90's Punk Heroes

That's Greg Cartwright, whom many of you know as Greg Oblivian.



That's Jack Yarber, aka Jack Oblivian.



That's Eric Friedl aka Eric Oblivian starting a hot dog cookout...

This past weekend, these fine purveyors of loud, dirty music...the kind I love... the kind that gave punk attitude a rebirth in the 90s, when for some reason the revolutionaries thought they could exhale...The Oblivians played a surprise show on Greg's current stomping grounds, Asheville, North Carolina. They are of course, closing out the very last Horizontal Action Blackout in Chicago in May, and this occasion was a rehearsal of sorts.

I don't know that anyone knew the show was happening. I knew the guys were getting together this weekend. Eric and Jack stopped overnight at Casa Punk Turns 30's temporary digs in Nashville, which is half way between their Memphis homes and Greg's.


We had a good old hang with beer, wine and roast pork, and a very friendly dog whose mom is my life-long friend, Joanna Spock Dean, another original LA punk rock lady (Bass player in Backstage Pass). I'm in Tennessee for a month, and the best part of all that is that I'm just a quick hop, skip and jump across I-40 to both factions of the Oblivians, and I'm in the same town as another of my lifelong friends, Dead Boys guitarist, Cheetah Fuckin Chrome.



Here's the O'Connor family, Anna, Cheetah and young Rogan. I can't wait to see Rogan now. I need to know if he's playing guitar yet. That photo was taken nearly a year ago, here in Nashville, at the Punk Turns 30 show at Grimeys.

And you thought Nashville was the home of country music...well, my friends... things have changed...