Punk Rock and DIY Culture



Punk Rock and DIY Culture

Audience:

Teens - Adult

Introduction:

Punk rock music started in the 1970s, but the 1980s witnessed an evolution for the scene through hardcore and do-it-yourself (DIY) culture. Bands did not have to be extremely talented to play, nor did bands have to seek record labels in order to survive. Instead, punk and DIY culture showed that anyone with enough ambition could write songs, start record labels, and tour. The formation of punk and DIY culture started thirty years ago, but the scene is still alive. This pathfinder provides resources about punk and DIY culture from past to present.

Site Index:

1. Subject Heading & Keywords

2. Call Numbers

3. Research Materials

4. Local Information

5. Frequently Asked Questions

1. Subject Headings & Keywords:

Punk culture

Punk rock music

2. Call Numbers:

Punk culture

306.1

920.00904

HM646

ML3534

NX547.6.B2

Punk rock music

791.43

781.66

M1630.18

3. Research Materials

Books:

-Azerrad, M. (2001). Our band could be your life: Scenes from the American indie underground 1981-1991. New York: Back Bay Books.

Azerrad, a long-time music writer, provides biographies of important bands from the beginnings of punk and DIY culture including Black Flag, Minor Threat, The Replacements, Sonic Youth, Fugazi, The Minutemen, and more in Our Band Could Be Your Life. This collection of biographies includes interviews from band members, friends of band members, and music critics in order to provide an insight of what it was like to be an underground band, and how those bands had a lasting influence on punk, DIY, indie, and underground culture.

-Rollins, H. (2004). Get in the van: On the road with Black Flag (2nd ed.). Los Angeles: 21361.

Henry Rollins is currently an author, actor, poet, spoken word artist, and so much more, but before all of this, Rollins was the lead singer of an the influential punk band Black Flag. Get in the Van is a published diary that Rollins kept while he was touring with Black Flag. This source covers five years and hundreds of tour dates while providing a first hand insight of what it was like to tour as a DIY punk band with little money, little recognition, and a strong work ethic.

DVDs:

-Rachman, P. (Director). (2006). American hardcore [Motion Picture]. United States: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

American Hardcore is a documentary based off a book by Steven Blush. This documentary features interviews from band members from band such as Black Flag, The Minutemen, Circle Jerk, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, and many others to explain what motivated bands to start, what life was like on the road, what recording a punk record involved, and what eventually led to the break up of some of those bands. Many of the artists personally contributed to the film through interviews and by providing rare footage such as concert videos, audio clips, and pictures.

CDs:

-Black Flag. (1981). Damaged [CD]. Los Angeles: SST Records.

Damaged is the first full-length Black Flag album as well as the first Black Flag album to feature Henry Rollins as a lead singer. Damaged features fast, aggressive music, which was a staple for early Black Flag, and it was a sound that many punk bands copied. Furthermore, the lyrics feature many common punk themes such as depression, alienation, hatred of police, mockery of such things like greed, heavy drinking, and television, anger, and unity. Damaged was released on SST Records, which is owned by Greg Ginn - the guitarist of Black Flag, thus showing that bands do not need to depend on large record label to release an album.

-Minor Threat. (1989). Complete discography [CD]. Washington D.C.: Dischord Records.

This Minor Threat contains every Minor Threat song recorded from 1981 to 1983. Like Black Flag, Complete Discography was released on Dischord Records, which is owned by vocalist Ian MacKaye, but Minor Threat's music is representative of the Washington D.C. punk scene unlike Black Flag's Los Angeles roots. Minor Threat is well known for the songs "Straight Edge," "In My Eyes," and "Out of Step," which feature lyrics against drinking, smoking, drugs, and casual sex - much against the image of punk musicians from the 1970s such as Sid Vicious who died after overdosing on heroin. These songs spawned the Straight Edge movement, which is still popular in indie music and Christian alternative music.

Encyclopedias:

-Cogan, B. (2010). The encyclopedia of punk. New York: Sterling Publishing.

Cogan has both a Ph.D. in Media Ecology and an interest in punk rock, thus providing The Encyclopedia of Punk, which contains a comprehensive look at the musical genre that is over thirty years old. This encyclopedia contains an alphabetical list that features all of the well known bands as well as many unfamiliar bands in the genre as well entries of important topics such as DIY, Straight Edge, the Riot Grrrl movement, record labels, and much more, which all have plenty of accompanying photographs. Overall, The Encyclopedia of Punk is a great resource for fans and new punk fans that are searching for a introduction of punk from the past four decades.

Directories:

-Google. (2011). Google directory: Punk. Retrieved April 27, 2011, from .

