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What’s up Sorry Staters?
Anyone ride Amtrak on a regular basis? Man, it had been a while since I’d taken the train anywhere. All things considered, I really enjoyed the trip. I definitely ran into some colorful characters on the train. Overheard some wild ass conversations while I was posted up in the café car. The 6 hours back from DC were pretty brutal, but at least I didn’t have to drive a car. Not sure if I mentioned my weekend plans in the previous newsletter, but I went up to Washington DC to see The Damned play at the 9:30 Club this past Friday night. I gotta say, it was incredible. The Damned are probably my favorite band, and they did not disappoint. I was like… emotional. So happy I finally got to see them. I guess I can finally cross that off the ol’ bucket list.
The Damned’s set list covered pretty much every era of the band’s catalog. And for being a bunch of dudes in their 60s, they all looked great and healthy, not to mention that they sounded totally amazing. I overheard a few of my lady friends (who are my age, mind you) saying that Dave Vanian still looks hot. Haha. When they played “Eloise”, you could feel an overwhelming sense that all the goth moms (and let’s face it, goth dads too) were totally swooning in the audience. I was just happy to hear some deep cuts like “Limit Club”. I also was blown away that they played “Curtain Call” for the encore, and then smoothly transitioned right into “New Rose”. So killer. Very diverse collection of weirdos in attendance at the show. A bunch of my punk friends from Richmond were there, whom I was very happy to see. But also, random people literally dressed as vampires going to a wedding, like tuxedoes and white dresses covered in blood stains while wearing fake vampire teeth. I was standing pretty close to the front of the stage, and it was pretty cool to gaze over at the balcony right above the side of the stage and see Ian MacKaye lurking. Ian was also about 2 feet away from me outside the club when he walked up to say goodbye to a friend of mine, but was clearly trying to escape this drunk punisher literally running to chase after him haha. Pretty cool. ‘Twas a wonderful night.
Needless to say, when I got back home I was ready to chill. Luckily, on Sunday night I was able to curl up on the couch and pop this Punk Junk VHS into the VCR. Is the concept of the “video fanzine” a lost art in our current era? I dunno. Who cares? Personally, being a fiend for secondhand VHS, I’m stoked this thing exists in our post-modern era. The footage looks totally crisp, and the sound is great too. No static-y black lines running across the screen like on my tapes from the 80s haha. And watching this Punk Junk tape, it really feels like a labor of love, and that’s a beautiful thing. Gives me a little hope and warm feeling in my gut that someone took the time and effort to put something like this together.
Along with the help of several other SoCal punks, this tape is primarily a project compiled and stitched together by my dude Baño, who you may know from Personal Damage, Abuso De Poder, and other great bands. The footage features a song or 2 from a killer compilation of bands. Lots of great SoCal bands like Tozcos, Blazing Eye and, of course, Personal Damage. But then also, bands like Rixe, Delco MF’s and Vaaska. Some of the footage looks like it was shot at venues in Los Angeles, but then some of it looks like the bands are recorded in a rehearsal room, doing a “studio sesh” recorded specifically for this video. The footage of the bands is interspersed with sometimes gnarly and disturbing footage of war, police brutality, old buildings on fire… which adds a layer of intensity. There are also moments of levity, like random goofy footage. The collage of various footage and images really reminds me of the old Flipside videos, which I totally loved and devoured when I was getting deeper into hardcore. The footage of Iconoclast on that one Flipside video fanzine remains one of my favorite punk artifacts, and this Punk Junk video gives me the same feeling.
I feel almost guilty because I don’t wanna spoil anything… But oh well, here we go: Right when you think the video is already over, there’s a section that comes up with a graphic that says “bonus footage”, which mainly features a handful of the bands doing cover tunes. Tozcos does an absolutely killer rendition of “Who Is Who” by the Adolescents. Then there’s footage of Krigshoder absolutely destroying “We’re Only Gonna Die” by Bad Religion. Ugh, be still my beating heart. So rad. Then more spoilers: The very end of the video has a little teaser for Punk Junk video VOLUME 2! I love the idea that you wouldn’t otherwise know the next tape is coming unless you watched this first VHS until the very end. Well, I guess thanks to my blabbermouth, now you do.
If you’ve got a functioning VCR, then this Punk Junk tape is an absolute must. One of the coolest projects I’ve seen in a long time. I truly find it inspiring. I wish someone amongst my direct circle of friends was putting energy and creativity into something like this. Hell yeah.
Welp, that’s all I’ve got. As always, thanks for reading.
‘Til next week,
-Jeff