Downtown Tucsonan - November 2007 - (Page 8)

Vital Signs Fo un d M a g a z i ne o n To u r : by Jamie Manser Accidental discoveries, Michael Jordan, Sleeping in a van & captivating thousands – OR – How a Ticket Scalper Started a Magazine erendipitous finds are rare treats. a love letter, a hate letter, a note, a list, a photo; this object catches your eye as it crosses your path and you pick it up. You wonder: where did it come from and who lost what you found? It’s raw, it’s personal, it’s happy, or it’s heartbreaking. It’s human and it’s someone’s life and their emotions. we can relate to this human condition. Perhaps you keep it, hang it on your refrigerator and share it with your friends. who isn’t fascinated by a stranger’s anguish or bliss? no wonder, then, that Found Magazine – in its sixth year with five issues, three “dirty” issues published, several books and a few compact disks – is enjoying an under-theradar existence with major mainstream media nods over the years. Found is the magazine that receives submissions from people across the nation and multiple countries and publishes these personal peeks into people’s grey matter. s In the late nineties, davy Rothbart was a ticket scalper in chicago. through the heydays of the “Bull’s dynasty,” Rothbart was out on the streets hustling tickets to basketball games, opera shows and other traveling performances. “It was kind of crazy, but at the same time, it gave me enough money,” he said, to start the magazine. “I kind of think of Michael Jordan as the patron saint of Found Magazine. He has no idea of his contribution, but it was major.” the impetus to launch a magazine called Found began the night Rothbart erroneously received a note on the windshield of his car. It was written by a gal named amber who thought Mario was lying to her about working and was instead visiting another woman. choice language and several F-bombs convey her displeasure, but her post script “Page me later,” deepens the fascination and wonderment. Would he have paged her later had he received the note? as Rothbart showed the note to friends, he discovered that they also kept similar scraps of paper that were scribed by strangers. He thought that it would be a shame for these gems to only be seen by a limited number of people. “a magazine seemed like a natural way for everyone to share what they were finding with everybody else.” Initially, Found was a zine printed at a local copy place. since its growth with the website (www.FoundMagazine. com) and books, Rothbart has heard from some folks who had the notes they wrote published. “I didn’t know if they would be freaked out or pissed off or what. I’m glad that the few times it’s happened; they’ve been cool about it. Maybe a bit honored or most often mystified. ‘First of all, how’d you get that? and why would anyone care about these little details of my love life?’ “I explain to them why it means so much to me, that I can relate to it, that I’ve probably written the same pitiful love note a thousand times myself.” the notes that inspired davy to start a magazine also inspired his guitar playing brother Peter to write songs based on Found submissions. together the duo tours - via van - a “rowdy music and reading show.” Based on what has been posted to Youtube.com, their shows certainly are rollicking good times. There Goes The Neighborhood Tour 2007 is in promotion of Found #5: The Crime Issue. the inspiration for a crime issue, you ask? only boxes of a FBI agent’s case files and letters from the 40s to 50s found in an Indianan dumpster… plus prison correspondences. You’ll find yourself rooting for the underdogs. Found Magazine makes its way to Tucson for the first time on Thursday, November 8 with two free shows. The Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 S. Stone Ave., lower lever meeting room hosts the noon performance. Call 791-4391 for information. At 7pm, Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St., is the place for the more raucous folk tales, and folks. Call 622-8848 or visit www.HotelCongress.com/club. Find out more about the magazine at www.FoundMagazine.com 8 downtown tucsonan.november.07 http://www.foundmagazine.com http://www.foundmagazine.com http://www.HotelCongress.com/club http://www.foundmagazine.com http://www.foundmagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Downtown Tucsonan - November 2007

Downtown Tucsonan - November 2007 Contents From the Editor Downtown Lowdown Vital Signs Downtown Live Arts Galleries Guide Yourself Through Open Studios Performance and Film Events Museums Historic Downtown Billboard Classifieds

Downtown Tucsonan - November 2007

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