The iconic, unfiltered and wickedly funny CREEM revealed a preview of their first print issue in 33 years today. An audacious revival of a print rock ‘n’ roll magazine in 2022, CREEM returns as an oversized subscription-only premium quarterly on September 15. The feature previews here illustrate their breadth of coverage – bringing back classic columns like Stars Cars with Slash & The Who, as well as newer faces like Viagra Boys & Special Interest, with more to come. Subscribe Here.
They also released a new Boy Howdy! cartoon below. This fever dream of a joyride follows the return of the CREEM mascot and rock icon from the clutches of death 33 years ago, aboard a headless bat, then a heaven-bound rocket ride on Lester Bangs himself. Created in partnership with animation studio Lobo, original music and SFX by Human Worldwide, and title/editorial help from Uppercut Edit, the animation is laden with bread crumbs that’ll keep fans watching and rewatching to test their rock ‘n’ roll chops.
The new CREEM magazine will cover multiple generations of innovative artists with contributors ranging from established writers and photographers to up-and-coming new voices. It will embrace the best of rock ‘n’ roll, as a mentality rather than genre – the biggest bands of all time and records no one has ever heard of, trusting their readers like no other.
Founded in 1969 Detroit, CREEM grew from underground paper to national powerhouse – an essential source of music journalism for 20 years. It reflected and shaped the culture, cultivating some of the most legendary writing talent of the era – like Lester Bangs, Cameron Crowe, Patti Smith, Robert Christgau & Jaan Uhelszki, who now returns as editor.
Subscriptions also come with a free digital archive of every issue from CREEM’s original 1969-1989 run. With 224 issues & 69,000 photos, articles and reviews, the archive may be the most significant cache of rock ‘n’ roll history ever shared online at one time.
The critically-acclaimed 2020 documentary CREEM: America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine earned praise everywhere from New York Times to CBS This Morning. Today, CREEM Entertainment is led by former VICE publisher John Martin as CEO, alongside Chairman JJ Kramer (son of original CREEM co-founder & publisher Barry Kramer), and original editor Jaan Uhelszki, one of the first women to work in rock journalism.
The new CREEM editorial staff includes VP of Content Fred Pessaro formerly of VICE’s Noisey, Executive Editor Dan Morrissey from Entertainment Weekly, and Senior Editor Maria Sherman, following her work at NPR, Rolling Stone, BuzzFeed, Jezebel, Netflix, ELLE and her critically acclaimed book, LARGER THAN LIFE: A History of Boy Bands. Editorial Director Dave Carnie has worked with Jackass, ESPN, Big Brother, and Penthouse. Photo Editor Matt Salacuse has photographed everyone from Jay Z to Dimebag Darrell for Esquire, XXL and beyond. Grace Scott joins as Associate Editor after her work with VICE & The Toronto Star, and Zachary Lipez as Editor at Large, following his work with Pitchfork, The Washington Post & more.
CREEM Entertainment is the modern-day devil spawn of Detroit’s legendary CREEM Magazine. During its initial twenty-year run, CREEM launched the careers of countless iconic music journalists and bands, while never hesitating to lampoon those who took themselves too seriously. Today’s CREEM, powered by the next generation of cage-rattling truth tellers and provocateurs, will deliver the best in editorial, original programming, merchandise, subscription products, and experiences to rock ‘n’ roll fans of all ages. Boy Howdy, indeed!