Google directories attempt to use both technology and editors to collect the most relevant web resources on a particular subject. Google's directory on punk rock is no different. This is a wonderful place to start a search on punk and to narrow any broad topics of punk. For example, this directory contains a general category as well as specific categories on punk such as hardcore, lyrics, photos, radio, record labels, regional information, concerts, and more.

Websites:

-Absolute Punk. (2011). Home. Retrieved April 27, 2011, from .

Absolute Punk contains news, reviews, concert and festival tour information, interviews, and exclusive artist content from punk, indie, emo, and alternative bands. Furthermore, there is a large and active community in the forums, which allows for like-minded people with an interest in punk or alternative music to communicate on almost any topic. Many of the community members are also allowed to submit reviews, news articles, interviews, which shows that punk culture transitions well to a virtual world.

-Clem, M. (2008). Nothing nice to say. Retrieved April 27, 2011, from .

Nothing Nice to Say is a web comic by Mitch Clem that follows several friends who are interested in punk rock, coffee shops, and playing music. The comic strip references many influential punk figures, albums, and songs. The humor is definitely geared for those who already have knowledge of punk rock, but this is a comic for an underserved audience. This comic strip shows that punk rock can transcend music and that anyone with an interest in the subject can contribute to the culture through unique talents.

-Death to False Hope Records. (2011). Albums. Retrieved April 27, 2011, from .

Death to False Hope Records is a label that applies the DIY ethics of punk to the digital age. Death to False Hope Records has approximately one hundred albums from nearly as many bands ranging from punk rock to alternative available free because the label simply wants to promote great bands who also believe that giving away music will allow for more exposure. The bands and label are going against the traditional ways to release music in the days of piracy lawsuits and strict digital distribution laws, embracing the full potential of the internet much like the bands that created their own record labels in the 1980s. There are even a few up and coming bands on Death to False Hope Records such as Mixtapes, Direct Hit!, The Haverchucks, and more. New releases seem to appear monthly, so it is worth revisiting this page every so often for great new punk music.

-Punk News. (2011). Home. Retrieved April 27, 2011, from .

Punk News is a source for news, reviews, streaming music, tour information, contests, and more for both popular and lesser-known punk bands. Punk News is updated multiple times a day, thus providing the most current information for the punk rock community. Furthermore, if an information seeker prefers to gain news through audio form, Punk News has a weekly podcast that contains news from the previous week, interviews, and music.

4. Local Information

-Cleveland Scene. (2011). Music. Retrieved April 27, 2011, from .

Cleveland Scene is a weekly alternative paper that covers many topics such as politics, local news, movies, theater, restaurants, and music. This paper covers more than just music and punk rock, but there is a large list of upcoming concerts in the Cleveland area that range from concerts large venues like The Q to small venues such as Now That's Class (a local punk club). Furthermore, Cleveland Scene spotlights a local band of the week in order to promote local music. This is a free source to take advantage of to find out about music and more in Cleveland.

-Northeast Ohio Music Scene. (2011). Info. Retrieved April 27, 2011, from .

This Facebook page attempts to provide a list of local bands, list tour dates, share music, upload photographs, post classified, and gives bands a place to connect. This is not a comprehensive source because the bands need to reach out to this Facebook page, but this source uses social networking in hopes of creating a flourishing local music scene.

-Now That's Class. (2011). Home. Retrieve April 27, 2011, from .

Now That's Class is a local venue in Cleveland, Ohio that features many local and touring punk bands for a reasonable price. Apart from just the bands, this venue features an arcade, a jukebox, a skateboard ramp, and more in order to create an interesting atmosphere for when bands are not playing.

-Romanak, J. (2011). DIY; Ohio - Part one. Retrieved April 27. 2011, from .

Romanak presents a documentary that follows local Ohio DIY bands as they play house shows in Akron and Cleveland. This is an interesting documentary as it is current and features bands and artists that are currently playing in Ohio. Apparently, Romanak plans for this to become an ongoing series. This first part features the bands and artists Such Gold, Koji, and Into it Over it.

-Romanak, J. (2011). DIY; Ohio - Part two. Retrieved April 27. 2011, from .

This is the second part of Romanak's documentary, which features interviews from the bands and artists Transit and Tiger Jaw.

5. FAQs

Are there any other local libraries that have the listed materials?

The Lakewood Public Library has all of the cited material, but the Lakewood Public Library does not allow links to catalog records to be shared. The Cuyahoga County Public Library and Cleveland Public Library also have many of the same materials, but not all.

What are some other venues in the Cleveland area that host punk bands?

Beachland Ballroom

House of Blues

Peabody's Down Under

Pirate's Cove

Rockstar Stage

The Grog Shop

What are some other essential punk albums?

A copy of a Kerrang! articles that features 50 essential albums can be found here: .

Where can I buy punk albums or other merchandise in order to support the bands?

is a great online store, which can be found here: .

©2011 Jack Smith

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In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

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