Interview with Roel of Tripalium Zine 2013

Tripalium zine interview
Chronicore Zine 2013

CHRONIC GREETINGS ! PLEASE TELL US YOUR NAME AND THE DETAILS OF YOUR ZINE.
Greetings Anto. Roel here of Tripalium Zine. Tripalium, focuses on unsigned and lesser known bands without regards to genres. My main interest though are grindcore, old school death metal and brutal death.

WHAT  MOTIVATED YOU TO START PUBLISHING YOUR OWN ZINE?
Back in the 80's punk zines have fascinated me and I always wanted to have my own. Unfortunately I don't have the resources to start with back then . Only when I worked in Saudi Arabia that my dream became reality.

HOW DID YOU COME OUT WITH THE NAME OF YOUR ZINE?
It's actually an amalgam of the words "Trip" and the latin word "Pallium", meaning cloak. My personal meaning to the word is travelling in darkness. Then in an old issue of Readers Digest I read about the torture instrument called Tripalium. The name stuck into my mind ever since.
Even before I actually started the zine I already have the logo done inspired my Sarcofago's logo.That was around 90-91. I think I still have that design in my vault.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH A THEME FOR YOUR ZINE?
I don't have a certain theme. Whatever gets into my head, I put them into the pages of my zine.

WHAT ZINES INSPIRES YOU?
Back in the day, early Pinoy punk/Hardcore zines like Oi!banger, but Werewolf and Inverted Grind zines inspiredme to push through.

CAN YOU STILL REMEMBER YOUR VERY FIRST ROMANCE WITH A ZINE?  WHAT ZINE WAS IT?
With indie fanzine, I can't really remember the name but it featured cut-out article of Metallica from foreign magazines together with some local punk and hardcore bands. I have already read the Metallica article that time but seeing it in a totally different layout looks far more awesome. As early as 85/86 I already have access to mags like Creem, Metal Creem and Hit Parader thru my old ally from Gapo but a photocopied, rough laid-out zine had much more appeal to me.   

WHEN DID YOUR ZINE'S FIRST ISSUE COME OUT?
It was in 2001, I think. I started publishing online at first and about a year later I decided to have it printed. I was still in Saudi Arabia that time.

HOW MANY ISSUES HAVE YOU PUBLISHED SO FAR?
I printed 3 issues, the fourth one, which was supposed to be my biggest issue, was never printed but some of the interviews and reviews were posted online. I'm now working on the fifth issue.

IS YOUR ZINE FOR SALE/NOT FOR SALE/FOR TRADE?
It's basically for trade. I sold a few copies and some distros carried it but majority of the prints went into promotion and trades. 

HOW DID YOU GET IT OUT THERE?
Basically, through trade and consignment from indie labels and distros. Sending out hundreds of flyers in the mail helped a lot in spreading the word too. But that was then, now it's mainly through social media.

WHO WAS THE FIRST BAND/PEOPLE YOU INTERVIEWED? HOW?
Rumblebelly via e-mail. When I contacted Alvin I was so excited when he agreed for an interview, I’m a big fan. Unfortunately it turned out  very disappointing. I almost shelved that interview, haha. 

HOW DO YOU GATHER AND ROUND UP CONTRIBUTORS?
I work for my zine alone but if someone wanted to contribute something that is of similar interest as mine then I'll accept it with two horns up!

IT WAS A VERY LONG STRUGGLE, HOW HAVE YOUR POLICIES TOWARDS ADVERTISING AND REVIEWS CHANGED THROUGH OUT THIS YEARS?
Advertising? If you're talking about flyers, they were all printed for free, haha. Back in the days when review was part of the records' lifeline I review both purchased and submitted materials but since it's very easy to access records without spending a single cent nowadays, I think doing review is a lot less relevant. Unfortunately for kids today band support means downloading mp3's.  That's a real shame. 

YOUR GOALS?
To have this fifth issue printed and to keep the zine running for as long as I could.

YOU ALSO HAVE YOUR OWN LABEL, CAN YOU ALSO SHARE THE DETAILS WITH US?
After years of hibernation Condemned Records was awaken by the smell of blood and weed that permeates the air of Cavite. In collaboration with Alex IDP's Berdugo Records, we are going to release a split CD with two of local sludge bands; Malicious Birth from Quezon City and Cavite’s own Tsimpayne . We're just waiting for Alex to finish his current projects and we'll start with the split. 

WHEN WILL THE NEXT "CARNAGE" GONNA BE?
Unfortunately you were not there when we terrorized my quite village last March. It felt like a fuckin' re-union. Imagine guys that I haven't seen in a long while showed up to support the gig. The underground is really one happy community, haha.
Next year will be the 10th year of Rural Carnage and I intend to celebrate this with another event, and this time with better sound and a more accessible venue. I’ve already contacted a few people to help me out for this one, haha.

WHERE CAN THE READERS CONTACT YOU?
I'm on fakebook, www.facebook.com/tripaliumzine and you can also read the latest updates about Tripalium zine at http://tripaliumzine.blogspot.com/. 

BIG THANKS FOR THIS INTIE BOSSING !
Thanks a lot Chief for the interview. Hope I can stop by your dungeon one of these days. Keep up the good work and stay strong.