Led Hammer Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 There used to be a fantastic fan mag in the 80's out of San Francisco called Zoso. A gentleman named Taylor published it, but it went under after a few years. Anybody know what happened? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 There used to be a fantastic fan mag in the 80's out of San Francisco called Zoso. A gentleman named Taylor published it, but it went under after a few years. Anybody know what happened? Yes, 'Zoso - The Led Zeppelin Gathering Place' was published monthly by Taylor in San Francisco from Jan 1987 until Apr 1992 for a total of 63 issues. It was a plain b&w fanzine with text and photos on the latest news and events related to Led Zeppelin. Towards the end of it's production run it was upgraded to slick glossy covers, made possible with the advances made in home publishing technology. Subscribers received their issues in the mail, but it could also be purchased off the newstands in Tower Records throughout the Bay Area. I have all but six of the sixty-three issues. I would have to check the final issue, but I do seem to recall there was a publisher's farewell printed. Something to the effect of he no longer had the time to maintain it and it seemed the solo members were still in a period of extended inactivity. In it's day, 'Zoso' could claim to be the longest running Led Zeppelin fanzine ever published, since eclipsed by Dave Lewis' 'Tight But Loose' but it's still the longest running monthly Zep zine ever. Hats off to Taylor, wherever you are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfman Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 I used to buy it also...before the net, Zoso was the best place to get info on Zep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Led Hammer Posted March 6, 2008 Author Share Posted March 6, 2008 Yes, 'Zoso - The Led Zeppelin Gathering Place' was published monthly by Taylor in San Francisco from Jan 1987 until Apr 1992 for a total of 63 issues. It was a plain b&w fanzine with text and photos on the latest news and events related to Led Zeppelin. Towards the end of it's production run it was upgraded to slick glossy covers, made possible with the advances made in home publishing technology. Subscribers received their issues in the mail, but it could also be purchased off the newstands in Tower Records throughout the Bay Area. I have all but six of the sixty-three issues. I would have to check the final issue, but I do seem to recall there was a publisher's farewell printed. Something to the effect of he no longer had the time to maintain it and it seemed the solo members were still in a period of extended inactivity. In it's day, 'Zoso' could claim to be the longest running Led Zeppelin fanzine ever published, since eclipsed by Dave Lewis' 'Tight But Loose' but it's still the longest running monthly Zep zine ever. Hats off to Taylor, wherever you are! Appreciate the info, Steve-thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIBLY Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 For anyone that still doen't know Tight But Loose is a great fanzine and web site. http://www.tightbutloose.co.uk/main.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lzzoso Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 There used to be a fantastic fan mag in the 80's out of San Francisco called Zoso. A gentleman named Taylor published it, but it went under after a few years. Anybody know what happened? I used to subscribe to ZOSO magazine too way back then. It was a great fanzine that I used to anticipate every month. From what I recall, the reason why Taylor, the editor, stopped publishing ZOSO was because his girlfriend had been tragically killed in a car accident. The loss of such could not lead to him continuing as it was. Every Now and Zen, I will pull out some of my old issues and read them from cover to cover. It was there in the ZOSO classifieds that I met and traded bootlegs with people from all over the world. Like someone previously mentioned, ZOSO was the best place to get all the information on Led Zeppelin, before the advent of the internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cousinlouie Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 I used to subscribe to ZOSO magazine too way back then. It was a great fanzine that I used to anticipate every month. From what I recall, the reason why Taylor, the editor, stopped publishing ZOSO was because his girlfriend had been tragically killed in a car accident. The loss of such could not lead to him continuing as it was. Every Now and Zen, I will pull out some of my old issues and read them from cover to cover. It was there in the ZOSO classifieds that I met and traded bootlegs with people from all over the world. Like someone previously mentioned, ZOSO was the best place to get all the information on Led Zeppelin, before the advent of the internet. Like you all said before the internet, great source for Zeppelin info, plus he would tape Zep Boots and sell you cassettes, and you could get T-Shirts and Books on the band, and YEAH when it folded I got burned on an order, cause it ended and i never saw my money or what I ordered!