Check out our two new books about Cleveland!

Back in 1996, Microcosm was born in Cleveland, and the ’20s so far have been all about getting back to our roots. First with opening a new warehouse back in Cleveland, managed and partially staffed by people who helped out back when we were brand new. And now we’re thrilled to announce the publication of a pair of new books that honor our roots.

Cleveland’s local NPR affiliate did a really nice in-depth article and video about Microcosm’s return to the city and the two new books:

And the books really shine for themselves (there’ve been more reviews of each than I’m linking to here, but this one in the Akron Beacon Journal is pretty representative):

Hello Cleveland: Things You Should Know About the Most Unique City in the World is an idiosyncratic love letter to the city, buoyantly written by Nick Perry and illustrated by Jason Look. Nick and Joe were recently on the radio talking about the book, the city, and Microcosm.

Speak In Tongues: An Oral History of Cleveland’s Infamous DIY Punk Venue nods to another piece of Microcosm lore—Joe started out selling zines at the bar at this anarchic all-ages club. This book’s been getting some really nice feedback (check out this public media review and Sean Carnage’s interview with Eric), and we had the pleasure of talking with the author, local reporter Eric Sandy, for our podcast:

Thank you, Cleveland, for all you’ve given to us—we hope we can do you justice and keep giving back for years to come.

P.S. Want more Cleveland music history? Last year we published A. Iwasa’s zine Clevo Style about the history of the local hardcore scene.