Puncture 1982–2000

Founded by Patty Stirling and Katherine Spielmann in 1982, Puncture was a rare example of a fanzine established by two women. Based first in San Francisco and later in Portland, it lasted for 47 issues over 18 years. The zine documented the development of the influential Bay Area independent music scene from the early 1980s onward—including groups like Dead Kennedys, Flipper, and MDC alongside experimental outfits like Negativland and Toiling Midgets—while also covering major players from further afield, such as Meat Puppets, Minor Threat, and Crass. As it evolved from a black-and-white mimeographed fanzine to a glossy newsstand magazine, Puncture mirrored the larger trajectory of alternative music, which grew in popularity and became more mainstream in the 1990s. Profiles of soon-to-be-major indie rock icons such as Sleater-Kinney, Hole, Pavement, Flaming Lips, Belle & Sebastian, the Pixies, Cat Power, Nick Cave, Neutral Milk Hotel, Fugazi, My Bloody Valentine, and Guided By Voices provide valuable perspectives on a transformational period.