Jammerzine has an exclusive interview with CREEM CEO John Martin. To say that this is something I am proud of would be an understatement. My family grew up with CREEM. All the way out in Indiana we got CREEM. To say it was the Bible for music would be a misnomer, though. It was that whose who of people we may not have heard of but need to listen to. It was that directory of cool and suave and companion that let us know there was true music out there. While I was a little boy at the time and was relegated to Boy’s Life and could only read my cousin’s issues, I learned through CREEM that there were whole other lives out there in music and that, in more ways than one, that CREEM truly was ‘America’s only Rock N’ Roll magazine’.

In today’s interview, we talk with one of the minds behind the resurrection and continuation of an iconic story for music’s sake, John Martin. As CREEM’s CEO, John gives us a first hand account at how CREEM has come back to us as well as where CREEM is headed, and much, much more.

About CREEM Magazine

One of the most unlikely and successful media launches of the year, CREEM debuted its first magazine issue since 1989 in September, along with the CREEM Archive featuring every issue from the magazine’s original 20 year run. Vanity Fair revealed the first print cover for the new oversized subscription-only premium quarterly, featuring original art by the legendary Raymond Pettibon (responsible for Sonic Youth’s Goo album cover & others), along with stories on The Who, Terry Allen, Special Interest &KeiyaA, a reassessment of The Osmonds’ metal album and revival of their Stars Cars column with Slash. Also in September, CREEM produced a limited run of David Bowie special edition magazines to celebrate the release of Brett Morgen’s Moonage Daydream in partnership with NEON.

Founded in 1969 Detroit, CREEM grew from underground paper to national powerhouse – an essential source of music journalism for twenty years. It reflected and shaped the culture, cultivating some of the most legendary writing talent of the era: Lester Bangs, Cameron Crowe, Patti Smith, Robert Christgau and Jaan Uhelszki, who now returns as editor. The magazine’s original rise and fall is chronicled in the critically-acclaimed 2020 documentary CREEM: America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine, which earned praise everywhere from The New York Times to CBS This Morning.

Today, CREEM Entertainment is led by former VICE publisher John Martin as CEO, alongside Chairman JJ Kramer (son of original CREEM co-founder & publisher Barry Kramer). In addition to Uhelszki, the new CREEM editorial staff includes VP of Content Fred Pessaro formerly of VICE’s Noisey, Executive Editor Dan Morrissey from Entertainment Weekly, and Senior Editor Maria Sherman, following her work at NPR, Rolling Stone, BuzzFeed, Jezebel, Netflix, ELLE and her critically acclaimed book, LARGER THAN LIFE: A History of Boy Bands. Editorial Director Dave Carnie has worked with Jackass, ESPN, Big Brother, and Penthouse. Grace Scott joins as Associate Editor after her work with VICE & The Toronto Star, and Zachary Lipez as Editor at Large, following his work with Pitchfork, The Washington Post and others. This fall, CREEM welcomed Stephanie Augello as Photo Editor. Augello is an entertainment photographer and editor who has worked with Live Nation, Shutterstock Editorial, and ABC.

CREEM Entertainment is the modern-day reincarnation of Detroit’s legendaryCREEM Magazine. During its initial twenty-year run, CREEM launched the careers of countless iconic music journalists and bands, while never hesitating to lampoon those who took themselves too seriously. Today’s CREEM, powered by the next generation of cage-rattling truth tellers and provocateurs, delivers the best content, merchandise, and experiences to rock ‘n’ roll fans of all ages. Boy Howdy!

Featured image by Margarida Malarkey.

LINKS:
https://creemmag.com
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https://www.facebook.com/creemmag
https://www.instagram.com/creemmag