Save D.I.Y. for all independent musicians

Recent revelations about the review policies of certain self-proclaimed 'D.I.Y.' punk magazines including, but at this point not limited to, Maximum RocknRoll (MRR), have forced me to write this: a call to arms of sorts, a good ol' fashioned letter writing campaign. For those of you with short attention spans, here is the gist: MRR has a racist and classist review policy, two ideologies they supposedly fight so vehemently against. But inherent in their own magazine are these elitist policies, and whether they are intentional or not is not for us to say; that will be on their own conscience.

Suffice it to say that it is this policy that is keeping the true spirit of D.I.Y. music squelched (or at least somewhere near the back). D.I.Y. musicians must now assume the role of today's Rosa Parks, and stand up! ..And then sit down again, in the front. If you haven't read our "Save D.I.Y" essay at http://www.perplexagon.com, please feel free to do so. {You can download it here in PDF or DOC format).

It may be long, but I believe it is in every independent musician's best interest to read it. However, if the above words were enough to fan the flames of institutional change within you, then skip the essay, read the following statement to MMR, and click the "Sign the Petition" link below. Remember to tell your friends and anyone else you think may have a credible interest in maintaining true independent music, whether it's punk rock, indie rock, prog rock, rock rock, rap, whatever. This petition is for every artist that chooses to record and produce their own music.