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Philadelphia punk scene

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The Philadelphia punk scene refers to the vibrant punk rock scene created in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia punk scene
Stylistic origins
Cultural originsEarly 1980s, Philadelphia, United States
Typical instrumentsElectric guitar, bass guitar, drums, vocals
Other topics

History

Early history (1980s)

Because of its location, Philadelphia was an easy place for bands from New York City and Washington, DC to play concerts. Venues such as the Elk's Center, Love Hall, Long March, Community Education Center (CEC) and Abe's Steaks (a small hoagie shop) regularly held hardcore shows during the 1980s. WEL Records played a quite role with their relentless promotion. Other notable sites such as the Starlite Ballroom,[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] BYO Hall, East Side Club, West Side Club (which was actually Jeff Jenkins Basement in West Philadelphia), The Kennel Club and Buff Hall were hosts of shows by well known hardcore bands. Together these venues hosted shows not only by local hardcore punk bands but also more well known bands like Bad Brains, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Flipper, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol, and many others. The local hardcore scene drew from Philadelphia as well as Delaware County, Pennsylvania, South Jersey, Reading, Allentown, Delaware, and other surrounding suburbs in the Philadelphia metropolitan area or Delaware Valley.

The Sickidz, a Philadelphia-based punk rock band, formed in the late 1970s. Four teenagers were in love with The Cramps, Stooges, 1960s garage punk and of course the first wave of punk rock. This bunch of guys were Mick Cancer, Alison (the) End, Tim Trauma and Rich Lustre. Their apocalyptic theatrical performances became popular in Philly/N.Y.C underground circuits (Hot Club, CBGB, Max’s), opening for punk luminaries as The Cramps, Iggy Pop, Gang of Four, Contortions, Siouxsie and The Banshees, The Dead Kennedys etc. After their first 7” "Rhythm Gurl" released in 1981, Lux Interior and Poison Ivy Rorschach produced their classic I Could Go To Hell For You EP in 1983. This anthology contains the best of their 1979-84 studio recordings, recorded at Third Story Recording by Scott Herzog. A converted apartment on the third floor of row house, Third Story Recording, above La Terrasse restaurant in West Philly became the go-to place for early Philly punk bands to record their, mostly, 7" singles: The Dead Milkmen, Bunnydrums, Head Cheese, Transfactor, The Stickmen, Sickidz, Crash Course in Science, Pink Slip Daddy, Go To Blazes, Decontrol, The Friggs and many others.

An important source of exposing the Philadelphia region to this music were the DJs Jeff Jenkins and Steve Lukshides at WKDU, 91.7 FM, Drexel University's radio station and Eddie "Hacksaw" at University of Pennsylvania's WXPN, 88.5 FM. Music by some of the early Philadelphia hardcore bands were included on the 1983 compilation LP Get Off My Back.[11]

South Street, Philadelphia had served as the center of the Philadelphia punk scene since the mid to late 1970s, and bars and music venues on the street featured hardcore punk acts in the 1980s. Important bands in the early Philadelphia punk scene include The Dead Milkmen, a band that played an often sarcastic and humorous variant of hardcore punk. Though formed in Los Angeles, the hardcore punk band Fear had considerable connections to Philadelphia during the band's heyday; Fear's frontman Lee Ving was a Philadelphia native, and he notably referenced the Philadelphia South Street punk scene in the 1983 song "I Don't Care About You".

2010s

In the 2010s Philadelphia has been said to have the best punk scene in the country. [12] largely due to the emo and pop punk scenes in the city. Venues in the city became a haven for many pop punk and emo bands from other parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, even Boston and Detroit. Some bands credited with keeping the punk scene alive in Philadelphia are The Wonder Years, Modern Baseball, and Cayetana along with others.[13]

Notable bands (in alphabetical order)

References

  1. ^ Vadala, Nick. "David Carroll, 81, club and restaurant owner who helped create Philadelphia's punk and New Wave scenes". inquirer.com.
  2. ^ "Starlite Ballroom was here (Kensington, Philly)". roadsidehistoricalmarkers.com.
  3. ^ Frank Blank Moriarty Informed Sources: About the Band September, 2012
  4. ^ Hurchalla, George (Jan 29, 2016). "Going Underground: American Punk 1979–1989". PM Press – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "Black Flag: 1981/07/10". Dementlieu Punk Archive.
  6. ^ Barile, Nancy (Aug 12, 2018). "The Day I Got Bombed at a Dead Kennedys Show". OZY.
  7. ^ "King of scream: We remember David Carroll, the man who created Philly's punk scene in his image". Jul 18, 2019.
  8. ^ "Bunnydrums". Metropolis Records.
  9. ^ "A Philly Nightlife Legend Has Died. Here's What He Meant To Us". The Federalist. Jun 2, 2019.
  10. ^ "He-Ho/Fiat Lux". Record Collector Magazine.
  11. ^ "KFTH - Get Off My Back Compilation LP".
  12. ^ "Philadelphia Has the Best Punk Scene in the Country Right Now". 4 February 2014.
  13. ^ "10 emo, pop-punk bands keeping the scene alive in Philadelphia - Features - Alternative Press". Alternative Press.
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