Punk Rock Writing

Because today is the 35th anniversary of Suicidal Tendencies' debut album, it led to some Facebook exchanges with fellow fans and to this story about music sharing. Right after this album came out, Suicidal Tendencies were still pretty small but word was spreading by carrier pigeon. Around this time, we went to see the Necros and Reflex From Pain in Cambridge, MA and we got to hang out with the Necros in their van. The Ohio boys told us about bands they knew of and about ones to catch. They played us a few of their fellow bands from Touch and Go Records on the van's sound system and we shared some Boston hardcore with our new friends. I was with my cousin Johnny D  from Newport and his friend Dylan Roy who stayed at my parents' house in Waltham. We took the bus to the show and shortly after, climbed in the van. We saw the Ohio plates and a bunch of guys with short hair and dark clothing blasting punk rock music and calculated that it had to be the Necros. They were so...

While I grew up in Waltham, Massachusetts, my musical heart was in Newport, RI and the fantastic scene there. It was where I discovered punk rock via an old record player in a third story bedroom. My mom grew up there and we were lucky enough to spend many summers and school vacations there hanging out with the families of my mom's two sisters, Pat and Nancy, who lived on Aquidneck Island, in Newport and Portsmouth, respectively. During my time away at college, my parents moved to Newport full time and have lived there since. The city by the sea continues to be a great place for music to this day. My cousin Johnny D, who was hip-deep in the Newport music scene, and I were close and went to many shows together. I cover some of our escapades in my Johnny Thunders piece but many of our adventures entailed going from Newport to Rhode Island's shrine for independent music, The Living Room in Providence, for shows with many of our favorite punk rock acts like Black Flag, Hus...

Dad Punk: Circle Jerks Still Running Wild  As a teenager growing up just outside Boston, the Circle Jerks were my baptism into live punk rock in a show at The Channel in 1983 with local hardcore heroes Gang Green. Hooked on the art form from jump street, the slam-dancing pit became a place a kid like me could get lost for a few hours on Sunday afternoons. The kids from Hermosa Beach with Keith Morris on vocals and Greg Hetson on guitar were the punk band I saw the most in my youth.  On March 5, 2022, at the cavernous Showbox Sodo, the Circle Jerks headlined a three-act bill with fellow 80s punk stalwarts Adolescents and Negative Approach. I attended with friends in their 50s and 60s. About the half the crowd were punk rock old guys like us and the term “Dad Punk” came to mind. But I also noticed many younger faces sporting t-shirts of the bands playing and other groups from the 80s and that gave this aging punk fan some hope for the future.  Detroit’s Negative...