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 (edited) Like you all said before the internet, great source for Zeppelin info, plus he would tape Zep Boots and sell you cassettes, and you could get T-Shirts and Books on the band, and YEAH when it folded I got burned on an order, cause it ended and i never saw my money or what I ordered!!! I hear ya. When 'Nirvana - The Robert Plant Fanzine' folded in the mid-90s I got burned on a subscription/merchandise order. The publisher did the best she could to redress the balance but I was still out something like $25 bucks. I was more disappointed to see that publication go under because it was well on it's way to being an excellent periodical. Apparently, the support sought from Robert was not forthcoming. I have a few hundred Led Zeppelin fanzines and it's all a bit quaint to look at them now. They are such primitive artifacts. Edited September 26, 2009 by SteveAJones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 I hear ya. When 'Nirvana - The Robert Plant Fanzine' folded in the mid-90s I got burned on a subscription/merchandise order. The publisher did the best she could to redress the balance but I was still out something like $25 bucks. I was more disappointed to see that publication go under because it was well on it's way to being an excellent periodical. Apparently, the support sought from Robert was not forthcoming. I have a few hundred Led Zeppelin fanzines and it's all a bit quaint to look at them now. They are such primitive artifacts. I never cared for the Nirvana fanzine personally. It was nothing more than xeroxing articles from other magazines and a lot of talk about what she wanted to do. I dunno, didn't impress me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepscoda Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 I would get ZOSO in the mail back in the late 80's. It was way before the internet. I could not wait for the monthly issue to arrive. It was a great fanzine. I still have about 50 of them up in my attic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 I used to get ZOSO also, I still have my cassette tapes of shows that I purchased from him. That yellow envelope always made my day. Stupidly I threw out all of my Zep mags after getting married, to save space while moving Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kakdaddy Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 (edited) It was a great Fanzine. As a teenager in the late 80's ZOSO was a treat for myself because every newstand music magazine featured either overly hyped "college" rock bands or lame hair metal bands that I had zero interest in. I felt like a kid out of time & then I saw the ad for ZOSO in the back of Rolling Stone & it filled my musical literature void. ZOSO was where I first became aware of bootlegs. I got my first bootleg, Berlin 7-7-80, from Taylor. I was ecstatic when I got that in the mail after 2 long weeks of waiting! Many more followed. Taylor would also do fun things like declare a random day of the year "Sick Again Day" just because he heard the song on his car radio while driving over the Golden Gate Bridge & wanted others to feel that same excitement he had & he then wanted "us" to write in about our "Sick Again Day" experiences in the next issue. Of course things like that were done just to fill up pages during a slow Zep News month, but it was also a show of solidarity amongst Zep fans. I then started going into Manhatten & found ZOSO in the Mom & Pop record stores & started to pick up the back issues that I had originally missed & bootlegs that Taylor & other contributers had reviewed. It was a brand new Zep world for me. Then just after the second Zep box set came out ZOSO was gone. Just gone. I tried getting into "Electric Magic" & "Tight But Loose" but it just wasn't the same. Well where ever you are Taylor, thank you very much. You're Fanzine answered the prayers of a young kid who needed Zep direction & you definately provided it. Edited September 30, 2009 by kakdaddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsj Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 I used to get ZOSO also, I still have my cassette tapes of shows that I purchased from him. That yellow envelope always made my day. Stupidly I threw out all of my Zep mags after getting married, to save space while moving i think many people did the same. i certainly lost a few pieces of treasure along the way either through stupidity, bad luck or "lending" to others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsj Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 was Zoso better than Proximity? i never saw Zoso but i did buy a couple of Proximities from a record fair way back. i may be mistaken but i dont think i liked them much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 was Zoso better than Proximity? i never saw Zoso but i did buy a couple of Proximities from a record fair way back. i may be mistaken but i dont think i liked them much Zoso, published in San Francisco, definitely had a California vibe. Proximity was published by Hugh Jones in Seattle and it contained many feature articles unique to Led Zeppelin concerts held in that area. Thanks to the advent of desktop publishing, latter issues of Proximity have much more substantial content than the earlier issues. I'd say the later issues if Proximity are better than Zoso. Proximity ran