Punk Rock Writing

Punk rock music was instrumental to my youth. Discovering albums like Black Flag's Damaged with my cousin Johnny D in his bedroom on an old Realistic record player in Newport, RI gave me joy and happiness and provided something to be excited about. While I grew up in Waltham, Massachusetts, I spent many summers, weekends, and school vacations staying at the Davis house in Newport and hanging out with my cousin Johnny D, a local legend in the hardcore scene. Johnny D knew everyone and everyone liked him. I was shy by contrast and simply enjoyed tagging along and being part of, at least by proxy, their music scene. Newport had a music scene of its own that did not exist in Waltham. By attending shows in Providence (Living Room, Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel) and Boston (The Channel, Paradise, The Rat etc.) with the Newport kids, we all eventually met some of the tight-nit Boston crew and became friends with them. Many of us have reconnected decades later via the magic of soc