Great God Pan was an underground culture magazine that published fourteen issues between 1989-2000 out of the Bay Area and, later, Los Angeles. Championing the esoteric and West Coast (or “Californiana”), editors Erik Bluhm and Mark Sundeen tirelessly explored southwestern locales like the Great Salt Desert and the Salton Sea; detailed figures like Jim Webb and Bobby Beausoleil; and showcased the handiwork of artists like Chris Johanson, Raymond Pettibon, Tobin Yelland, and Frances Stark.
While issues 1-4 appeared as a classic, Xeroxed and stapled zine featuring handwritten articles about bands and proto-“shit posts,” by Issue 5, Great God Pan was progressing towards the thick, perfect bound and well-designed guide to the lesser known corners of California that it would become. Regular features like Sundeen’s “Car Camping” (which was later compiled into a novel for HarperCollins) and “Site Specific” detailed adventures to unknown dive bars, land artworks, cult-related landmarks, or the “site of 1968 Buffalo Springfield pot bust”, for example, long before Google Maps or websites like Atlas Obscura could guide the way. Countless reviews for both music albums and live gigs, books, and art exhibitions were also included. Pre-internet, issues were compiled through tireless research at the library and fact-checking across hard-to-find books, self-published pamphlets, and cult propaganda.
Great God Pan‘s fourteen covers, various clippings, and some related ephemera are included here.
Erik Bluhm lives in Los Angeles. He has worked as a publisher, writer, artist, and musician. He currently hosts the audio program West Coast Fog.
