The Jungle Beat began in the basement of my friend Marc’s house one night in the early 90’s. “Fanzine” was the closest one word description of the publication, but we called it a music newsletter. So non-conformist, right?
Using Lotus AmiPro for layout/design, and a few random articles about music, The Jungle Beat was born.
Our distribution was our local college campus at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. We dropped off a couple hundred copies in various campus locations.
Partnering with a number of record (yes, record) company contacts, The Jungle Beat reviewed CDs and vinyl, interviewed artists, and reviewed live shows. This hobby became a great amount of fun, and an huge amount of work.
Combined with being Program Director and then Music Director at our Livingston College radio station, many colleagues wondered how I didn’t end up doing this professionally. I miss it, though, and with this site, I am bringing it back. I will add some archival articles as I dig them up, especially some interviews I am particularly proud of. Yes, I was young and asked boring questions. Get over it! Please enjoy, and thank you so much for visiting. – George Huang