Punk Turns 30

So - Pleasant Gehman and I are participating in the  UCLA Punk Conference taking place on February 9 and 10. And, this is what we are presenting: LOBOTOMY MAGAZINE: A Teenage Historical Record of Punk Rock In the mid-1970s, bored and unmoved by mainstream rock n roll, teens and young adults started to make rock n roll rebellious again. No one covered PUNK ROCK in the mainstream media, and if it was covered, it wasn’t understood. For UCLA’s Punk Conference 2018 , Pleasant Gehman and Theresa Kereakes will discuss the path they took that made their fanzine, Lobotomy, the written and visual foundation of the birth and growth of punk rock in Los Angeles as well as a presenter and commentator of the worldwide punk movement.  A projected slide show of Lobotomy Magazine pages and photos from the 1970s will illustrate the talk. Pleasant explains, “I always knew punk was going to be a cultural moment that was as important as Paris in the 1920’s, The Beats in North Beac...

There's a new read in town that will, pardon the pun, which is intended - SLAKE your cultural thirst. It's called SLAKE. From their website, here's a little bit about them: This summer, a fresh voice takes root in Los Angeles with the debut of SLAKE , a new quarterly journal co-founded by former L.A. Weekly editors Laurie Ochoa and Joe Donnelly. SLAKE is devoted to the endangered art of deeply reported narrative journalism and the kind of polished essay, memoir, fiction, poetry and portrait writing that is disappearing in a world of instant takes and unfiltered opinion. SLAKE marks a return to storytelling. Designed with an artist’s eye and published in a full-color, perfect-bound format, SLAKE sets a new template for the next generation of print publications — collectible, not disposable; destined for the bedside table instead of the recycling bin; and so seductive in its looks and content that readers will find it irresistible. Online, SLAKE stories will be...

Arthur Rimbaud was a punk. The French imagist poet led an outrageous life, and in his earliest years, generated some of the most revolutionary poetry in terms of his use of imagery and language and his professed methodology for attaining poetical transcendence or visionary power through a long, intimidating, immense and rational derangement of all the senses ( Les lettres du Voyant ) that no iters, actors and artists for the FIRST EVER marathon reading of the legendary scroll from which the published version was crafted. Surprise guest readers! And one of the readers... I will tell you is the one and only Iris Berry, punk rock "It Girl" and as the critics like to call her a punk rock James Ellroy in fishnets.. I can draw a direct literary line from Rimbaud to Kerouac, Dylan, Patti and Iris Berry. Check it out and see if you agree If you aren't in LA and can't make this part of your punk rock weekend, New Yorkers will get a chance to see Tommy Ramone in his c...

Hanging with Pleasant was how I spent most of punk rock. Its funny that both she and I refer to our late teens and early 20's simply as "punk rock." Thirty years later, punk rock is a phenomenon that defined a generation, a subculture and is considered an important epochal moment. For us, it was just hanging, whether it was with one another, or with the people in the bands we loved, some of whom became famous... like Belinda Carlisle, whom I knew from high school, or a cool local guy later to become a critics fave, Dave Alvin .... or Debbie Harry and all of Blondie, whose music we loved and to whom we gravitated and hung out. Its no wonder to me how punk rock and many of its founding and early players have endured the ebb and flow of trends and favoritism. Just a reminder that if you're in LA, you should join in the celebration recognizing the great editorial work of two of my favorite friends, punk ladies Pleasant Gehman and Iris Berry. Cardoza Muller Promot...