Tutti Pazzi was the (music) fanzine (concentrating on HC & metal) edited by ‘Roby’ Roberto Saccone (from Savona, southwest of Genua/Genova). The idea to do this was born in 1986. Before that he had plans to do first fanzine Shrapnel (named after a thrash band from his hometown) – but that didn’t work out – and he also used to sing in the band ‘No Corruption’.
Roberto provided issues 1-7 (except for #6; and some that appeared later on but fall outside the scope of this archive).
#1 contained interviews with ‘Atrox’, Paul ‘Chain’ Catena, ‘Deathrage’ (speedmetal band from Milano) & ‘Necrodeath’ (thrash band from Genova); info on ‘Negazione’s Little Dreamer LP and reviews.
#2 (’88) features various Italian bands such as ‘Schizo’ (“deathcore” from Catania), ‘Crime Gang Bang’ (HC from Alassio/Imperia), ‘Death SS’ (metal from Firenze), etc.; there’s also an Australia HC scene special, a presentation of ‘Crash Box’, and more.
#3 (’89) contains quite some demo-reviews; brief chats with a multitide of thrash/metal bands (e.g. ‘Death In Action’ from Germany & ‘Ice Age’ from Sweden) and a few HC bands (‘Infezione’, ‘Eversor’, ‘Jesus Went To Jerusalem’, ‘Fallout’ & ‘Agnostic Front’).
#4 (’89): interviews with ‘Massacra’ (deathmetal, Ermont, Fra) ‘Agathocles’, ‘Mortem’ (black/death metal, Oslo, Nor), ‘Usurper’ (thrash, Vlaardingen, NL) and many more; there’s also a presentation of Roby’s own band ‘No Corruption’. and reviews.
#5 includes conversations with Roberto Farano of ‘Negazione’, ‘Pablo’ of the Swiss ‘Brains Of Humans’, ‘Rabid Duck’ (HC band from Ravenna), and loads more; there’s scenereport from Greece (by ‘Panos’ of Decapitated zine) and reviews.
The cover of #6 mentions ‘Kina’, ‘Rostok Vampires’, ‘Contropotere’, ‘Maze’, ‘Desecration’, …
#7 (“extreme underground zine”) features ‘Pungent Stench (from Vienna), ‘Entombed’ (deathmetal from Stockholm) and ‘molto di più‘.
From a biography by Roberto (www): >>Not happy with the result of Shrapnel, I rolled up my sleeves and with a certain commitment I changed the name [Tutti Pazzi (“all crazy people”) was of course inspired by ‘Negazione’.]. The first 3 issues were A5, from the 4th onwards I used A4. There was also an experiment with an issue entirely in English (I don’t remember which one [#8]) which I immediately abandoned (too much confusion in translating the various articles). In the mid-90s the Italian version of Metal Hammer nominated Tutti Pazzi the best fanzine of the month. I also organised concerts (metal to HC/punk) under that name, in various venues in Savona, for about ten years (together with other friends). 26 issues have come out (the 27th in preparation [2022]) and two specials, one dedicated to Italian musical essayists, the other to local D.I.Y. labels. The zine is completely self-produced and self-managed, it’s on paper, photocopied, b/w.<<
‘Jesus Went To Jerusalem’ was a HC/thrash band (“powerful and heavy mixture of hardcore, funk and hard rock”) from Garessio (south of Torino; near the French border) with Fausto Balbo (guitar), Simone Basso (vocals), Roberto Leardi (drums) & Franco Gulotta (bass). Besides the two mentioned demos, the Swiss Resistance Productions released a split-tape with ‘Brains Of Humans’. In the 90s some of them played in ‘Der Tod’ (an “underground metal act combining industrial elements with more progressive solutions”)…
‘Jesus Went To Jerusalem’ were formed on 01/05/88 from the ashes of two local bands: ‘M.O.X.’ and ‘Nevrotica’. The former are known for a pretty good demo that was reviewed in the metal magazine HM, the latter however unknown to everyone.
Answers by Fausto.
SMALL HISTORY OF THE BAND?
