Was it all at once, was it bit by bit? Did you take a break when hardcore was the norm?

For me it was the skaters at my high-school ('80) who listened to anything different. Two brothers turned me onto the Sex Pistols (who I thought were hilarious, but only as a black humor comedy group, not as a band. All these years later, I have enormous respect for Lydon, but that opinion still holds) and tried to get me interested in Black Flag (who would have to wait 'til far into my senior year before I heard them.). I already was into stuff like Devo and the B-52's, but the breakthrough for me was hearing the 1st Clash album the summer before my senior year, wow!, and the Nuggets collection that Fall at a friend's house (which was ultimately the more powerful argument for non-commercial sounds). Because hardcore was everywhere (still can't stand it) I took things at a slower pace, finding out about the Butthole Surfers/Birthday Party/Scratch Acid, then going into Blues, Soul, Ska, etc. and 60s Punk/Rockabilly comps before coming back to Punk (Aussie Punk was vital to me, and remains so). About then the whole Mummies/Gories/Oblivians/Japan thing happened. I did get burned out around '99, but the slow pace I kept let me keep my interest in the long run.

Young enough to be impressed by news reports of the Sex Pistols on TV news reports,

then I saw this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4zQpFSYCJ0

and my mind was blown.

I never looked back.

What a great question.

Youngin' here....I often played skateboarding video games when I was younger.  My favorite song on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 for N64 was "Blitzkrieg Bop".  I think I was....maybe 7 or 8.  Fast forward to age 14.

Dad had just installed P2P file sharing software on the computer and I would sit there day and night trying to find new music.  I remembered the song from Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2 and typed in the lyrics.  Push came to shove and I stumbled across the ramones entire catalog.  That was obviously the tip of the iceberg.  Those were my baby steps into pump rock.  Thank god that happened.

WILL , YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHERE YOU'VE BEEN TO SEE WHERE YOU'RE GOING.

YOU CAN DRAW FROM THE PAST , AND STILL LOOK FORWARD. I SAW MUDHONEY ONCE , HAVE TO SAY I WAS'NT CRAZY ABOUT THEM , BUT , THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT. THEY WERE BILLED AS GREEN RIVER. I'M NOT KIDDING.  GREEN RIVER HAD JUST MADE THE SWITCH TO MUDHONEY (SOME OF THE SAME GUYS? ALL OF THEM?) , AND THEY HAD GREEN RIVER POSTERS IN THE VENUE , THO' EVERYONE KNEW IT WAS A MUDHONEY SHOW. TALK ABOUT GOING BACKWARD !

For me, I kinda worked backwards. I became a huge Nirvana fan (still am) and that exposed me to all kinds of Seattle grunge bands like Mudhoney, the Melvins, Green River, Sonic Youth, Husker Du, etc. Pretty much all the bands that Chris, Kurt, and Dave listened to. Then my history teacher told me about Minor Threat, and I dived into the whole early 80's D.C scene (which has produced some of my favorite bands) as well as the L.A. Scene of the same time. And I heard all about the bands THEY listened to, like the Sex Pistols, The Buzzcocks, The Damned, etc. So you could say that I started in the 90's and now I'm in the 70's.

 You see , you had a Cramps Epiphany. Lots of people have had them , and will , in years to come. In The late 70's , I only knew The Cramps by name , and that they were one of the Underground bands happening in NYC , and from seeing the amazing shots of the Miriam Linna - era lineup in Rock Scene. In early '81 (Between "Songs The Lord Taught Us" and "Psychedelic Jungle".) , a friend of mine just sang "Human Fly" to me , without any backing , and I decided , I think I have a new favorite band. THEN , when I heard them , for real , it all made sense.

You're very lucky you got to play that stuff on college radio. I had a friend who had a college radio show in the early 80's . I was allowed to assist her by picking out songs , but , not to cue up records or speak on the air. I'D HEARD HER TALKING ABOUT HER SHOW , and The Cramps , to somebody , that's when I introduced myself. A few years later , I had a show on public radio , playing lots of Garage , Rockabilly , Punk , Glam , whatever , but it was in the worst time slot , and , after 6 weeks , I could'nt get a cab to pick me up from the club district (I had to hang out until almost closing time , on Sunday.), having heard it was such a terrible neighborhood , when the neighborhood I had to go to was SO much worse..... 

