Big Pete Markowicz

I was a lost kid that did not fit in with the guidos surrounding me in the suburbs of Clifton, New Jersey. I was about 12 years old and was in the boy scouts. I met a kid named Eric and he said check this out…he made me a mixtape with the Dead Kennedys and early punk Beastie Boys (some Old Bullshit) on it. Jello Biafra’s lyrics and voice scared me. I’ve never heard anything like that in my life. I was hooked. The same kid handed me a skateboard and I never looked back. I ordered the Sex Pistols on tape from that 99 cents ad in the newspaper and never paid the dollar. From there, I heard other bands like the Germs, Black Flag, Flipper, Agent Orange, TSOL, D.I., etc. in skateboard videos on VHS. I went to every show I possibly could. Next came New York HardCore. I saw bands at CBGBS like Agnostic Front, Warzone, and Murphy’s Law at a young age. Then I heard the Business “Suburban Rebels” and shaved my head. Oi! and skinhead became life. I was part of a hardcore/skinhead crew Bergen County Thugs and we protected each other in the mosh pits of New York and New Jersey. It was a violent scene. I moved to California years later and found my punk rock skinhead family the SKUNX who took me in. I wanted to give back to the scene and started SUBURBAN REBELS zine. I’m an outcast and outsider for life…..punk rock is my home

My first gig was the Parasites at a VFW hall in Wayne in New Jersey. I have done roadie work for Criminal Intent, Stray Bullets (Minneapolis), the Old Firm Casuals, Sheer Terror, Tim Armstrong, etc. As far as punk rock trivia goes, the song “skinhead’ that Lars Frederiksen wrote is about me.

These days I am single and I work for the city of San Francisco. 

In 2010 I started Suburban Rebels fanzine which is still going strong. You can find out more about it here: https://suburbanrebelszine.bigcartel.com/

And lastly – punk rock saved my life…and ruined it!