Nicholas Langley November 18 , 2011 WRTG 1150 Final Writing Project
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Nicholas Langley November 18th, 2011 WRTG 1150 Final Writing Project Author’s Note The purpose of writing this story is to show that punk was not forged in violence but rather that punk came from a spirit of creativity and cooperation. This is a true story, told first hand by Ian MacKaye himself, re-told here as true as I can recall, and serves as an example of how punks were the largest victim of the violence that was becoming part of their daily lives. People with an interest in punk already, or a general interest in music history will have something to gain from this essay. I have chosen the creative non-fiction genre, which allows for the blending of reality and research, working hand-in-hand to a common end. For the reader not familiar with Ian MacKaye I will take a moment to introduce our narrator for this essay. Born in Washington, D.C. In 1962, MacKaye has been actively involved with punk/hardcore music since 1979 when he formed Minor Threat, a commercially small but hugely influential hardcore band. The band was one of the founders of the D.C. hardcore scene and popularized the “Straight Edge” movement, which will be covered below. MacKaye is also the owner of Dischord Records, an independent label based in Washington, D.C. known for supporting local artists and embracing the DIY mentality to its fullest, no big labels, no bull shit, just genuine music. Preface: In the interest of both academic honesty and creative flow the narration of this story is more or less the words of Ian MacKaye. They have been paraphrased below as best I can remember them with creative license taken only to the finer details, keeping the facts of the story intact. From this point forward the narration takes the voice of Mr. MacKaye and will not be cited within the text. Hardcore History X It was another average day in D.C., we were killing time in some parking lot, outside some store, wishin' we were somewhere else. The other guys in the band were fuckin' with the radio in Jeff's lemon of a Buick, trying to get Bad Brains to stay in tune. I recall taking slow drags off my last Parliament when those two black cars pulled up, to this day I don't remember their make but they were hearses as far as we were concerned. Four of the largest, crustiest, rudest looking skinheads I'd ever seen stepped out of the cars and as luck would have it they were looking us. At the time I was only nineteen. Growing up in Washington D.C. in the late 70s I remember thinking, “god I'd love to be in a band,” but it was obviously completely out of my reach. It was for professionals really. It was not something that I would be able to do because I couldn't play guitar, ya know? I was not trained. And besides, as anyone who grew up in the 70s knew, rock n' roll was like this gallery of princes and princesses, it was like royalty, you had to be anointed by god to play music. And that really is where the DIY movement all came from. DIY stands for “Do It Yourself” and it does not just have to do with music. It's everything, it's music, it's art, it's whatever you wanna do, however you need to express yourself. It's just about getting your hands dirty and trying something, regardless of if you make any money or get famous. As Meremu C. wrote in a review for the documentary American Hardcore, “the DIY ethic proved that if you don’t agree or identify with the larger system, you can form your own.” So, when Jeff and I formed Minor Threat together in 1980 it was a bunch of Punks who couldn't sing or play instruments, hell we could barely afford 'em. We knew a few chords and we had a bone to pick. Pretty quick people started getting excited about what we were playing and before long we were booking regular gigs at the 9:30 Club and Jammin' Java, a couple of local venues in Washington, D.C. Most of the kids at the shows were there for the music and camaraderie, where else could you wear spikes and a mohawk and fit right in? However, there was an attraction for the skin heads who just wanted to get drunk and kick the shit out of someone in a mosh pit. In a 2002 article for Popular Music & Society Neil Nehring talks about this evolution, “Whatever the musicians’ intentions, an increasing level of violence in the audience is evident: the pogo had become slam-dancing and stage diving that would ultimately evolve into the mosh-pit.” So, whats a skin head then? In order to understand why Punk attracted a violent reputation it is helpful to understand the roots of another subculture that became intertwined with Punk early on, skin heads. The term has huge negative connotation, however, skinheads have not always been violent, racist, people. As the article 'Skinheads in America' says, “The first skinheads emerged in the late 1960s as just one of the many distinct youth cultures that flowered in postwar Britain. Taking elements of English "mod" and Jamaican immigrant fashion, these working-class London youths crafted an identity in self-conscious opposition to the middle-class 'longhairs'” Much like Punk, skinheads find their origin in less privileged individuals who wanted to express themselves uniquely. However, a division developed within the culture due to racist attitude of many members whom were attracted to the tough, working class style. Before long the image of skin heads and phrase “skin head” itself was associated with the violence perpetrated by this growing minority. Before long public impression solidified against all skin heads and, by association, Punks. Around the time that the violence at the shows was getting out of control there was also a huge problem with drugs in the hardcore scene. People I knew were getting fucked up on prescription drugs and Cocaine daily; and with real consequences. Seemed like every other week you would hear someone say, “Oh you remember Johnny? He OD'd last night.” The drugs were not the only thing getting more dangerous in the 80s. The free love attitude of the 60s and 70s was also starting to fade. Sex was not a safe thing to be doin' any more, at least not at random. AIDS changed all that but people hadn't gotten the picture yet. So, we all swore off tobacco, booze, other drugs and promiscuous sex. A lot of punks I knew were going this route. They were taking a stand for their safety and everyone around them. In my own way I took a stand with “Straight Edge”, a song from our first EP, which goes “I'm a person just like you / But I've got better things to do / Than sit around and fuck my head / Hang out with the living dead.” The song coined the term that defined the straight edge movement, and it put Minor Threat in the spotlight of the D.C. Hardcore scene. While we were trying to use music to help our fellow Punkers the racist skin heads used music to spread their hateful ideology. As a result a new genre, separate from hardcore and punk, called Hate- Rock formed around bands such as The Dentists, The Vetz, Tragic Minds, White Boss, Romantic Violence. Sadly though, they sounded a lot alike to regular people. They were both loud, fast, and pissed off. As these two movements, Punk and this new, racist, Skin Heads, began to merge the scene at Punk concerts began to change. Greg Graffin, the lead singer of Bad Religion, our L.A. contemporaries, and author of multiple scholarly texts, talks about an incident between some skinheads and a gay couple outside Oki Dog, a Punk hangout in LA during the late 70s and early 80s, “news reports said that the gay man died from head injuries after a fight with punk rockers on Santa Monica Boulevard. That was a pivotal moment in L.A. Punk history. It reinforced a reputation for violence that was growing rapidly in the punk community. Skinheads and other groups with a propensity for violence had begun coming to many shows.” By the mid 80s Punk was being associated with the violence of the neo-nazi movement and it was having an effect on the musicians as Graffin says, “By that time – the fall of 1984 – the punk scene was pretty much dead in Southern California. I loved the music and the performing. But I was traumatized by the violence surrounding punk and deeply disturbed by the constant association of punk with nihilism and hatred.” This sentiment was felt by many bands who called it quits early when they saw what their music was being used for. After ”Straight Edge” more hardcore kids and bands started labeling themselves as straight edge. As a result a rift grew in the community between those that called themselves straight edge and those who did not. Minor Threat, and a lot of our contemporaries, stopped playing shows with non- straight edge bands. Which, of course, pissed a lot of people off. We just did not want our music to be used for those means. But there was backlash. One day I will never forget, I was standing around in a parking lot with Jeff and Brian, from the band, when a couple of cars pulled up.