The big turning point for me was in 1990 (I was 18). I bought "Stay Sick" by the Cramps, just because of the cover! Even if before 1990 I listened to various rock stuff, that was really the start of it all. I fell in love with the Cramps, then digged deeply into any kind of punk and garage punk. I even had my own radio show at the university, focusing on 60's garage punk, indeed... the prehistory of garagepunk podcasts ;). I am now 41 and am still deeply into it, I have my band (fortunately for my mental health!)  

So, of course, I had additional love strucks during those 20 years but everyting began with the opening tune of "Stay Sick": "Bop Pills" blew my mind and I would never be the same again...

I never got into The Morells too much , but , if you good people out there could hear that station , NOW , you'd be shocked to know that . Getting back to Dr. Demento , I have a great , great love for good Novelty songs , but , after a time , The Doctor got stuck in a rut , and you could almost name which songs he was going to play , next.

James Porter said:

It blows my mind to think that WXRT used to play the damn Morells!

It blows my mind to think that WXRT used to play the damn Morells!

James , I cite that example because it's everything WXRT is not , today. It's not just a Rockpile show , it is THEE Rockpile show , energy levels set at "RAMONES". It's too rockin' , too raw , and too fast for that dull as burnt toast station , today. Does'nt mean they'll NEVER play it again , but , I'm not betting the farm on it......

I SERIOUSLY DOUBT THEY'LL EVER PLAY THE JAM'S CONCERT AT PARK WEST AGAIN , EITHER. I've had to hear their concert series , against my will , many times , and it's amazed me how few of the bands get past a Hootie and The Blowfish intensity , but , we've both been to XRT - sponsored shows , and seen their latter - day audience , so , I should'nt be amazed at all.

ok , They DO have Little Steven's show , now , but , otherwise , when I hear that station , I think , most of their listeners are probably only 10 years older than me. How could they give up the rock , so easily  ?
James Porter said:

John Battles: I admit, I haven't read the article in a long time, but I could have sworn that Cary mentioned Kramer and Thunders in that piece. It was some artist who, as of summer '79, was too hip for the album rock stations, and my friend couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sky Daniels was the DJ's name, and he was also the program director. I just found an online interview with Daniels, and he basically backs up what I was saying. He claims that "in the beginning," he actually snuck the likes of Ian Dury and Lene Lovich onto the Loop airwaves, but the higher-ups insisted that he stick with bad arena rock. The suits won that battle, obviously.

As far as WXRT, Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds were quintessential XRT artists, and I wouldn't be surprised if their Park West gig were dusted off for rebroadcast some sweet day. When Rockpile's one and only album came out, XRT is the only station I remember playing it.

Wow, that's really cool. I really miss the Dr. Demento show. I discovered it in the fall of '84 after going off to college where I could pick up a radio station from KC that was playing it every week (it wasn't on the air in St. Louis). That show turned me onto so much great, weird shit.

Glenn Peart said:

I was listening to the Dr. Demento show on KMET, Los Angeles back in 1977. He was doing a 'Tribute to England' show playing comedy songs, but the last song he played was the Sex Pistols doing 'God Save the Queen'. I went out immediately and bought the import album on Virgin, since it had not been released in the U.S. on Warner Bros. yet. Right after that, I found the 'Rodney on the Roq' radio show on KROQ and starting listening every Sunday night at 9:00. I was lucky to have lived in LA at the time, since the scene there was an important one in the history of punk rock.

John Battles: I admit, I haven't read the article in a long time, but I could have sworn that Cary mentioned Kramer and Thunders in that piece. It was some artist who, as of summer '79, was too hip for the album rock stations, and my friend couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sky Daniels was the DJ's name, and he was also the program director. I just found an online interview with Daniels, and he basically backs up what I was saying. He claims that "in the beginning," he actually snuck the likes of Ian Dury and Lene Lovich onto the Loop airwaves, but the higher-ups insisted that he stick with bad arena rock. The suits won that battle, obviously.

