A "trip into Boise's cosmic counterculture" unfortunately entitled "Pretty in Punk". The narrator asserts the dubious claim that there are "at least a couple hundred people" in Boise who describe themselves as punk. Man, I miss the feeling of a community of outcasts embodied by punk. There seem to be a lot fewer outcasts these days. Every community has a message board, website, Facebook page and real face to face interaction is no longer integral, let alone the visceral high of "slamdancing" with your closest friends. It's quaint and a bit refreshing to hear anything described as "shocking and controversial". I got the shit kicked out of me in suburban Chicago in the late 80s, so these kids must have been brave as hell. I'm getting old.
Part 1
"Drugs, alcohol, and sex are a part of the punk scene...the main emphasis is on art, music, and politics" - the obligatory connection to the hippie scene.
"You don't have to be afraid of these youngsters!"- even the square as heck adults seem pretty tolerant and understanding.
via the outstanding Ten Things blog
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16 comments:
Great stuff. Thanks for posting it. What I wouldn't give for a "Where Are
They Now" piece - come on Boise News!
By 1985, there were somewhere between 100-200 kids into punk. Shows regularly had turnouts of about 100, probably partly due to the fact they only happened monthly, and there wasn't much else to do. As well as being home to Septic Death and State of Confusion (who would later become The Treepeople), we had some great bands come through like The Freeze, Tales of Terror, Youth Brigade, Seven Seconds, NoFx, Beyond Possession, The Faction, Jackshit, and SNFU. And we had a dozen or so bands existing at any given time.
The video does lump some separate cliques within the scene into an overall "punk" group, though we all knew each other, we didn't all necessarily hang out. And someone messed with the reporter when stating that the places punks lived was called a "thrash house". Heh heh...
Man, another counterculture in Boise compared to Chicago. I had a lawyer friend from Chicago visit me in Boise back in 2002 or so (ooo) and he was amazed at the openness and vibrancy of the gay nightclub scene compared to his home town. Boise I have always found to be amazingly tolerant v. the rest of the state (and many parts of the country I have lived in). I was going around with a shaved head and (admittedly only 10ga) piercings well before it was fashionable, and received less stares there than I did in some larger cities.
Holy schnikees...my son is part of the Boise punk scene now. Just sent this to him. I hope getting it from "Dod" doesn't suck all the cool out of it. Thank you!
i expected universal condemnation, but saw the opposite. headmasters and parents were generally understanding; even supportive. it would have been interesting to get classmates' take too.
starring a manager of Reckless Records, youngster-style.
starring a manager of Reckless Records, youngster-style.
Thanks for schooling me on the Boise punk scene!
I didn't get into punk until 1988, so i'll plead a bit of ignorance there. by the time i was old enough to reach out to learn about punk scenes elsewhere, Boise had died down quite a bit.
Chicago, specifically suburban Chicago, is my only intimate frame of reference, hence the comparison.
Thanks for the comments and info!
Anonymous said...
And someone messed with the reporter when stating that the places punks lived was called a "thrash house". Heh heh...
Actually, Dave Hall and the guys he roomed with called their house "the thrash house"--and that's the house the reporter was standing outside of when he made that comment.
He probably thought that all "punk houses" were called "thrash houses," but it was really only that one.
The thrash house was located down around 19th and Jefferson--somewhere in that area.
ahhh, the punk house! my former band played in thrash houses (sic) named "legion of doom" (Columbus) and a Bomb Shelter and Fallout Shelter (can't remember where)
I'm from Boise I've played at Legion of Doom too, in two diffrent bands.
I broke my ankle at the Legion of Doom probably 10 years ago. 13 screws, 2 plates, and $34,000 in orthopedic surgery later, I am a contributing member to society.
Fortunately I had good Union insurance at the time and only paid $20 for extra gauze.
i never knew about you boise. kudos!
the girls and their dialouge hit a particular soft spot for me. this was the year i saw my first punk's in the mall...huge blue liberty spikes, girls with half shaved heads...they looked like a walking dream and it was jaw dropping and i was smitten. my dad yanked me from my gazing, bent next to my ear and said "don't you ever look like that." which i never really did end up looking like, but i lived vicariously in punk spirit through my halloween costumes for the remainder of the 80's. i don't think dad realizes he raised a punk, minus the uniform.
Excessive drinking of alcohol can lead to alcoholism, and this isn't a good to news to the punk scene. They should also be aware that with the involvement of drugs, their health would be in danger.
no shit! thanks for the newsflash, weirdo
Wow, Talk about a blast from the past. I grew up in Boise during the 80's and I was one of the 100 punk kids. I remember Sean Wyett's radio show and every weekend I could find State of Confusion playing in someone's basement I was there. Thanks for the read!
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