To me, punk rock is an ideal and an ethic to be different than the norm and do what you feel pulled to do.
To me, I have the heart to be on the road and live a life different than many of my peers. Punk rock and what I believe is its ethics has fueled me to continue doing it even after so many people I have known have “settled down” or given up due to desperation. My band may not be playing bar chords and flying as fast as we can. We may not be dirty and uncoothed, and we certainly are not fashioned after a punk ‘look’. We don’t play breakdowns and stand behind watered down lifestyle ideas. We do what we want and we are good people.
I think that it defeats the spirit of punk, to merely emulate what has already occured to the point of monotony and mediocrity. This is our music. In the spirit of Do-It-Yourself, we forge our own rules, both musically, socially, and business wise. I do not intend to pursue music for the purpose of capitalism, I just merely want to be able to keep going. This does not mean selling myself out and selling us short.
Refused proclaimed “we want the airwaves back!” and in that spirit, we struggle in order to maintain control until the end. In today’s musical climate, it is easy to do that in theory, but there are so many bands that are not creating music from the heart. It seems to me that a trend has come to where do it yourself is so easy even bands that don’t deserve anything at all have become popular. It saddens me to see this night after night. Its marketed and fed into the myspace generation like cheap candy and energy drinks.
I see kids claim straight edge who do it solely for the shirts and friends. People become Christians or wear upside down crosses or get fucked up all the time just because someone told them to. We need to wake up and take a do it ourselves think for ourselves approach and unify under THAT idea instead.
It is my belief that no matter how many friends you have or plays you receive on a social networking site on the internet, or what magazines your band gets recognition or advertising in, it has to start in the hearts of true music lovers. It has to be real to last. It has to have significance. I wish for success but success is measured individually. I am not happy pumping out 500 mediocre songs. I am not happier squeezing every ounce of my heart dry and sharing that with everyone, even if they don’t get it!
To all of you musicians out there, trust me when I say you will feel more fulfilled if your heart is in the music you create. I feel you will be happier and smarter if you are open to different styles and horizons. You don’t have to be defined by a genre or style. Punk is not a genre.
There is also the other side of the coin: many bands and fans are elitist and arrogant. There are a lot of bands who are so underground they think their shit doesn’t stink and that they are on some more hardcore edge than the rest. I have news for you: You can touch more people with empathy. I am a firm believer in unity and positivity in the underground, but these bands, who are good, by the way, who do nothing but put themselves into cliques and do only for themselves, have done nothing good for me or anyone. They may ask my band to open for them in our town. They may talk big talks, but in the end most of these bands are in it for themselves and only themselves. THAT IS NOT HARDCORE PUNK. THAT IS NOT THE SPIRIT OF DIY HANDED DOWN! As is the motto.
It is a problem. I thought doing it ourselves was something that would unify us, regardless of the genre. I am a strong observer in the history of punk and hardcore, and it did not die when black flag and minor threat broke up. Bands kept the spirit and ethic alive past that era of music, and the ones that pioneered it kept it alive, even without the clique sound. Things have become cliche, and everyone and their brother knows the hardcore of today and takes it only at its face value. I wish more people knew the history and realized the only way to keep from monotony and boredom is to feel the change and to feel it in their hearts.
One thing I urge music lovers and show goers to do is remember that YOU also build DIY and the Underground by what you are buying and supporting. You choose the success rate of your favorite music. If something sucks, don’t support it. If you feel it and know its real… help push these bands as far as you can. Show up to their shows when they come through your town, even if that means going out on a Monday night So they don’t die out like refused did! Don’t support shitty promoters and venues. Don’t let violence destroy your communities. Stand together because this is for all of us. This is for everyone. Not just male dominant crowd killing pricks and elistist hipster snobs. Be real men and women and be active. This is grass roots. We have the right and responsibility to keep this world alive. Lets do it ourselves! The Spirit of punk is not dead yet!
