Mike Watt, Houston, 2014, with Left of the Dial, featuring our interview
Hey rockers, readers, and realists, after a semi-slow ‘dead of winter’ period in which semi-tropical Houston was inundated by both a rare snow and a ruinous freezing rain within weeks, things have thawed and are heating up fast! First, I will be zooming to Los Angeles for a dizzying, intense, and completely compelling weekend from March 30-April 1.
On the morning of Sat. March 31, I will be speaking at the 2018 annual American Comparative Literature Conference at 10:30 in the seminar “”Stay woke”: The Politics of Protest Song,” in which I will present “Germs-filled Adolescence: Hardcore Punk’s Politicization of the American Neighborhood.” It is a folklore-based recounting of how punk transformed American communities.
Mish Bondage, Houston, Fall 2017, by me
For the early evening hours, I have organized a stellar, cross-country focused, trans-generation punk roundtable discussion at Pop Obscure Records, 735 S Los Angeles St, downtown (213-628-3898), which will be free, all ages, and begin at 5 PM. The theme will be “Talkin’ Punk Politics and Poetry: D Boon and Beyond” and will include a ‘who’s who’ of punk icons from across the country and eras, including Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, Dos, and more), Ronnie Barnett (The Muffs), Brian Brannon (JFA), Chip Kinman (the Dils, Rank and File, Blackbird, and more), Mish Miller/Bondage (Portland legends Sado-Nation), seminal photographer Ed Colver (Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Circle Jerks), writer/rocker/historian Jimmy Alvarado, Ben Merlis (early-2000s hardcore traditionalists Fields of Fire), Christian Kidd/Arnheiter (the Hates, the oldest ongoing punk band in Texas), and local punk historian and bass player David Jones. Others might join us as well.
The Hates, Rudyards, Houston, 2010, by me
After the vivid, lively, detail-thronged discussion, Watt + the Missingmen will be playing an in-store set at 6 PM of spirited tunes to celebrate the birthday of D. Boon, which falls on April 1!
D. Boon, photographs from the collection of Biscuit of the Big Boys
Later that night, the after-party will commence at Café NELA (1906 Cypress Ave, Cypress Park) with sets by Mish Bondage (doing a number of Sado-Nation tunes) and the Hates, both with me on drums, plus secret guests to-be-announced! A poster is being designed, and I will update this as further details emerge.
In the meantime, thank you to Dolf Hermannstädter and Andre for including my pic of legendary MDC (with Dave Dictor in full politico frenzy during an October gig at Rudyards in Houston) as well as their openers Elected Officials, in Germany’s TRUST # 187 (December/January), which is out now!
My in-depth 7-page interview with Dave Dictor of MDC, featuring a ton of my photos from three separate gigs, is also in the new issue of Razorcake as well!
An extra thank you to Maximum Rocknoll for publishing my tribute to JJ Jacobson of Offenders (including comments by members of Hickoids, MDC, and Black Salve), the much-beloved, sheer-energy, hybrid 1980s hardcore band from Austin, who died suddenly a few weeks back. You can read it here. It will also be featured in the next print version of the fanzine, while my interview with their nimble, stalwart drummer Pat Offender will be published both in German (in a future issue of Trust) and in English in an upcoming issue of Artcore (Wales). I am also in the process of interviewing members of the Huns, Elected Officials, and soon, the Next.
Lastly, PM Press is now looking at the manuscript of my book examining World War II POW camps in mid-America that held Germans, Italians, and Japanese, which I am calling the Hidden Home Front, thanks to the brainstorming of my wife.
The future awaits, impatiently. Let the word in. Look for updates soon!
The Center for Punk Arts 