Nonfiction Pizza Party: An Interview With Robbie Kanner
It's my pleasure to welcome Robbie Kanner as Nonfiction Pizza Party's first guest. (My Belly: “Phew! Thought I was going to have to eat all this by myself.”) Robbie is the designer and editor of Dispatch Magazine.We went to the University of Maine Farmington together, though I'm pretty sure I never saw him there. When I happened to discover the May/June issue of Dispatch at a bookstore, I recognized Robbie only because we both used to appear in our school's literary journal. Yeah, I was real cool in college.Dispatch is a free bi-monthly rag that focuses on music and film in Maine and New Hampshire. The Portland, ME-based publication is in its second year. What I like most about Dispatch is how they make their young staff into a cast of characters by pushing the conversational voice and featuring contributor bios and photos throughout. Being local and having an online presence, this makes complete sense.I recently interviewed Robbie over email about magazines and many things pop culture.
Nonfiction Pizza Party: Could you explain the origins of Dispatch and how you got involved?Robbie Kanner: Dispatch started about 17 months ago. Basically the story goes, I worked with this local band called The Cambiata for a few years [oh, by the way, Robbie photographs rockstars and designs albums, posters, etc.]. When they broke up, about five new projects started. One of them was with the drummer, Dan Capaldi. He and I were working on a solo record for him when we caught wind that this guy named Frank [Dispatch publisher SuperFrank Copsidas] was moving into town and wanted to start up a radio station focusing on Maine music. After a few conversations, the general consensus was that we should do a blog, which turned into a print magazine, and a million other things. Everything always has the snowball effect. Still, it's cool.NPP: What magazines/websites did you grow up reading and how have they influenced the direction of Dispatch?RK: I grew up looking at Vanity Fair, Nylon, and Rolling Stone. Now-a-days, I follow blogs like ISO50, Grain Edit, and GOOD. I also read CMYK, Fast Company, Esquire, TIME, The Daily, and GQ frequently. I mean, everything that I've ever looked at ever has somehow influenced in some way or another. At the root of it, all of these places I mentioned make fantastic design moves and I admire them deeply.NPP: If you could authorize a Dream Story for the magazine—no matter how expensive or unrealistic—what would you choose to cover?RK: Jeff Buckley. Fun fact: “Everybody Here Wants You” was written about Joan Wasser who was born in Maine.NPP: Barnstorm Blog Editor Erin Somers thinks the upcoming The Great Gatsby movie looks vomit-inducing. She does not mean this as compliment. I actually think it could be kind of awesome. A ridiculous book deserves a ridiculous movie. Could you watch the trailer and give us a brief description of your emotional response?RK: Here's my thoughts on that: It's bizarre that the same guy who taught me about the importance of sun tan lotion in the ”˜90s also would eventually reiterate how dashing Leo can still look in a tux in 2012.NPP: I saw on dispatchmag.com that you're a Lady Gaga fan. Favorite Gaga song and why?RK: I love pop music. Like, more than the average person. I also love hardcore, indie, ambient, jazz, etc. But I really, really, really love pop music. My favorite Lady Gaga track is Bad Kids. It actually got ripped on the most out of any of those songs on Born This Way, but it's a fantastic jam. The hook is boss.To see Robbie's work, check out his website.--David Bersell