Punk Turns 30

Earlier this week, BBC News ran an article with the headline that Rock Drummers are 'Top Athletes' and ran a photo of Blondie drummer Clem Burke wearing a mask that presumably is some kind of measuring apparatus. The article discussed things like heart rate / beats per minute and stamina and all that sort of thing - full of double entendres the likes of which you remember and roll your eyes over - you know, the "drummers do it with a beat" or whatever... Seriously, I encourage you to click the BBC article link. It will make you laugh and also nod in agreement that it does take a lot of energy to pound the drums in a punk rock band. Here are a few drummers... Tommy Ramone - the Ramones played through their live set super fast and without so much as 30 seconds between songs. While it was Dee Dee Ramone who always counted off One Two Free Four , it was Tommy who kept the clockwork like precision of the power pop punk legends marching Gabba Gabba Hey in perfect ...

Miriam Linna played drums for The Cramps in 1976-1977, and since 1986 has been one-half of Norton Records with Billy Miller, her husband and band-mate in the A Bones. Miriam is just so cool and just about the kindest person on the face of the earth. She's been deeply involved in so many punk rock things as a writer/zine publisher, musician, record label and fan. Together with Billy, in just the past year, Miriam has been instrumental in bringing back to vinyl, two important musical artists from the 60s: Mary Weiss and The Alarm Clocks. And Miriam has made enough of a dent in the world to have her own entry in the Wikipedia so how's that? Miriam Linna, Billy Miller, the Reigning Sound and Mary Weiss, up on the roof of the recording studio, Brooklyn, NY 2006 Tara McManus plays drums in Mr Airplane Man, and is one-third of the Turpentine Brothers with her husband, Justin Hubbard and keyboard player Zack Brines. Turpentine Brothers Mr Airplane Man is Margaret Garre...