‘J.W.T.J.’ were born on May 1st 1988 as an instrumental outfit and were very much influenced by ‘Black Flag’s album Family Man. After a few months our first demo was released with an instrumental A-side and the spoken B-side. In the autumn of the same year, Franco (ex ‘M.O.X.’) joined us on bass and the former bassist Simone switched to vocals. After a few months, a second demo (horrible both recording- and content-wise) arrived December 16th, when we had done four concerts: Firenze – Torino – Imperia – Roma, not very successful because we didn’t have a stage-presence. The turning point was in La Spezia on December 17th, with a fairly successful concert and a good presence. From there on we moved on to the new year with two concerts in Imperia; the first with ‘Capite Damnare’ [anarcho-punk band from Milano / Verona] and the second with ‘Perjury’ (UK) on 26 March; these concerts were a great success. The last concert (for now) was on April 1st at Virus (Milano) which suffered from the terrible organisation and the clashes between the ‘managers’ of the place. Now two compilation-LPs with some of our songs on them should be released, the first on E.S.T. [Edizioni Storie Tese] from Alassio [Giú Le Mani; 1989] and the second on Goddam Church recs from Ascoli [Attitudine Mentale Positiva; 1990].
WHERE DID YOU GET THIS PARTICULAR NAME FOR THE BAND?
It comes from a theme developed by our vocalist Simone which talks about an unlucky boy who tries to get by with his group despite various problems, and that group is called ‘Jesus Went To Jerusalem’. We really like the name, it’s quite original!
DO YOU THINK THE LYRICS ARE IMPORTANT?
The lyrics are important to us but not on a political level; they talk about the different situations in which one lives her/his life. Simone writes them and he prefers to talk about topics close to everyday life, perhaps from a pessimistic perspective.
DO YOU THINK WHAT IS DONE IN ITALY IS SUFFICIENT FOR THE HC SCENE?
No! There’s a lot of carelessness lately and people who once worked hard have locked themselves in a ghetto. For us it doesn’t make sense to distribute the same products just in one particular circuit, we need to reach people outside of it too. Luckily not all people in the Italian HC scene have blinders on; see for example what ‘Kina’s label Blu Bus does.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN STAIGHT-EDGE?
Personally, I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t smoke and I don’t use drugs: but I don’t define myself as straight-edge because I don’t like labels; it’s ghettoizing yourself. The others in the band think like me; they drink a few beers every now and then but never more than they should.
IS THERE A SCENE IN YOUR REGION?
Unfortunately this question can be answered with a simple no!!!
HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED ABROAD?
At the moment not because I’m leaving for military service [compulsory in Italy at that time] in the summer, but once that problem is resolved, we’ll take off. We already had the possibility of playing some dates in France in the summer but for now it’s not possible!
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT D.I.Y.?
It’s wonderful if it’s carried out by people who are aware of what they’re doing. Most of the time it’s an excuse like any other to do what you want by harming others.
CAN YOU MAKE A LIST OF THE 5 MOST BEAUTIFUL RECORDS OF ’88?
For me they are: Sweet Life by ‘GOD’, Do It by the ‘Rollins Band’, Danzig by ‘Danzig’, Ultramega OK by ‘Soundgarden’, Mornful Cries by ‘Saint Vitus’, and then I would say one of the best of the first months of ‘89 is Wrede by the great ‘Gore’.
TELL US WHAT YOU WANT…
First of all, thanks for the space in this zine, thanks to everyone who is interested in a forthcoming compilation album with ‘J.W.T.J.’, ‘Crime Gang Bang’, ‘Ulcera’ & ‘102 Truffe’, with 4 pieces by each band. [Giú Le Mani; out on Edizioni Storie Tese 1989]
Write to: Fausto Balbo, Garessio (Cuneo).
VOGLIO ESSERE LIBERO (I WANT TO BE FREE)
I want to be free
I don’t need the money
I don’t want any gifts anyway
I’ll be interested
Freedom is doing what you want
It’s not something you can put…
In rhyme
There’s no explanation
I feel it inside the prison
Of our existence
It’s a burden that makes you cry and oppresses you
Free at last, but not
With a syringe in my arm,
With a mercedes
Free to live, free to do
What I want
Maybe one day you will understand what
I mean but it will be too late
You will always have remorse
Of a life that could have
Been the opposite
NON COMPRENDO (I DON’T UNDERSTAND)
On the streets of total alienation
The value of life is irrelevant
The ephemeral partially dominates
The compromise becomes castrating
I don’t understand
All this optimism
I don’t understand
The triumph of exhibitionism
In the system of the great illusion
Happiness is important
And an incubationperiod
For a future that will never be
MOMENTI DI GIOIA (MOMENTS OF JOY)
A few instants, a few moments
They arrive without warning
They almost always leave too soon
…And to think that there are people who believe
To buy them with money
…Illusions…
Brob Tilt's zine-world 2 