As far as WXRT, Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds were quintessential XRT artists, and I wouldn't be surprised if their Park West gig were dusted off for rebroadcast some sweet day. When Rockpile's one and only album came out, XRT is the only station I remember playing it.

For the same reason , WXRT won't play the SAVAGE Rockpile set from The Park West , Chicago , on their concert series program ,  where they play repeats of live concerts from the vaults. There's too much Poi Dog Pondering and Blind Melon to make room for it.

Wayne Kramer only had one 45 out , really , after he got out of jail in the Late 70's , his version of "The Harder They Come", maybe they thought they had a local hit on their hands , or at least some time filler that rocked good enuff , but probably would'nt offend that many people. Then again, the thought of Thunders getting airplay at all in Chicago....wow. His first album had some sorta radio - friendly tracks (No pun.) , but, it's interesting to note that Gang War debuted at Huey's in Chicago , but , they could'nt get themselves together long enough to release a single.
 
James Porter said:

(1) Trivia note: the first time I heard Dr. Demento's program, the first song he played that night was the Novas'"The Crusher." I almost died laughing. I had just turned eleven.

(2) From fall '78-spring '80, Dr. D ruled my world. Then, by accident, I found out that a local Top 40 station (WEFM) was running a Sunday night oldies show, and for a while I went back and forth between Dr. D playing "Dead Puppies" and Dan Walker playing Blue Cheer's "Summertime Blues" (first time hearing it, and my mind was blown). Novelty and comedy records may have rocked my world for an adolescent minute, but the older I got, the more I wanted to hear some real music. I can dig humor, but I can respect Spike Jones more than I actually want to listen to him. I do thank Dr. D for making me a teenage fan of Cheech & Chong...

(3) Actually, the period of experimentation for The Loop was just starting to kick in around the time of Disco Demolition. Just because they might have played Kramer once doesn't mean he stayed on the list. But, this was 1979; playing power-pop alongside meathead hard rockers was what they settled on once the smoke cleared, and was supposed to be the sign of a new era or something. For the remainder of '79 and all of 1980, that was the basic sound of WLUP. If your band was on a major label and was imitating the Cars, you were guaranteed Loop airplay at the time. I stopped listening in early '81 after they canned Steve and Garry (the first time); the Loop is still an FM rock station, but if you call the request line asking to hear the Records'"Starry Eyes," Dave Edmunds'"Girls Talk," or the Inmates'"Dirty Water," I doubt if they'll play them (or even know what the hell you were talking about). Those songs were definitely part of the rotation in 1980, however.  


 
John Battles said:

When I was visiting in Chicago in the Summer of '79 , The Disco Demolition had just happened , AND The Knack just broke. So , maybe , The Loop's  period of experimentation was about over . The most adventuresome thing I remember hearing on WLUP was ZZ Top. I did hear "Blockhead" by Devo on WXRT , and even tho' I knew who Devo were , I knew I was'nt going to be hearing THEM back in Texas......at least , I did'nt , until "Jerking Back and Forth" (A minor hit.) and "Whip It". I crashed out to "Dr. Demento" , Sunday nights , in the Late 70's , too , but , when George Gimarc's show got my ear , "Dead Puppies" had to GO. However, they started playing Dr. Demento in the early 80's , I think , on Saturday afternoon. That was when I first heard "The Crusher" by The Novas. I knew The Cramps' version, but, I thought , "My God ! This guy sounds like he's choking to death on his own vomit !! THIS is Hardcore.") 
 