for nine issues in tabloid format from Jan 1 1980 thru Spring 1983, then resumed in desktop publishing format for 27 issues from Jul 1993 to Spring/Summer 2000. Two special issues were also published, one for the first leg of the 1995 North American tour and one featuring the ten best bootlegs. Proximity Fanzine link: http://www.oldbuckeye.com/prox/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lzzoso Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Like I said before I used to wait and anticipate every month for every issue of ZOSO magazine (back in the late 1990's). My favorite part of every issue was the "notes" section that opened every issue. That is where I remember learning about all the worldwide information about Led Zeppelin from LZ fans from around the world. Anything from what celebrities listend to and loved Led Zeppelin (Rob Lowe, Matt Dillon, etc...) to anything about Led Zeppelin that appeared in newspapers from the United States and around the world. Great stuff even to this day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widget Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 I loved Zoso, along with Proximity, Early Days & Latter Days, No Quarter, Oh Jimmy..., The Lemon Tree, and Wearing and Tearing. Bringing back good memories, before the internet killed off the fanzine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgio Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 I loved Zoso, along with Proximity, Early Days & Latter Days, No Quarter, Oh Jimmy..., The Lemon Tree, and Wearing and Tearing. Bringing back good memories, before the internet killed off the fanzine. Zoso - someone should scan and archive them online! Taylor! Are you listening? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsmith9095 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Zoso - someone should scan and archive them online! Taylor! Are you listening? Georgio, Great idea. It would be nice to go through all of those old issues of Zoso magazine online. I used to make a pilgrimage to the Tower records downtown Philly to seearch for this magazine. Then I subscribed and would wait each month for the envelope to arrive. I too was also burned and disappointed when it came to an abrupt stop. I wonder whatever became of Taylor. Here are a few photos of covers to click thru: http://picasaweb.google.com/CaptCrunge/ZEPCOLLECTION#5163162900431638178 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Kolonich Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Dave Taylor was my class-mate at Pan-Am, at # 1 California St, San Francisco in March 1988 and he showed me the ZoSo Office. He's a great guy, I was new in town and I was new in the States and I'll never forget him, he helped me even to get a drivers license. GB Dave! Lewis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperDave Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Always loved Zoso Mag. Most of these have gone under obviously because of the internet. But looked forward to this and other Zep publications every few months including this, Proximity, Tight But Loose (still around, but tough for being in the USA) and Electric Magic. Miss those days during the 90's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Led Zep Girl Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Always loved Zoso Mag. Most of these have gone under obviously because of the internet. But looked forward to this and other Zep publications every few months including this, Proximity, Tight But Loose (still around, but tough for being in the USA) and Electric Magic. Miss those days during the 90's. Tight But Loose is a good magazine. Dave Lewis is a super nice guy. I highly reccomend this magazine for any Zep fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock Historian Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 That was a cool magazine and I agree with Wolfman that this was the best source for Zep news before the internet became mainstream. I own three issues. I had JPJ sign the one that I have with him on the cover. A pretty priceless item it's become now-because of that. Before he signed it, he said something like "wow, how old was I here?" I think the pic was from 75'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 (edited) Before he signed it, he said something like "wow, how old was I here?" I think the pic was from 75'. I can believe that as he once said "...life's too short to go looking for pictures of yourself". Edited November 30, 2011 by SteveAJones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsmith9095 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 (edited) Always loved Zoso Mag. Most of these have gone under obviously because of the internet. But looked forward to this and other Zep publications every few months including this, Proximity, Tight But Loose (still around, but tough for being in the USA) and Electric Magic. Miss those days during the 90's. Couldn't have said it better myself Dave.Those were great magazines in exciting times before the internet. I still have each copy of these magazines and often go back and read them again to marvel at how much we didn't know then Edited November 30, 2011 by fsmith9095 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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