“[I'm looking forward to] the look on a few people faces who said 'What are you going to cover now? You blew your load - The Roots, Diplo, Spank Rock, what else can you talk about in Philly??' Foolish haters... we'll show'em.”

~ Tayyib

By Catzie Vilayphonh  |  Send to Friend

Here you go kids. Everything you've ever wanted to know about what it takes to publish a decent magazine in Philly.

Matt Bacine, Publisher

What do you do here?

Matt: I stress.

What does your average day consist of?

Matt: Running around non-stop, doing too much to list.

How did you get started working for two.one.five magazine? What were you doing before?

Matt: I came up with an idea and ran with it. Part-owner of a store.

What is your favorite part of working here?

Matt: Stress, I really enjoy stressing and bothering people. However, I am writing these answers drunk, so there is probably a better answer.

What do you look forward to in the next issue?

Matt: Bringing in a whole new aspect to the magazine that people have no clue about.

 

 

Tayyib Smith, Publisher

What do you do here?

Tayyib: I'm one of the founding publishers.

What does your average day consist of?

Tayyib: Making calls, dodging calls, planning events, attending events, sitting in meetings, arguing with my partner, looking for new business, writing proposals, reviewing resumes, listening to music, booking acts, planning new ventures.

How did you get started working for two.one.five magazine? What were you doing before?

Tayyib: My brilliant partner, Matthew Bacine, convinced me that this would be a worthwhile endeavor. Prior to this, I managed a band called Nouveau Riche, and I worked as a freelance marketing consultant for various brands. I got my start at The Axis Music Group.

What is your favorite part of working here?

Tayyib: a) We've assembled a a great team of talented, sexy, badass bitches who make me look good everyday b) Feeling like I am the master of my own destiny vs. working like a mindless drone for someone else.

What do you look forward to in the next issue?

Tayyib: The look on a few people faces who said "What are you going to cover now? You blew your load - The Roots, Diplo, Spank Rock, what else can you talk about in Philly?” Foolish haters... we'll show'em.

 

 

Piers Marchant, Editor-in-Chief

What do you do here?

Piers: Good Christ. Writing, editing, getting stuff up on the web, arguing with Matt about money, projects and directions, arguing with writers about same, looking up words on dictionary.com. Sneaking in movie/DVD screenings when possible.

How did you get started working for two.one.five? What were you doing before?

I was one of the original crew meeting in Matt's basement once a week for several months. I knew Matt from when I'd first moved to Philly from Tucson in '97 to be the film critic of the Weekly. Matt had long dreads then, but the same impish nature and love of both arguing and discussing in disturbingly precise detail the intricate workings of his bowels. Later on, I got him a gig at Digital City, where I had eventually landed, and he spent his time there making fun of me during meetings and checking out online porn. But, weirdly, he always had a good work ethic. I spent a few more years off and on with AOL -- who owned CityGuide, nee Digital City -- and was laid off by them for a second time last March, which is pretty close to when Matt and Tayyib decided to go full bore with the company.

What is your favorite part of working here?

The loving camaraderie of so many talented, dedicated folks pouring their hearts and minds into a worthy project. I also like the sense of having different challenges each and every day. Much less boring and staid. Even if some of those challenges involve me getting endless shit from Matt about being old.

What do you look forward to in the next issue?

I like the fact that we're stepping it up on multiple fronts this time around: We're doing easily our most ambitious cover piece to date, while at the same time throwing down our version of a 'summer' issue.

 

 

Brian Jacobson, Creative Director

What do you do here?

Brian: I am the Creative Director of All Design And More

What does your average day consist of?

Brian: Oh, fuck. Dealing with freelance designers, illustrators, photographers and one total prima donna boy designer on staff, in addition to our Napoleon-complex publisher. Plus, candy.

How did you get started working for two.one.five magazine? What were you doing before?

Brian: I had already worked with Matt on a previous endeavor of his -- and had just started my own design company, bajdesign.com -- so we had built up a good working relationship. He approached me with the idea of the magazine and I interviewed for the gig. The rest is history.

What is your favorite part of working here?

Brian: I laugh a lot. There's a serious-but-goofy kind of family atmosphere with the staff.

What do you look forward to in the next issue?

Brian: For it to be over.

