Kopper , good question. You brought up much to consider , here , concerning the topic of when did you /I / they decide to be zorch , Daddy - O , GO PUNK !!!
For me , love came in spurts....You know , I first read about Punk Rock in that Summer '77 Time magazine feature. I did'nt know what to make of it , tho ' I got a chuckle out of Dave Vanian and Captain Sensibles obvious "Taking the piss" attire and attitude. They called him Dave "Transyl " Vanian in the article , Never saw him referred to as that , again. I was only 12 going on 13 , I did'nt get it . Still , I was intrigued , I thought the clothes and hairstyles were hilarious , because I was putting down something I did'nt understand. There were some great Punk exploitation mags at the time , as well as decent coverage in Creem , Hit Parader , (Sometimes) Rolling Stone and especially ROCK SCENE (www.rockscene.com DO IT , NOW ! )....So , all that got me interested , but , you have to remember , the music itself was NOT being played on the radio or even in record stores that carried in sparingly ...George Gimarc's vastly influential "Rock'n'Roll Alternative"show on KZEW Radio in Dallas did'nt debut til '79 or early '80 , I think. I was very curious when I heard The Sex Pistols would be playing in Dallas in January , '78. Tickets were only $3.50 ! I even asked my folks if I could go. tHEY SAID , HELLLLLL , NO ! I WAS'NT EVEN AWARE , THO' , THAT MY BROTHER HAD SEEN THE RAMONES IN FT. WORTH (WITH SUPPORT BY THE RUNAWAYS , SANS CHERIE.) , SEVERAL MONTHS EARLIER. I did'nt actively seek it out , after that , for two years. There was ONE kid in my Jr. High School , a transplant from England , who was a dyed in the wool Punk Rock fan . But , this was after The Sex Pistols split up , Sid and Nancy died , etc. People were starting to say "Punk is Dead" , but , it would'nt be the party line for a long time.
I was still listening to The Beatles , The Stones , The Who , stuff like that (Which made me enough of a pariah at my school .)....But , I found a very intriguing article in an old "Story of Pop " magazine ('72 , as I recall. Maybe '73.) called "Punk Rock : The History of The Scuz Bands".... I was shocked , "There was Punk Rock back in the 60's ?". The article (Which I wish I had , today.) covered bands that had hit records - Sam The Sham and The Pharoahs , Count V , Blues Magoos , The Seeds , Electric Prunes , and other Bizarro World obscurities like The Chocolate Watchband , Magic Mushrooms , Red Crayola and The Familiar Ugly......
Another new world had opened up to me ,and at least , SOME of it , I could still hear on the radio. I was already aware that The MC5 ,Slade , The New York Dolls and early Alice Cooper , to name a few , were considered Proto - Punk , but , I found myself quickly taking to whatever mid - 60's Punk I could get my ears around....By 1980 , my Brother had started a Punk band (Punk was dead , but it would'nt lie down.) , and he was bringing home records by more new bands than I could even keep up with , but , when I finally heard it , I GOT it. George Gimarc's show was kicking up a storm , and anything 5 years old or less was considered contemporary. When I finally heard The Pistols and The Clash's first albums , I thought , "This is what all the fuss was about ? This is just good Rock'n'Roll!".). I saw "Rock'n'Roll High School" when it came out.I have to admit , I did'nt get it with The Ramones , at the time. I was'nt used to hearing someone singing under the beat like that. Of course , I became a huge fan , later. I was hooked , now , but , not just on Punk , as you noted , there was , of course , New Wave , Neo - Psych and Garage , Rockabilly Revival , Post Punk , and more.I liked Two Tone /Ska and the new Mod bands (Well , not THAT new.) , but I got off a lot of that stuff (Tho' I still like The Jam , and came this close to seeing them in '82 , but , they broke up before a Dallas booking was confirmed....).
WHEN HARDCORE MOVED IN , I LIKED SOME OF IT. DID'NT LIKE THE VIOLENCE TOO MUCH. STILL DON'T. DID'NT GET IT WITH THE SKATEBOARDS , EITHER. I'D PUT MINE AWAY , FOR GOOD , AROUND THE TIME I FIRST READ ABOUT PUNK ROCK. OK , IF THAT MEANS I HAVE TO TURN IN MY PUNK ROCK CREDENTIALS (Whatever they are.) , fine , so be it. But , I could always find other things to listen to. The mid to late 80's just were'nt a shitstorm of cool bands , like in the very early 80's. I ACTUALLY BECAME A BIGGER FAN OF THE 70'S pUNK STUFF , LATER , AS MUCH OF IT WAS STILL HARD TO FIND FOR YEARS , BUT I WAS, BY THEN , A BIGGER FAN OF ROCKABILLY AND GARAGE PUNK. I DID'NT HAVE IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO UNDERGROUND RECORD STORES , AND "VINTAGE" CLOTHING STORES , OR EVEN THRIFT STORES , UNTIL I WAS IN COLLEGE. But , to me , it was'nt about dressing "Punk". If I could have afforded a leather jacket at the time , I could have passed for "Punk" , but , most people I met who were still into Punk were cool , and dug my clothes. I put my own outfits together , it was'nt like them , or anybody. I could have dressed lame and saved myself a lot of grief , but , it's a crazy thing , last I'd checked , this was America.