James Porter said:

John - the second issue of Kicks (from 1979) included an article on 60s Chicago bands by my friend Cary Baker. Before he launched into the past, he included a quick sum-up of the present, talking about how The Loop had started beefing up their playlist with punk and new wave oriented acts, like Wayne Kramer and Johnny Thunders (!!!). This, coupled with the Disco Demolition event, looked like Chicago rock radio was about to enter a renaissance. Now, Baker laughs at how tame the Loop was - sure, they embraced the New Music, but wouldn't go but so far. Still, at the time, playing Patti Smith and Talking Heads next to Molly Hatchet and Van Halen seemed like a major coup. If Wayne Kramer got played, it was probably during an early period of experimentation where they were trying to find out what stuck and what slid. Evidently Kramer and Thunders' music slid straight to the floor while the Knack got all the gravy. As far as Sunday nights at 11 PM, in Chicago that was Dr. Demento time. How I awoke in time for school the next morning, I'll never know, but at least I went to sleep laughing.

really stupid but,

when I was a kid I really LOVED Michael Jackson, and he had the song "give in to me" with Slash from Guns n Roses, so I asked my dad to buy me a Guns n Roses cd, and he bought me the Spaghetti Incident, needless to say a ten year old hearing a song with the opening line "ATTITUDE, YOU GOT SOME FUCKING ATTITUDE", was pretty blown away, and by the time I was 11, The Misfits were my favourite band, for a while I was mostly listening to the misfits, and everyone at my school was into rock music and skateboarding suddenly, the whole 2001-2002 popular rock/metal/pop punk bands, and being 11/12 I wanted to fit in with them, but then suddenly everyone stopped listening to that stuff and I didn't, so I continued just listening to mostly mainstream rock bands, still with the misfits as my favourite bands I got into Black Flag, and other u.s. hardcore bands, and the Tony Hawk's skateboarding video games had  great soundtracks too I'd end up looking up all these bands on the internet and finding out as much as I could about them. After hearing all these bands it's hard to see the appeal of what you'd hear on a mainstream rock music station..

started spending more and more time finding bands, and going to gigs, and making the best of friends over this music.

(1) Trivia note: the first time I heard Dr. Demento's program, the first song he played that night was the Novas'"The Crusher." I almost died laughing. I had just turned eleven.

(2) From fall '78-spring '80, Dr. D ruled my world. Then, by accident, I found out that a local Top 40 station (WEFM) was running a Sunday night oldies show, and for a while I went back and forth between Dr. D playing "Dead Puppies" and Dan Walker playing Blue Cheer's "Summertime Blues" (first time hearing it, and my mind was blown). Novelty and comedy records may have rocked my world for an adolescent minute, but the older I got, the more I wanted to hear some real music. I can dig humor, but I can respect Spike Jones more than I actually want to listen to him. I do thank Dr. D for making me a teenage fan of Cheech & Chong...

(3) Actually, the period of experimentation for The Loop was just starting to kick in around the time of Disco Demolition. Just because they might have played Kramer once doesn't mean he stayed on the list. But, this was 1979; playing power-pop alongside meathead hard rockers was what they settled on once the smoke cleared, and was supposed to be the sign of a new era or something. For the remainder of '79 and all of 1980, that was the basic sound of WLUP. If your band was on a major label and was imitating the Cars, you were guaranteed Loop airplay at the time. I stopped listening in early '81 after they canned Steve and Garry (the first time); the Loop is still an FM rock station, but if you call the request line asking to hear the Records'"Starry Eyes," Dave Edmunds'"Girls Talk," or the Inmates'"Dirty Water," I doubt if they'll play them (or even know what the hell you were talking about). Those songs were definitely part of the rotation in 1980, however.  


 
John Battles said:

When I was visiting in Chicago in the Summer of '79 , The Disco Demolition had just happened , AND The Knack just broke. So , maybe , The Loop's  period of experimentation was about over . The most adventuresome thing I remember hearing on WLUP was ZZ Top. I did hear "Blockhead" by Devo on WXRT , and even tho' I knew who Devo were , I knew I was'nt going to be hearing THEM back in Texas......at least , I did'nt , until "Jerking Back and Forth" (A minor hit.) and "Whip It". I crashed out to "Dr. Demento" , Sunday nights , in the Late 70's , too , but , when George Gimarc's show got my ear , "Dead Puppies" had to GO. However, they started playing Dr. Demento in the early 80's , I think , on Saturday afternoon. That was when I first heard "The Crusher" by The Novas. I knew The Cramps' version, but, I thought , "My God ! This guy sounds like he's choking to death on his own vomit !! THIS is Hardcore.") 
 
