Fish Rap Live!

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Fish Rap Live!

The FRL! masthead, created by Drew Breunig in 2005. Info as of Winter 2007.
Type Tri-weekly newspaper
Format Tabloid
Founded 1988/1990
Price Free
Circulation 3,000
Readership 11,250
Headquarters UC Santa Cruz, USA
Editor Janelle Evans
Asst. Editors Stephanie Foo, Brian Hickey
Ad Manager Dan Miller-Schroeder
Staff Writers Janelle Evans, David Kirkendall, Matt Lieb, Stephanie Foo, Brian Hickey, Dan Miller-Schroeder, Chris Reagan, Meagan French, Melissa Stevens, Randy Walker, Steve Kaye, Becky Pederson, Sabrina Vogeley, Skip Wallace, Josh Behr, Sean Brooks, Diana Poindexter, Courtney Johnson, Nicole Kunzick, Tim O'Neil, Scott Karoly, Richard Sordello, Will Norton-Mosher, more.
Copy Editor
Illustrators Stephanie Foo, Sabrina Vogeley, Richard
Photographers Stephanie Foo, Staff
Layout Artists Janelle Evans, Stephanie Foo, Dan Miller-Schroeder, Brian Hickey, Staff

Fish Rap Live!, also known as FRL!, is a monthly alternative publication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. With an estimated readership of 11,250, it is the most-widely read and most popular student-run paper on the Central Coast campus.

Contents

[edit] History

The Fish Rap was originally founded in the late 1980's at UCSC's Cowell College without official campus sponsorship and was distributed as an indie zine. Its name was a pun referring to the traditional practice of using day-old newspapers to wrap fish. When its members graduated, however, the zine folded.

In 1990, a new group of Cowell students -- affectionately deemed "The Founding Flounders" by subsequent staff members -- decided to resurrect the Fish Rap. There are several rumors (of varying levels of both bizarreness and plausability) about the addition of "Live!" to the end of the original name, but the one given most credence is that the new publication was initially supposed to be called The Fish Rap Lives! but a typing error removed the final "s." Funded at first by the Cowell Alumni Association and with money fronted by its editorial staff, the paper has since garnered official University sponsorship and financial support. Today's FRL! is known for being edgy and unabashed in its publishing style and frequently parodies the other campus papers, in particular City on a Hill Press and The Project.

The Fish Rap Live! frequently practices a form of writing associated with the late Hunter S. Thompson called "gonzo journalism," which involves a more personally involved and novelistic approach to writing articles than is allowed by traditional newswriting conventions. When, for example, the FRL! sent a team of reporters south to cover the 1992 Los Angeles riots, the narratives they brought back drew their conclusions from the authors' interactions with the social microcosms they encountered amidst the chaos of the riots, rather than relying the top-down, integrative approach demanded by straight, mainstream journalism to unify news stories.[1].

The FRL! belongs to the tradition of the college humor magazines that have shaped the ribald humor of modern sketch comedy and youth-oriented television programming. Drugs and debauchery are traditional go-to subjects. The paper has also had an ongoing sex column for several years, which is currently written by an FRL! staffer going under the pseudonym of "Jenny Télia."

FRL! was the subject of a 2003 book called Fish Lips [2] by Andy Lochrie, with a forward written by former UCSC faculty member and noted economist and actor Ben Stein.

[edit] Recognition

While at UCSC, the Fish Rap staff have contributed to:

The paper also received two Gold Circle Awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association in 2002 in the General or Humor Column and Ad Design categories [7]and one in 1999 for Illustration Portfolios and Editorial Cartooning. [8]. It has also won awards for anti-sexist reporting in 1996, as well as honorable mentions for sense of humor, design and general reporting from a panel featuring leading names in the alternative-journalism world, such as syndicated columnist Norman Solomon and Mother Jones managing editor Patti Wolter. Wolter, according to a Fish Rap press release, described the UCSC paper as "lively, smart, funny, and thought-provoking."[citation needed]

Alumni of the Fish Rap have contributed to many publications such as Vice, Wired, NYLON Magazine and SF Weekly. They have worked at the Denver Weekly and the Chicago Tribune and written several books, including Fish Lips, Design for Community, Apple Sweat, and San Fransisco Stories.

Current regular contributors to the Fish Rap Live! include Nicholas Gurewitch of "Perry Bible Fellowship" fame.

[edit] Ongoing Features

The Faux - Fake news in the style of The Onion.

Overheard in Santa Cruz - Reader-submitted recollections of humorous, and often frightening, exchanges overheard around the Santa Cruz area.

Sex Column - An advice column that addresses readers' sexual inquiries in a direct, helpful, and irreverent way. The column has been written by Lacey Hotpants (2003-2006), Mona Lott (2005-2006), and Jenny Télia (2006-2007).

God's Gifts ( -2005) - A "Top Five" list. Example headings: "5 Reasons why the Sun is God's Gift to the Solar System," "5 Reasons why Your Mom is God's Gift to The Comeback."

