They accept art of any medium. They print them at their local library. They hand them out for free. They are “Yes, I Don’t,” a fresh zine soon to spit out its third edition on May 3, located right here in Denver.
Consisting of Sean Perman, Mills Coleman, Marco Ramirez and Andres, the group connected over their passion for art and desire to garner community. The staff boasts musicians from “Surprise Soup” and “Scorplings,” as well as a sound technician and a film student, so it was only natural that the zine found its footing in Denver’s music scene. The print first appeared at a show in August 2024, both in paper and in the shape of the ever-reliable CD.
“For the first one, I think we printed about 70… we just took them everywhere… we made some CDs too with cool music… and all of it [was] free,” explained Coleman.
“The release was at a show that Sean’s band played,” explained Andres. “We specifically built the event as a zine release,” added Ramirez.
But while the zine has its roots in music, its intention is to offer a space for all art forms — visual art, poetry and prose, music and more. Andres explained that he even crafts a comic strip for the zine. The point is, if you have something to say, they want to hear it.
“It’s very hodge-podged… It’s really just an open invite to anyone who wants their art printed in a zine in the underground alternative scene in Denver,” said Coleman.
They’ve even received submissions all the way from San Diego — a band named “Misfire” eager to share their latest tune.
“It’s such an outreach thing. It’s not exclusive at all, and that’s something I think is really important, especially… creating a zine that is meant to be distributed; it’s like you [are] distributing it so the people see it so that they want to be a part of it,” said Coleman.
As for the making of the zine, it’s what Coleman described as “very DIY.” They accept submissions through their Instagram and via email (it’s free to submit); they print their issues out for free, staple them by hand and distribute them at shows for free.
“There’s nothing else there except for effort and passion, I guess,” Coleman explained.
When asked about the future of the zine, the crew had high hopes. Their biggest desires were to see growth in submissions and to focus more on community events.
“[I hope] the community… just keeps growing, and with the platform… that we get to see more people get inspired to contribute and express themselves,” said Ramirez.
Perman had thoughts as well: “It could be cool to expand it more into a website, maybe down the line… there’s a lot of potential to progress it further and definitely promote local, community-based things. Especially in these dire times, I feel like it’s really important to bring people together and create community,” he said.
At the core of “Yes, I Don’t” is community. Each member expressed not only how they want the zine to create a connected world, but also how the zine has helped them engage with those around them. Whether it was the other members of the zine or the people they were meeting at art events, they felt like it has been drawing everyone a little closer.
Even the name was a community effort, decided on an Instagram poll. “That shows [that] a big part of the zine is that it is very community-focused, and there’s not really any leader of it,” Perman explained when sharing the name’s origin.
Ultimately, the sentiment behind the zine was made clear in a comment from Ramirez: “All of the craziness just gets subsided by community.”
If you’re interested in submitting, DM them on Instagram or through email: surprisesoup@gmail.com. And, if you’re interested in attending the next zine release, check out Soupstock on May 3!