James Porter said:

John - the second issue of Kicks (from 1979) included an article on 60s Chicago bands by my friend Cary Baker. Before he launched into the past, he included a quick sum-up of the present, talking about how The Loop had started beefing up their playlist with punk and new wave oriented acts, like Wayne Kramer and Johnny Thunders (!!!). This, coupled with the Disco Demolition event, looked like Chicago rock radio was about to enter a renaissance. Now, Baker laughs at how tame the Loop was - sure, they embraced the New Music, but wouldn't go but so far. Still, at the time, playing Patti Smith and Talking Heads next to Molly Hatchet and Van Halen seemed like a major coup. If Wayne Kramer got played, it was probably during an early period of experimentation where they were trying to find out what stuck and what slid. Evidently Kramer and Thunders' music slid straight to the floor while the Knack got all the gravy. As far as Sunday nights at 11 PM, in Chicago that was Dr. Demento time. How I awoke in time for school the next morning, I'll never know, but at least I went to sleep laughing.

When I was visiting in Chicago in the Summer of '79 , The Disco Demolition had just happened , AND The Knack just broke. So , maybe , The Loop's  period of experimentation was about over . The most adventuresome thing I remember hearing on WLUP was ZZ Top. I did hear "Blockhead" by Devo on WXRT , and even tho' I knew who Devo were , I knew I was'nt going to be hearing THEM back in Texas......at least , I did'nt , until "Jerking Back and Forth" (A minor hit.) and "Whip It". I crashed out to "Dr. Demento" , Sunday nights , in the Late 70's , too , but , when George Gimarc's show got my ear , "Dead Puppies" had to GO. However, they started playing Dr. Demento in the early 80's , I think , on Saturday afternoon. That was when I first heard "The Crusher" by The Novas. I knew The Cramps' version, but, I thought , "My God ! This guy sounds like he's choking to death on his own vomit !! THIS is Hardcore.") 
 
James Porter said:

John - the second issue of Kicks (from 1979) included an article on 60s Chicago bands by my friend Cary Baker. Before he launched into the past, he included a quick sum-up of the present, talking about how The Loop had started beefing up their playlist with punk and new wave oriented acts, like Wayne Kramer and Johnny Thunders (!!!). This, coupled with the Disco Demolition event, looked like Chicago rock radio was about to enter a renaissance. Now, Baker laughs at how tame the Loop was - sure, they embraced the New Music, but wouldn't go but so far. Still, at the time, playing Patti Smith and Talking Heads next to Molly Hatchet and Van Halen seemed like a major coup. If Wayne Kramer got played, it was probably during an early period of experimentation where they were trying to find out what stuck and what slid. Evidently Kramer and Thunders' music slid straight to the floor while the Knack got all the gravy. As far as Sunday nights at 11 PM, in Chicago that was Dr. Demento time. How I awoke in time for school the next morning, I'll never know, but at least I went to sleep laughing.

That's a great story.

Xeno said:

I was about 11-12 years old and whilst rummaging around our garage (seems apt) I found the 'too drunk too fuck' single that was my old man's, I laughed and thought Jesus fuck I gotta hear that! I thought it was hilarious and searched for more and more and more....

I was about 11-12 years old and whilst rummaging around our garage (seems apt) I found the 'too drunk too fuck' single that was my old man's, I laughed and thought Jesus fuck I gotta hear that! I thought it was hilarious and searched for more and more and more....

...as far as the Sex Pistols, I had heard bits and pieces here and there, but hadn't bought the album itself until the spring of '87. Compared to the hardcore I was hearing on one of the local college stations, Never Mind The Bollocks sounded almost professional.

John - the second issue of Kicks (from 1979) included an article on 60s Chicago bands by my friend Cary Baker. Before he launched into the past, he included a quick sum-up of the present, talking about how The Loop had started beefing up their playlist with punk and new wave oriented acts, like Wayne Kramer and Johnny Thunders (!!!). This, coupled with the Disco Demolition event, looked like Chicago rock radio was about to enter a renaissance. Now, Baker laughs at how tame the Loop was - sure, they embraced the New Music, but wouldn't go but so far. Still, at the time, playing Patti Smith and Talking Heads next to Molly Hatchet and Van Halen seemed like a major coup. If Wayne Kramer got played, it was probably during an early period of experimentation where they were trying to find out what stuck and what slid. Evidently Kramer and Thunders' music slid straight to the floor while the Knack got all the gravy. As far as Sunday nights at 11 PM, in Chicago that was Dr. Demento time. How I awoke in time for school the next morning, I'll never know, but at least I went to sleep laughing.

