Dorment Cream Magazine to Publish Again

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Dormant Creem Magazine to Publish Again

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: November 3, 2003

Filed at 2:21 p.m. ET

HOLLAND, Mich. (AP) -- When Brian Bowe learned that Creem, a defunct rock magazine he'd read as a child, was making a comeback after 15 years, he sat down and wrote an e-mail to the publisher.

As a music fanatic, the 31-year-old Laketown Township resident wanted to work for the magazine in some way. After writing back and forth with Robert Matheu for a while, Bowe sent a few reviews and essays.

``I started writing stuff, and he liked the stuff I was writing,'' Bowe told The Holland Sentinel for a recent story. ``He sent me some copy to edit, and he liked the way I was editing stuff.''

Less than a year later, Matheu asked Bowe, a spokesman for Grand Valley State University, to edit the new Creem.

``When he asked me, I was floored,'' Bowe said. ``I couldn't have been happier. To this day, it just, the very idea, blows my mind. I feel very honored, and I take it very seriously.''

Currently a Web-only publication, Creem is expected be on store shelves in a print edition next spring, Matheu said.

Creem began in Detroit in March 1969 and ran monthly until November 1988, when the magazine folded. A revival was launched in the early 1990s, but the publication largely lay dormant until fall 2000, when Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical movie ``Almost Famous'' was released.

Crowe wrote for Creem as a teenager under the editing of Lester Bangs, a wild-haired, prolific writer who became synonymous with the publication. Bangs died in 1982.

The film renewed interest in Bangs and Creem, and Matheu decided to try to restore luster to the magazine's name. He contacted the owners of the publication rights and obtained permission to bring it back.