 

 

Abigail Bruley, Music/Fashion Editor

What do you do here?

Abigail: I'm the music/fashion editor here. I'm somewhere between a His Girl Friday, a Janine Melnitz and a Corky Sherwood.

What does your average day consist of?

Abigail: I guess you could say that I'm like an explorer. I scour the land to bring two.one.five readers the very finest in music and the most cavalier fashion. I'm also an editorial humanitarian -- I fix the world around me, one grammatical error at a time.

How did you get started working for two.one.five magazine? What were you doing before?

Abigail: I was tired and weary and looking for a place to get a nice meal and a hot shower and two.one.five opened it's doors to me and made me an editor.

What is your favorite part of working here?

Abigail: The weekly staff meetings, they operate a lot like The Gong Show once did.

What do you look forward to in the next issue?

Abigail: All the text and all the pictures. Also, everything I worked on.

 

 

 

Dominic Savini, Photo Director/Jennifer Bang, Photo Editor

What do you do here?

Jennifer: Whatever Matt Bacine tells me to do.
Dom: Matt Bacine.

What does your average day consist of?

Jennifer: Lots of naps and a little work.
Dom: Racial slurs from Matt.

How did you get started working for two.one.five magazine? What were you doing before?

Jennifer: Dom dragged me into it, before that I was a stripper.
Dom: Matt Bacine, Matt Bacine.

What is your favorite part of working here?

Jennifer: Matt Bacine.
Dom: Matt Bacine.

What do you look forward to in the next issue?

Jennifer: Lots of photos.
Dom: Shooting something.

 

 

 

Irving Navarro, Boy Designer

What do you do here?

Irv: I am the in-house designer.

What does your average day consist of?

Irv: Emailing, checking out our site, coffee. Besides that there really isn't an "average" day at the mag. I work on something new every day.

How did you get started working for two.one.five magazine? What were you doing before?

Irv: I was a slave for months working at 707 restaurant and going to school for graphic design.

What is your favorite part of working here?

Irv: I would say working in a laid-back environment. I always feared working in a cubical or being unhappy where I work. Not to say that it doesn't get stressful here, but I really couldn't ask for a better job.

What do you look forward to in the next issue?

Irv: I'm looking forward to this new issue as a whole -- it’s going to send a very powerful message to people in Philadelphia. It’s going to show a different side to the magazine that we haven't shown yet.

 

 

Catzie Vilayphonh, Fashion Director

What do you do here?

Catzie:I am the Fashion Director, but I am also the Office Manager and I coordinate the Marketing Department too.

What does your average day consist of?

Catzie: There is no average day here for me. On any given day I can be found doing one of the following:

- Browsing the internet or scouring magazine for brands I may want to use or tearing sheets out for looks to be used later

- Running around to showrooms, studios and boutiques checking out what’s gonna be hot now and next season

- Checking my bank account to see if I can afford something I really can’t, then trying to work my Fashion Director to persuade sending freebies

- Exchanging emails or playing phone tag with interviewees, designers and bill collectors

- Sending off magazines to all the right people, and making sure they get them

- Ordering office supplies/paying bills/calling in paychecks

- If I get in early enough, I’ll make coffee

- Arguing with Matt about how much work I do when I am not at my desk, and which one of us should get final say in Fashion Shoots

How did you get started working for two.one.five magazine? What were you doing before?

Catzie: I was the Fashion Editor for dorkmag.com and working at a law firm. Before that I was manager at Ubiq. There was a rumor that a Fashion Director and Office Manager could actually be single-handedly managed by one person. I am the guinea pig of that said experiment.

What is your favorite part of working here?

Catzie: I live four blocks away from work. Our office is in The Larry Gold Studio which makes for an interesting environment to be in. The first three months of working here I was always mistaken for being a singer, which is weird because there aren’t any Asian singers in the industry. The two.one.five staff is full of ideas and none of us hold our tongues about how we feel. Well, I don’t at least. All in all, it’s a stimulating experience to be surrounded by such creative energy. Oh, and I get to have interns, yippee.

What do you look forward to in the next issue?

Catzie: Thematically, the next issue is near and dear to my heart, but I also styled a lot of the fashion shoot this time around, and I’m really happy with it.

 

 

Coming Soon: An Interview with the two.one.five magazine Interns