Instant Magazine

The 1990s were the heyday for the “’zine scene” across the United States. Every city with a thriving local rock ‘n’ roll community seemed to have their own niche publication that brought fellow rockers together to celebrate all their favorite acts, new and old. And Boston, college town that it is, certainly had one of the most significant of the ‘zine scenes anywhere in the nation with The Noise, Lollipop, Soundcheck and The Pit Report. But there was one that stood apart from them all: Instant.

Born in the offices of WJMF at Bryant University in 1994 and first christened New England Rocks, Instant was a staple of the Boston music scene from 1995 to 2001. Distributed to record shops, clubs and scene hangouts throughout New England and its neighboring states, it adeptly captured a period of time when the Boston rock scene was getting a  vast amount national attention.

FOUNDING, “AN ESSENTIAL STEPPING STONE,” AWARDS, CLOSING

Founded and published by Chris Hinckley, Instant became a sought-after piece of any up and coming bands media kit. To get your band reviewed or even featured in Instant was viewed as an essential stepping-stone in any up-and-coming rock band’s growth. Being profiled in Instant meant you were being reviewed alongside national acts like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Cheap Trick, Pixies, Social Distortion, Throwing Muses and The Deftones. Instant presented an eclectic mix of material in every issue and they included stories on well-known national acts, hip new ones and local groups trying to get that much-needed recognition.

At its peak, Instant was everywhere around the Boston and New England music scene. It won three straight Maxie Awards for Best Zine in New England, was featured on MTV’s Indie Outing and established itself as “the next big thing” in music publications before Hinckley decided to call it quits. Always stating that he would end Instant when “it was no longer any fun,” he walked away in April 2001, after issue #31. The cover depicted “the Instant Guy” walking down Storrow Drive past the “Reverse Curve” sign – which was the name of the record label Hinckley went to on found.

Hinckley says he looks back on his days publishing Instant fondly and wonders what might have been if he just kept it going. Regardless, the late-1990s saw the Boston music scene at its creative peak and Instant was there to tell us all about it. It was after all, as its slogan said, “Your Final Guide To Good Rock.”