Aaron Leatherbarrow
I was 14. I found a cassette tape called Pokinatcha by MXPX in a Christian book store in Cincinnati, OH. I found hope that day. I was constantly oppressed by religion, right wings, and suburbia.…
Category: Punk Rock Origin Stories
Craig White
I got called a poser by an older kid for wearing a Baja surf hoodie I got on vacation when I was in the 6th grade. I didn’t even know what poser meant, but it…
Mark Bishop
The first records I remember are Millie Small’s 1964 hit “My Boy Lollipop” and Paul Revere and the Raiders’ “Just Like Me” (from a collection called “The Best of ‘66”). They were castoffs from my…
Muslim Delgado
I was born in Upstate NY. I lived there until I was 14. Growing up I heard all kinds of music at a young age. From the music my mom and sisters dad and their…
Kitzee Ramona
I was a teenager in Huntington Beach California in the mid 1970’’s and so happy when I heard Rodney on The Roq for the first time! I didn’t like most of the music my friends…
Ziggy/Linda D
My Punk Rock story is not always a ‘pretty one’. It is a miracle I am alive. I was homeless on the street at 14, very out of my mind, traumatized, mentally ill, drugged up,…
Brenda Perlin (Valley Girl)
Being different from my peers made me seem difficult and troubled. Family members talked about me when I wasn’t around, and I overheard them talking about me when I was around. It was obvious that…
Nancy Barile
I grew up in the 1970s, and when I turned 15, I experienced live music for the first time when my boyfriend, who was 18, took me to see Rod Stewart and Faces. WOW! What…
Edward “EJ” Giles
I was 15 years old, and living in Long Island City, Queens with my parents, and “Punk Rock” was breaking in the US. There was a television news highlight on “punk” and I thought it…
Bob Lee
I remember getting really into Patti Smith in summer of 78, friends of my mom had Radio Ethiopia, and I’d get real into playing it. My first experience with punk up close was the band…