Bianca Valentino

Bianca Valentino loves to talk, listen, write & learn. She has spoken to everyone from Snoop Dogg to No Doubt, Henry Rollins to Good Charlotte, Connor Oberst to Fugazi, The Mars Volta to the Ramones. Interviewing musicians, artists and celebrities since the age of fifteen, Bianca’s work has reached millions of people across the planet—her work published in print and online for: Rolling Stone, Rave Magazine, Blunt, Australian Hysteria, Punk Rock Confidential and most recently CollapseBoard.com (a place where music is treated with the respect it deserves) + more. She has written professionally since 1997.

Bianca has self-published for the past 17 years, making independent publications called zines. She is the winner of the 2011 Australian Zine Maker of the Year Award—Chick Magazine declared her “Zine Queen”. Over the years Bianca’s zines have been called “Australia’s best zine” by Demolish zine, UK’s Savage Amusement zine has said ‘While old time scenesters wallow in their pigeon-holing apathy, Bianca and friends make things happen whether it be radio shows, gigs, or investing a fortune in a project like this (zine) and making it work’ while US punk bible Maximum Rock n Roll commented “Not the slightest hint of pretension or jadesim, can be found here and that most certainly is a breath of fresh air!”

In 2010 she started the Paper Cuts Collective (PCC) zine co-op with friends Staples & Limmer – dedicated to strengthening the zine and independent publishing community in her part of the world and beyond, striving to promote diverse DIY created works and providing networking opportunities for zine makers & lovers to help strengthen channels of communication and cultivate a sense of community. The PCC kicked things off with a 3-day triple zine launch and zine fair (the first held in Brisbane – her hometown – in years) at the Bleeding Heart Gallery in September 2010.

Bianca takes her love of zines and desire to connect with others further by facilitating zine workshops, educating and empowering others in how-to make their own alternative media—most recently working with the Museum of Brisbane during The Stoke – A History of Brisbane Skateboarding exhibition. She is available for zine workshops… interested? Get in touch! She also provides services for bands and artists writing bios, press releases and liner notes for CDs… interested? Contact: conversationswithbianca [at] gmail [dot] com. She’d love to hear from you and is always on the lookout for new and exciting opportunities to work with other creative souls. Bianca also shares her experiences, knowlegde & skills at public speaking engagements – 2011 finds her a presenter on panel at Brisbane music conference Unconvention and presenting a DIY publishing workshop alongside British music critic/tastemaker Everett True.

Both Bianca and favourable reviews of her work and events have been featured prominently in such publications and media as Australian Art Journal, Big Cheese (UK), Chick Magazine, The Courier-Mail, Dolly Magazine, The Gold Coast Bulletin, Hysteria, Maximum Rock n Roll (US), Channel Nine (Hot Source), Project 4000, Punk Planet (US), Rave, Renegades Empire, Rock & Theology, Time Off, Triple J, Vague Culture, 3RRRfm, 4ZZZfm + more.

Her most recent (and ambitious) projects to-date, Conversations with Punx: A Spiritual Dialogue (CWP) & Hip Hop Insight, embrace Bianca’s love of, and preference for, the in-depth artist interview. Both projects are a collection of conversations with individuals from the respective subcultures – punk rock & hip hop – chatting openly (and in a lot of instances for the first time publically) on important subjects dear to both their and Bianca’s heart: spirituality, creativity, community, family, love and of making a positive contribution to the world. Her interviews go beyond your regular mainstream magazine feature that concentrates on the artist’s latest record, latest tour, latest entrepreneurial venture, latest video or latest social outing. Unlike a lot of music writers Bianca actually cares about the people she talks to. CWP is currently being released as a limited edition 12 zine series with a book to follow at series conclusion. It recently won a Golden Stapler Award for Best Zine Produced in Australia (as a series). Hip Hop Insight will be released in 2012.

Bianca has cultivated long-standing friendships with many she has interviewed, the artists appreciating her thoughtful, in-depth, honest approach to interviewing – many commenting that “talking to Bianca is like talking to Oprah” – some have even asked her to write positive affirmations for them to take on tour. Marky Ramone has told Bianca “Your heart is in the right place”, Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong once called her “Queen of the Punx” , Cro-Mags frontman and author John Joseph has commented that Bianca is a “special soul”, Grammy Award winning MC & hip hop producer Speech of Arrested Development has expressed to her “I am proud of you for striving towards such a noble purpose!” and Boysetsfire bassist Robert Ehrenbrand has said he feels blessed to know such a “positive and pro-active soul” such as Bianca.

Bianca is into celebrating every day, vintage typewriters, gratitude, tea sets, stationery, magazines, coloured-pencils, rose green tea, cupcakes, snow globes, music, art, meditation, yoga, zines, chanting, book fairs, libraries, crystals, vintage sweaters, standing up for what you believe in and the fact that we are not products of our environments but a mash-up of all the things we believe, people we meet and places we want to go. Conversations with Bianca is her love letter to the universe.