point right now. We had a good launch but it's leveled out in the middle. We are getting backers everyday but not as many as we need to get there. We are very hopeful that the end will get us there. Some Kickstarters get most of their pledges in the last few days and that's looking like what ours will be like. We need to get the momentum up this week. So those of you reading this, hint hint hint, please consider pledging, every little bit helps! We have a niche market, so we aren't getting the masses the way video games on there do. We aren't really asking for donations, our pledge rewards are set at their value, our print subscription reward is $40, print subscriptions will cost $40. We have so much buzz going that I hope that will translate to more backers soon. I hope people back now because I'd hate to get close to our goal in the end but not quite there. It's all or nothing!"

Now, should the Kickstarter fail, what would your next move be?

Jennifer Link - "We have a backup plan, but it's not ideal. And it could mean cutting back the number of issues a year. Or the cost of digital and print editions being higher than what we had hoped for. We really hope it's successful. We want to keep Auxiliary going! We want to make it even better!"

On a more positive note, if the Kickstarter succeeds, are you going to attempt to make the print version out for as long as Auxiliary Magazine lasts?

Jennifer Link - "I never want to get rid of the print version. Again, it's just easier to read magazines in print. They make you take things in more. The photos look best that way. Sometimes it's easier to read a long article in print. So we plan to always keep print there. If the Kickstarter doesn't work then print will be expensive. But it will be there for those who want it. We plan to always have a digital edition two. Both formats are needed."

And, this is where I leave off. I leave you two room to input any final words you wish to say:

Jennifer Link - "Thank you again so much for interviewing us, it's been a pleasure! We love Brutal Resonance and it's been great working together. Those reading this, please take a minute to watch our Kickstarter video and check out our website and Kickstarter page. We hope you'll consider subscribing. The more reviews, the more interviews, the more music, the more media covering subculture, the better!"


For more information on Auxiliary Magazine, check out the homepage: http://auxiliarymagazine.com/

Donate to the Kickstarter via this link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jenniferlink/auxiliary-magazine-subscriptions-launch