Paige Walter and Kristen Levine of Cherry-Veen Zine at WXPN | photo by John Vettese
Cherry-Veen Zine’s Kristen Levine and Paige Walter talk about life and music on the new 25 O’Clock podcast
When it comes to dynamic duos, Philly locals Kristen Levine and Paige Walter are a powerhouse, and Cherry-Veen Zine is their passion project. The first six issues of the locally-focued Philadelphia music micro-publication were created by Levine around 2016, and ran on a very limited print. After a frenzied six months, Levine put the project on hiatus, but rekindled it last year when she connected with Walter at a house party. The zine’s tenth issue is on the street now — it includes stories on Ali Awan, Erin Fox, Scantron, and our editor John Vettese, as well as a collaborative mixtape between The Key and CVZ.
On the latest edition of the 25 O’Clock podcast, Levine and Walter sat down with host Dan Drago to talk about their work and Philly music fandom, and where they hope to take it in the future. Just as passionate today (if not more so) about supporting local musicians and artists, Levine and Walter say they pride themselves on using their zine to focus on artists that make them the most excited. They also talk about the Zine’s journey from its beginnings to its present state. Showing her laidback and humble nature, Levine reflected on their first zine together as something she considers “terrible,” adding, “the cover was printed on the back…we just wanted to do it and get it out there.” At one point their social media tagline was literally “sometimes we spell words wrong,” and Levine and Walter still identify with this witty sentiment today, because they know they are not aiming to create perfection in an imperfect world, but rather a work that eludes creativity and personality.
As for the content of their zines Levine and Walter tell Drago that they don’t really “seek out” things or people to write about anymore, they usually just know already what or who they want to focus on next because of how extensive their network of creative friends has grown. “We strategically pick the bands in the zine,” Levine says. “But a lot of it is people we’ve met that we think we can grow with and we think we can help.”
Listen to Listen Levine and Walter’s entire interview with 25 O’Clock below, and click here to learn even more about Cherry-Veen and get a sneak peak at the coming edition. If you’re interested in reading more about these music loving ladies, check out there interview with The Key from earlier this year here.