Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Trevino.
Hi Tyler, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
Before I started the Temp Tats, I was already very passionate about punk rock. Back in 6th grade, my uncle gifted me a ton of his old CDs from the 90’s. I listened to Milo Goes To College and quickly dove deep into punk music, culture, and ideology. Throughout middle school, I idolized bands like the Descendents, Alkaline Trio, Rancid, NOFX, and Minor Threat. But everything changed when I listened to Grow Up by The Queers because they were coming to Houston on their 40th-anniversary tour. And I was so ready for my first real punk show. Local openers, local venue, everything. Opening for them was a band called Gen Why. They made me fall in love with the local scene. There was something so powerful about their stage presence, their look, their energy… I had never seen anything like it. After that show, I was itching for more. I searched for local bands on Bandcamp; I looked for shows on social media, I looked for flyers on the street… I wanted to be a part of the scene so bad.
Around that same time, I was enrolled in a mandatory photography elective for school. Immediately, I thought I was going to hate it. They handed me a camera; I was afraid to even hold it because I thought I was going to break it somehow. But after a few assignments, once I started to better understand the mechanics of the medium, I fell in love. I am so in love that I would barely go anywhere without my low-quality point-and-shoot from Walmart or a disposable film camera. These two newfound passions- local punk and photography- came to me together at the perfect time. I started photographing shows for fun and practice. I was actually horrible; my photos looked bad. For some reason, the scene really liked them. I don’t know why. I got so much support from my peers that I decided to make a zine where they could view all my photos in physical format. I was lucky enough to go to a public art school that paid for my Adobe Creative Cloud, so quickly I taught myself Photoshop, Bridge, and Indesign. That’s how Issue 001 of Temp Tats came to be. Like many zinesters say, Issue 001 of my zine was not amazing. I barely knew what I was doing. But that didn’t matter because I was so passionate. I did everything I could to make an authentic display of our scene through my sh*tty photography. I printed 75 copies, and they were sold out in a month. The support was overwhelming. I was given so many opportunities- hired to photograph bands, vended at Zine Fest Houston… It was actually crazy. I had pursued many creative projects before, and I never once had that much support and attention. Every penny I received was invested back into the magazine.
After selling out 001, I was so excited to do Issue 002. I wanted to make something a little different. I wanted to be better, I guess. I messaged a few local bands and asked if they wanted to do interviews that I could put alongside some of my photos of them. I started including interactive stuff like word searches; I wrote articles about things relating to the local scene… my photography zine had become a full-blown magazine by complete accident. After that, it took off.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Honestly, it’s been really great and easygoing. Working in the Houston scene has caused me to meet some of my closest friends, people I couldn’t imagine my life without. It’s such a supportive community full of likable people; they have made it a smooth road for sure.
I suppose the most difficult part has been ‘mastering’ my medium. I essentially had to teach myself how to run a DIY magazine. It’s harder than it looks. I had to teach myself graphic design, printing mechanisms, and more. It’s a niche thing, there’s not a lot of magazines out there that are non-corporate, and therefore little resources.
Another big thing was teaching myself to be social. Before I started Temp Tats, I was a huge introvert. In a way, going to local shows changed my entire personality. Within a few months, I went from having 3 close friends to having too many to count. It was a weird but good shift, I had to slowly learn how to interact with people and be charismatic; it’s one of those things that never came naturally to me.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I run Temp Tats, which is a magazine that documents DIY music and culture in Houston, Texas. I do not have employees or outsource work; the entire project is organized by me. Essentially, I do the graphic design for the magazine the photography, write articles, write and conduct interviews, film and edit videos, design and screen print the shirts, organize and manage events, and more all by myself. I love every second of it.
Frankly, I’m most proud of my artistic growth. If you look at Issue 001 and Issue 004 side by side, it’s obvious how much I’ve improved- especially in terms of interview writing and graphic design. That makes me happy.
Something that sets Temp Tats apart from other media outlets is that it’s a representation of the punk scene from an insider’s perspective. It’s coming from a place of passion, not money or fame. I do it because I love it, and I would still do it if I got zero dollars and zero attention. Essentially, rather than being someone that’s just reporting the punk scene, I am someone that’s in the punk scene and happens to be reporting it.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I was just thinking about this earlier. Someone asked me what advice I had for growing a project in the music scene, I said make friends with EVERYONE. When you go to shows, talk to the photographers about their equipment, follow their socials, compliment their pictures. Tell the bands if you liked their set, tell them you would love to work with them in the future. Talk to random people in the crowd. It’s super simple: just be nice to everyone, they will be nice to you back! Artists support artists, make connections, and opportunities will come your way.
Pricing:
- Magazine $15
- Shirts $15
Contact Info:
- Website: temptatszine.bigcartel.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/temptatszine/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdxcAqtu_hSv60NTLeAKPsg
Image Credits
Lexi Neuhoff
Brandon Smith
