B-Side (magazine)

B-Side was a bi-monthly American alternative rock-and-roll magazine published from 1986 to 1996, based in the Philadelphia area. It placed particular emphasis on goth and industrial artists.

B-Side magazine, described by MTV as an "seminal East Coast fanzine,"^[1] was founded by Sandra. C. Davis, Sandra A. Garcia, and Carol Schutzbank in 1986. Garcia and Davis met Schutzbank through their work contributing to Terminal!, an earlier Philadelphia fanzine that had folded.^[2] They all held multiple roles with the new publication. Davis and Garcia were the publishers and art directors, later relabeled Design Direction. Davis was also the photo editor and principal photographer. Garcia was the executive managing editor and a writer. Schutzbank, who handled ad sales, marketing, and publicity, was also the senior contributing editor and a writer. Schutzbank was a fixture of the Philadelphia music scene;^[3] in addition to her work on B-Side, she also managed local bands such as Ruin and she co-producer the Delaware Valley Music Poll Awards.^[4] Garcia took over as advertising manager following Schutzbank's 1995 death.

Content in the bi-monthly publication included artist interviews, concert reviews, album reviews and overviews of festivals such as the New Music Seminar, South by Southwest, and the Reading Festival. It featured both editorial coverage and advertisements for major and independent label artists. Although other music alternative magazines also covered the music that was most popular on college radio and MTV's 120 Minutes in its era, B-Side carved a unique identity with an emphasis on goth and industrial music, evidenced by multiple cover stories on Gene Loves Jezebel, Ministry, and Skinny Puppy, and early championing of Nine Inch Nails. Ministry manager Jon Zarzula commented that, with regard to credibility with fans, "I'd rather be in B-Side than Rolling Stone."^[2] With three women at the top of its masthead and well represented among contributors, the magazine provided more coverage of female artists than was typical among music magazines of the period. For example, Siouxsie Sioux graced the cover three times, twice with Siouxsie & the Banshees and once with the Creatures. Garcia and Davis demonstrated their background and skill in graphic design^[2] in the magazine's layout.

B-Side produced 57 issues with improved production quality over its nearly 10-year run.^[2] The first dozen were black and white tabloids. With the February/March 1989 issue, it switched to a staple-bound format, still on black and white newsprint, but with a colored border around the glossy cover. It added a full color cover in December 1990/January 1991 and color interior pages in 1993. Circulation peaked at 30,000.^[2] Although primarily distributed in the U.S. and Canada, Tower Records carried it in their London stores.^[2] The magazine is still held by at least 14 libraries.^[5]

Publication was based in the Philadelphia area, initially in the suburb of Fort Washington, PA before jumping across the Delaware River to Burlington, NJ in 1990. Although many contributors were Philadelphia-based, from the start the roster included UK-based writer Andy Darlington, and the masthead soon credited contributors based in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and elsewhere, eventually including Toronto and Iceland. Staff included writers Joey Sweeney, who started writing while still in high school and before landing a column for Philadelphia Weekly and co-founding Philebrity.com;^[6] Bruce Warren, who was already a DJ at WXPN, where he would eventually be named Program Director; and Chicago-based photographer Bobby Talamine.^[7]

The magazine ceased publication in 1996.