...That sounds like Dahl and Meier. Thank God nothing on my stereo sounds like Dahl and Meier. I Was just as Anti - Disco as the best of 'em , but, When I heard The Loop (WLUP FM ,The station that sponsored The Disco Demolition.) in1979 for the first time , I thought , they're really no better, maybe even not as good as , the three Rock Titans in the Dallas /Ft.Worth area , KZEW , Z97 and Q102.....and of the three , KZEW produced ONE great show , George Gimarc's Rock'n'Roll Alternative , in the early 80's. Even Chicago's beloved WXRT ,which SUCKS!!!!! now , had Bobby Skafish and Terry Nelson playing the records Gimarc would soon , just not soon enough , get to play on one of the worst time slots in town , Sunday at 11:00PM.  If you were in Jr. High , or even in early HS years , you probably did'nt get to hear it. Kids did'nt stay up all night in our day.

First time I heard the Flying Lizards'"Money," it was on WLUP (The Loop), Chicago's "death-to-disco" rock station. And even then, I think Steve Dahl and Garry Meier may have been making fun of it. As the song faded out, Steve said something like: "keep taking music lessons, kids, maybe you'll get better...THIS is the sound of the eighties, on WLUP-The Loop, 98 FM"

i remember when Dr. Demento , on  Sundays at 10:00pm, was the only place to hear Punk , or stranger stuff like The Flying Lizards.....But , it was sporadic at best.
 I did'nt actually hear The Pistols' LP until my Brother bought it in 1980.

It was still rare that I'd meet anybody who went to The Pistols/Nervebreakers show at The Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas in Jan. 1978 , though , later , I'd meet several people who were there. They either hated it , but had a good time, anyway , or it turned their heads around , got them starting bands , or giving their already - formed bands an identity. Somehow , previous gigs by The Ramones and Dr. Feelgood did'nt seem to succeed at doing this.

Glenn Peart said:

I was listening to the Dr. Demento show on KMET, Los Angeles back in 1977. He was doing a 'Tribute to England' show playing comedy songs, but the last song he played was the Sex Pistols doing 'God Save the Queen'. I went out immediately and bought the import album on Virgin, since it had not been released in the U.S. on Warner Bros. yet. Right after that, I found the 'Rodney on the Roq' radio show on KROQ and starting listening every Sunday night at 9:00. I was lucky to have lived in LA at the time, since the scene there was an important one in the history of punk rock.

I was listening to the Dr. Demento show on KMET, Los Angeles back in 1977. He was doing a 'Tribute to England' show playing comedy songs, but the last song he played was the Sex Pistols doing 'God Save the Queen'. I went out immediately and bought the import album on Virgin, since it had not been released in the U.S. on Warner Bros. yet. Right after that, I found the 'Rodney on the Roq' radio show on KROQ and starting listening every Sunday night at 9:00. I was lucky to have lived in LA at the time, since the scene there was an important one in the history of punk rock.

When I was a kid in Australia, there was (probably still is) an all-night music video show on ABC TV every weekend called Rage - for me and my mates around the same age it was an amazing source of eclectic music, and pretty much where we discovered punk rock. Because the show ran all night with no host (except the occasional guest programmer from a touring band), they had about 8 hours of air time to fill and would play anything and everything, seemingly at random!

I think I'd already heard the Sex Pistols and The Clash, but at about the age of 13, Rage was the first time I was exposed to The Saints, Radio Birdman, Birthday Party, The Ramones, Dead Kennedys, The Cramps, The Pogues, NYC noise bands like Sonic Youth and Pussy Galore, and Australian contemporary punk bands like the Hard Ons. It was definitely love at first sight and sound with all this stuff!