Being introduced to my future.

by Gary Cope in Uncategorized

My friend, Jason, and I were talking today about our individual introductions to punk and to the punk scene. We had vastly different intros because he was older and we grew up in very different areas of California. My friend, Sean, had an older brother who was willing to take us along, at 13, to see the mighty Black Flag at some warehouse in a seedy part of L.A.

We got there in time to watch the last two opening acts and we both wondered why his brother was so worried about taking us to this show. At that time, we had no idea that people would actually miss the opening bands intentionally to just see the main band. The show was only $4, so they figured that was a small price to pay for seeing the Flag. As they took the stage, I noticed that the room had filled up quite a bit more and there were more people filing in. We stood against a wall and waited to see what would happen. Some of the people I was seeing were a bit on the rough side and I wasn’t sure we were going to make it out fo there. So, Black Flag hits the stage and the place erupts. It looked to me like a fight broke out everywhere. Sean and I were scared and amazed at the same time. We left there with a feeling of wonder and curiosity. Was every show like this? We asked Sean’s brother and he told us that each show was different. We had to come more if we really wanted to know.

When we returned to school, it was for high school and I quickly found out that my family didn’t have the money that a majority of the students at my high school did. I was lucky to have two new pairs of pants at the beginning of the school year, while my peers wore new clothes on an almost weekly basis. I found that being an outsider was okay because I had this really cool underground life going on. I could put up with the crap for the week, knowing that I would be seeing some amazing band the next weekend. The worst weekends of my teen years were the ones that were void of any shows. This underground status helped me to fight the feelings of disenchantment with the world I had to live in the other 6 days a week. The scene taught me about passion and what it meant to be passionate about something other than yourself. My parents weren’t thrilled, but they allowed me to discover this part of myself and I’m glad they did.

The passion I learned back then continues with me today. I will hear a band or a speaker that hits me in the heart and I jump all over it. For anyone wanting to experience punk from the roots, make sure to hit Black Flag somewhere toward the beginning.  The Germs, the Flag, Circle Jerks, Social Distortion. Of all these iconic bands from the early days of punk, the almighty Black Flag will forever stand out for me as my introduction to the scene that would define my future.