As a teen, John Slate already was publisher of his own “fanzine,” which covered Austin’s music scene.
Our latest print issue — which is about Lake Highlands’ buried and oft-forgotten history and should be arriving about now, features a story about Dallas’ city archivist John Slate — who recently moved to Lake Highlands. In the intro to our Q&A, I compare Slate’s youth to that of Cameron Crowe, the teenager portrayed in the movie, “Almost Famous.” Slate argues this comparison was a wild exaggeration, by the way.
But, I counter: As a high schooler, Slate created his own fanzine and became an Austin-based music and concert reporter; he also received inspiration from Lester Bangs, who actually guest-edited and published a poem in Slate’s rag.
I mean, c’mon. Am I right?
Here’s the full interview. Please take a moment to read it—his job is utterly fascinating. Plus, post-production, we were able to pry even more insightful gems from the hands of the humble archivist and author.
A photo of his fanzine, which he called Xiphoid Process (up top) and a picture of him at a Bad Brains show, which he says ranks among his top five ever. Go ahead and guess which one is Slate. Us Advocate editors, who know the guy fairly well, guessed immediately.
As a budding music journalist, City of Dallas archivist John Slate covers a Bad Brains concert (Photo courtesy John Slate)
