intro

WELCOME TO FLAVORPAK!

FLAVORPAK INTRO:
by J. McConnell The Editor

We started back in 1992 as a collective of Artists, DJ's & Musicians.

At that time i was going to Art school and was meeting lots of people with creative ability. My friends and i were going to a variety of music shows in Kansas City and Lawrence. Listening to and buying music at the local record shops, going to Art events & parties, reading independent publications, comics and zines. 

My friends and i were soaking up all kinds of Art, Music and ideas. Responding to all of that with our own voices seemed only natural. 

Our first issue of Flavorpak came out in 1993.

A self published collection of Comics, in your face politics & opinions, creative writing, music reviews, photography, artwork and other goodies. Basically a Zine.

We published it with the funds from the first Flavorpak Jam we threw at a friend's Warehouse space in what is now known as KC's Crossroads Arts District. 

Those first parties we threw were legendary to us as well as many people i have talked to about the 1990's in KC. Hundreds of people from every part of Kansas City and beyond would show up! 

It was fresh to see so many different styles and cultures mixing it up at a Jam like these.

We had Dj's playing diverse styles, live bands, Hip Hop groups and Art all together for large crowds of young people. That may seem like nothing much these days, but back then, people identified with one genre of music and scene more and seemed ( at least to me) to stay within their own circle. Something amazing happened when we started doing these Jams. We never had major drama at these first shows either. 

I think we originally planned on just putting out the one issue of Flavorpak as a one shot deal until

people began asking when issue #2 was coming out and we starting getting more submissions

of Art, comics, reviews and other publications in the mail.

It seemed to us that the Flavorpak concept caught like a prairie fire in this small city and beyond. 

The time was ripe for what we were doing. I guess that was the state of the creative counterculture back in the early 90's. We didn't have cell phones, websites, or social media to stay connected or to promote what we did. We went to record stores, coffee shops  and other venues to find out about upcoming shows or just learned by word of mouth and we stapled up flyers and event posters anywhere and everywhere we could around town to promote our events. 

Flavorpak Jam #4 crowd shots at VFW show 1995?

some of the Flavorpak Crew  1995?
(Pictured L to R) Dj Ran, David Rogers, Gear, Scribe,
J. McConnell, Mike Martin & Armando Diaz

            

In between 1992 & 2014 a lot happened........ STAY TUNED...!

           
STAY TUNED.......