Agnostic Front: With Time - The Roger Miret Archives is a new book packed from cover to cover with hardcore music ephemera courtesy of the NYHC icon. I was sent a copy of the book a couple of weeks ago and have been picking through it since then, loving both the candid photos and rare merch items included the most, but there's a little bit for all fans of both the band and hardcore in general.
Available now, With Time was compiled and produced by Miret alongside Todd Huber, who I became friends with via his work with the annual Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas. I hit him up with some questions about the project to gain some insight on the book's journey from concept to completion.
If you're in the Southern California area, Miret and Huber will be conducting three signing engagements from Friday to Sunday (Dec. 13-15), so scroll down to the bottom for more information on that.
What led to putting this book together? Did you initially connect with Roger through your work with Punk Rock Bowling?
I’ve been working with Roger for about 20 years on various projects, outside of Punk Rock Bowling. I did a few tours with Roger with AF and Roger and the Disasters and worked on several AF album covers and music videos, and we've always shared a similar love for music, art, and cars. It’s made for a great creative connection, and the enthusiasm of seeing his archives and being in the right place at the right time led to the start of the book project.
I’m stoked Roger trusted me with the project, and being able to help him on this 4-year project is an honor.
Tell me a bit about Roger's archiving habits. For someone who has lived out on the road for decades now, it's impressive how much AF-related ephemera he's held onto through the years. I'm sure that made your job much easier!
Roger is meticulous. He’s a true historian, collector, and fan with an incredible recollection of nearly every flyer, every photo, and every printed item in the archive. He has folders of sequenced AF and Psychos flyers from the beginning, photos that are well labeled and organized by era and dates.
His ability to connect and track down missing AF ephemera with fans and other collectors is most impressive.
How was Roger as a collaborator? Did you guys ever clash on things during the production process?
Getting to work with Roger on this book was amazingly cool and easy. This last year, we’ve spent countless hours sequencing and organizing all the loose parts from years of archiving and photographing. My method of organization is a much more maddening process compared to Roger’s hyper-organized system. So, any clash was pretty comical.
In the last stages of editing, I had a lot of collage elements and photographs that came together nicely at the very end. Roger was really impressed with the way it turned out, and I told him I work best with a gun to my head. He said, “ Man, if I knew that, I’d a put 20 guns to your head when we started!"
What were some of the highlights for you in terms of the ephemera Roger pulled out of his collection? Stuff that made you go, "Whoa! I can't believe he has this!"
The big “Whoa” of the book was the ’85 Us Tour Diary. The fact that they journaled almost every date and kept the book in perfect condition after all those years was incredible. Reading through the diary and laying it out in the book told a story within the story.
You get to see the US through the eyes of a young AF band and theres a certain charm to an otherwise hard aesthetic that you get to see. I never knew these guys enjoyed fishing so much! (Laughs) I think they had more fishing expeditions than East Coast shows on that first US Tour.
Tell me about this event going down here in Los Angeles this weekend.
This weekend, we have Three signings and events. Friday, Dec 13th is at the Monty in Downtown LA, from 6:30-10:00pm. Roger and Vinnie will be signing both Agnostic Front: With Time - The Roger Miret Archives and Vinnie Stigma: the Most Interesting Man in the World books. Low Life Sound System will be spinning records.
Saturday, we will be at Alex’s Bar for the Long Beach Record Fair from 1:00pm-5:00pm. On Sunday, Dec. 15th, we’re doing another signing and meet and greet at Dr. Strange Records in Alta Loma from 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm.
We will have the hardcover and deluxe editions of With Time available for purchase. The Deluxe turned out killer and includes a hard case slip cover, plus an insert with AF stencil, original sticker art and sheet, 2 prints, and a poster. Hardcovers are on sale for $60, and the Deluxe is $140.
***
Get more information and order your copy of Agnostic Front: With Time - The Roger Miret Archives Book at this link.
Tagged: agnostic front, book