David Kirkendall Presents - A photo cartoon that literalizes the titles of movies.

Great Moments (2006- ) - A photo cartoon in the style of "David Kirkendall Presents," "The Far Side," and "Perry Bible Fellowship." Complimented by PBF creator Nicholas Gurewitch as "really fucking funny," though he also insinuated that it could use some work.[citation needed]

Matt Lieb's Book Club (2006) - A series of book reviews ranging from neurotically accurate to disturbingly off-base. Examples of reviewed books are: The Giver, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Bunnicula, and Hegemony or Survival. The review of the Canon PIXMA iP3000 Owner's Manual was prompted by FRL!'s only letter to the editor for the quarter in which it appeared.

Consumer Reports - Practical and scientific analyses of uncommonly reviewed products such as toilet paper, malt liquor, and dictator-endorsed household products (Mao Tse-Tongs, Idi Amin's Medium Beans, etc).

The Fish Rappies (2004- ) - Annual parody of prestigious national awards. Examples include "Best Bond: Covalent. Worst Bond: Roger Moore," and "Best Bono: Pro Bono, Worst Bono: Bono."

Scavenger Hunt - An annual scavenger hunt that puts the participants in harm's way, in embarrassing situations, or prompts practical jokes. Examples include: "Cut off 5 Livestrong bracelets," "Ghost Ride 'da Whip," "stage a fake public breakup," and "Date a FRL! staff member, extra points per base reached." The prize is usually nominal amounts of both cash and fame.

[edit] Non-going Features

From Gabe Martinez's "Martin the Satanic Racoon" comic strip in the Fish Rap Live!, circa 1996
From Gabe Martinez's "Martin the Satanic Racoon" comic strip in the Fish Rap Live!, circa 1996

Martin the Satanic Racoon (mid 1990s) - Former Senior Illustrator Gabe Martinez's bizarre, twisted, and unrelentingly-offensive comic strip, "born of [his] frustration with the P.C.-police, the hippies, and the suffocatingly dogmatic and simple-minded atmosphere that permeated Santa Cruz."[9]

Featuring the blood-, fecal-matter-, and semen-soaked "adventures" of Martin, a metal-loving, frequently homicidal raccoon, the strip ran for two years before the paper's editors (one of whom was depicted in a strip as having his knees being broken by a baseball bat-wielding Martin) decided it was too offensive and tasteless for even the Fish Rap to carry. About his brand of humor, Martinez has said, "Theoretically you're not supposed to laugh at exploding baby heads and sex acts involving poop, but they can be funny, whether people want to admit it or not."

[edit] Complaints and Criticisms

1992

When the Fish Rap was being reviewed for official campus media status, UCSC Vice Chancellor Bruce Moore initially said the Fish Rap practices "irresponsible journalism" and prints "junk." He also said of the paper's content, "We wouldn't let anyone else do that," and, "If I can change it, I'll change it."[10] However, after the FRL! received the support of student government and local media, Moore revised his position, saying "I got too emotionally caught up, and I spoke hastily."

2004

The management of the Saturn Cafe in downtown Santa Cruz called the Fish Rap "sexist, racist, and anti-gay."[citation needed]

2006

Editor Bill Forman of the Metro Santa Cruz called the Fish Rap "too clever by half."[citation needed]

2007

The UCSC chapter of predominantly Asian-American sorority alpha Kappa Delta Phi called the Fish Rap "racist" in a full-page ad in the FRL![11] after writer Becky Pederson (who is White) wrote an overly-abraisive, tongue-in-cheek article [12] about her failed attempt, alongside confederate and FRL! illustrator Stephanie Foo (who is Asian), to join the sisterhood. The article strongly implied racism in aKDPhi's selection procedures, though aKDPhi maintains that they were essentially entrapped by the writer, whose odd behavior and known status as a Fish Rap staff member made the sorority members suspicious of her from early on, and whose perspective was, itself, racist.

[edit] The Mullet Embargo of 2006

FRL! maintains an informal, though strongly enforced, ban on content that derives its humor exclusively from the fact that the subject has been made fun of before. Subjects likely to be embargoed include: mullets, John Basedow, Snakes on a Plane, and Chuck Norris. This policy serves to both encourage a high standard among the writers and to maintain FRL!'s status as a cutting edge, post-modern, counterculture publication. Jokes based on alcohol, weed, or poop are generally allowed on a case-by-case basis.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

University of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California
Colleges

Cowell College · Stevenson College · Crown College · Merrill College · Porter College · Kresge College · Oakes College · College Eight · College Nine · College Ten
Professional School

Jack Baskin School of Engineering
Research & Services

· Lick Observatory · W. M. Keck Observatory · Dickens Project · NASA Ames Research Center UARC · Silicon Valley Initiatives · Center for Adaptive Optics · Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering · Institute of Marine Sciences & Long Marine Lab · UCSC Arboretum · University of California Police Department · UC Santa Cruz Fire Department
Student Media

City on a Hill Press · Fish Rap Live! · KZSC
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