Meet Jack Rabid

We were lucky to catch up with Jack Rabid recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jack, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

I got it first from having two parents that had it to start, but when I was a teen and thus at the lower end of that spectrum, I became aware of punk rock together with a small set of friends, and together it gave us not only an ethos and a purpose, but its conceptual basis just plain blew my mind. That it was OK to be “weird” or be a weird object at times of distrust, befuddlement, or even outright worried scorn. That if you develop and follow your actual passions, and they don’t hurt anyone, you need not care if anyone else approves. And you will attract and find others who share them, and you can turn each other on and grow together, and beckon the rest of the world to join you instead of forming an exclusionary club and defining yourself that way. Then you can direct your efforts toward the sincere creation or documentation, and most of all participation, in those passions — especially alternative culture that can use your input and help. You can also laugh at yourself, because you know you’re on to something good and it’s just plain illuminating and enthralling, and also especially inspiring, to keep striving and taking full part in full appreciation. You can especially inspire people with your unabashed love and enthusiasm for all the things that thrill you that you’d like to share; it forms bonds right and left. And if you never lack for real friends, you will have more experiences — and more things that rock your world. And your confidence and self esteem just grow more. If you know who you are, and you know you are doing good things that others might like to do too, it’s very attractive; and you’re attracted to the same things in others.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Most of what I do is the nuts and bolts of writing and editing a semi-annual print magazine (about 200 pages) called The Big Takeover (I’ve been doing that 44 years so far) with its attached website bigtakeover.com, while also producing a 150-minute “Big Takeover” radio show every Monday for about 10 years now. It’s been exciting being exposed to, and subsequently exposing to readers and listeners and friends so many truly remarkable bands and musicians (and creating the music in the four bands I’ve been in, and the five original albums I have drummed on, in those bands). I’ve loved meeting the other musicians that have made my favorite music, past and present, famous and obscure, and I’m especially been excited to find that my efforts have led others to find great music and artists they might have missed otherwise. (I truly love it when people tell me that.) In my world, the music is king, and hype and buzz and all the rest are just noisy chatter, not the main event. And I like that our mag has maintained the original punk rock spirit (even while covering dozens of genres and hundreds of styles) that we began with when punk was new in the late 1970s. It’s been a gas taking part and being part of something that never dies!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I think doggedness and determination for a good goal are the most important thing. You can start out with the best intentions but when it starts to become a bit of a slog, you must keep in mind what it is that you are trying to accomplish, and what made you want to accomplish it — and keep the toiling going until you finish the job and can look at it with satisfaction that you saw it through, and it wouldn’t exist without you. And if you can call in others to help with a sincere job that benefits more than just yourself, you will likely get there even better, faster, and with more relish!

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

I was just thinking of this the other day, as the enormity of the task I set before myself twice a year inevitably leads me to feelings of overwhelment, like, “How will I ever get all this done?,” or “Where do I start?” or at some point, “How do I best attack this?” I think what gets me every time, is to make sure I put in the time and effort, and make sure I accomplish something each day that gets me closer to the end — like an endless series of steps that all must be finished or furthered as far as i can humanly get them today in the time I have allotted. If every day I’m a little closer to finishing, and I can eventually start to taste the idea that at the end of the process I will hold something I am proud of (because of all that effort!), then I drown out those initial noises and worries. It’s also the best way to lessen the fear and doubts and answer them proactively instead: to just keep plugging away until it’s eventually done!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bigtakeover.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/bigtakeovermag
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/BigTakeover
• Twitter: https://x.com/BigTakeoverMag
• Other: The Big Takeover Print Magazine / 356 4th St., Brooklyn, NY 11215