Its 2015 and while the Caribbean may be home to hundreds of glossy page magazines and Jamaica having quite a few of their own, before there were many there was one specific magazine called "BACKYARD" magazine.
You might think I'm a little partial to this magazine seeing as one of the founding members is a very good friend of mine home I've known for more than 10 years, and if that wasn't enough I've seen first hand how much work goes into this magazine the attention to detail. Always staying true to the brand and the brand Jamaica and never selling out no matter how good the opportunity is, trust me not many people have the credibility like these group of men. They have worked with practically everybody in the Industry and while a lot of people in the business enjoy the spotlight Amilcar Lewis is a true artist so you will not find heavily filtered pictures of him on Instagram or his face slaughtered through out the magazine. Enough of me blabbering allow me to introduce you to chief editor of BACKAYARD magazine, Amilcar Lewis.
Lauren O Lauren - Who runs BACKAYARD magazine and who is the team made up of?
Amilcar - As it stands now the team consists of Amilcar Lewis, Noel-Andrew Bennett, Audrey Lewis and Philip Lobban with several freelance photographers and writers we can call upon.
Lauren O Lauren - A lot of people don't know this but you guys have been around for a while. When did you decide to start a magazine and why.
Amilcar - Well, I had an idea when I was working overseas to have a physical representation of Jamaican culture in the book stores and magazine racks. At that time the internet just started taking off in terms of coverage and what was available at that time was just party pic sites nothing really about the music and or culture. The idea to have all of the guys and girls I knew with talent to work under that banner came from there.
Lauren O Lauren - What does BACKAYARD magazine focus on?
Amilcar - We started as just a music centric magazine with visions to expanding to other aspects of the Jamaican, and now Caribbean culture. But as the islands of the Caribbean and its people move to a beat we at BACKAYARD try to showcase that.
Lauren O Lauren - How are you guys adjusting to the digital age and what obvious changes have you already made or plan to make to the magazine?
Amilcar - We now trying to maintain a better online presence with www.backayard.com Facebook- Backayard Magazine, twitter- @Backayardmag and on instagram with the soon to be renamed amilnal tag. In the magazine we are trying to add augmented reality to certain pages in each issue which would help to push both the website and magazine sales. That along with more youtube exclusives and other specials we should be well setup for the future.
Lauren O Lauren - Do you consider yourselves an authentic Jamaican brand compared to all the other magazines out of Jamaica?
Amilcar - Not really, everyone who has the fortune to be able to print and/or maintain an online presence from Jamaica is authentic in my eyes as there must be like minded people who love to read, watch or listen to whatever is produced. What we are, however, is still the only Jamaica magazine that primarily focuses on the music and the culture surrounding that, so I guess we are authentic in that way.
Lauren O Lauren - What are BACKAYARD's plans for the future?
Amilcar - Well, we have to continue to try and align ourselves with projects that matter to us. We are trying to work with www.weareriddim.com to push the online radio format which would help the charts from the magazine to gain more credibility. We also try and sell branded content to other sites and services to try and grow the brand that way. We have a music tour called the 'Making Jamaica Music Tour' based around Downtown Kingston and music it produces which we are trying to expand. I guess once we stay afloat in this harsh business world then anything is possible.
Keep up With BACKAYARD magazine and join the movement and definitely follow them on Instagram:
The Making Jamaica Music Tour link is below:
www.hotelmockingbirdhill.com/experiences/pressing-tunes-a-historical-music-tour-of-kingston
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