Why I Relate to Punk

...submitted by a friend (p.s. anyone can submit a blog to maureen@toofastonline.com)

I am not going to get into what the main tenets of punk are, or what it means to be “punk.” I am simply going to relate some information as to why I can relate to punk: the music, the culture, the clothes, etc.

When I was in 5th grade, I was a pretty normal kid. I played Nintendo, I loved firecrackers, wearing hats backwards, and wanted pizza for every meal. I also happened to have a crush on this blue-eyed, blond girl in my elementary school class. For anti-stalking purposes, let us call her Sue.

Sue used to walk to her house afterschool each day with my neighbor, Kelly. Kelly was a bit unruly and mean. We eventually became friends in high school- mostly due to Kelly’s taste in clothes. Back then, I really wouldn’t have minded if all of Kelly’s hair fell out and her face became frozen while she taunted me for wearing my headgear (yes, my teeth were not perfect growing up, yet my parents felt it to be perfectly normal for a ten-year-old kid to wear headgear out in public).

My parents were a bit uncool, unreasonable, and strict. Despite being at the prepubescent stage of life, they felt it necessary to send me to KinderKare afterschool. If you are not familiar with KinderKare, think of two to six year olds, nap times, and a big, stupid-looking bus with a kangaroo affixed to the top that picked me up in front of the school.

I would regularly make it a routine to find every stratagem under the sun to avoid Sue seeing me wait for the Kangabus at the conclusion of each school day. As fate would have it, the events of one afternoon went as follows….

Afterschool: me in Alice Cooper t-shirt, ripped jeans, and headgear. I spot Sue and Kelly about two-hundred paces down the road approaching my way. Sue was looking lovely in a tank top shirt, jeans, and Chuck Taylors.

Out of my peripheral, I see an all too familiar, ridiculously looking object approaching from the opposite direction, then came the Kangabus in all its glory: menacing, haunting, stupid. This would be a defining moment in my life…

With my heart frozen in horrific paralysis on the thought of Sue seeing me entering the Kangabus I hid behind a crevice in the school’s outside wall. I would wait in fear while Sue and Kelly walked by and then I would quickly access the “tartcart.”

It seemed like diamonds formed out of coal more quickly than the following seconds were spent. I attempted to actually wedge myself into one of the tiny cracks in the wall, but my headgear would not fit.

I watched as the much younger kids boarded the bus…maybe Shirley, the bus driver, would just forget about me.. No she would not – I had an assigned seat next to her because I strapped little Jimmy Hines to my skateboard once and rolled him down the aisle (not because I was mean, but because I thought it would be fun).

Sue and Kelly were only a few feet away from the vehicle of my nightmares at this point. The warm, afternoon air was met by a metallic clicking sound.

“Anthony I see you hiding on the side of the building. Stop horsing around and get on the Kangabus.” Shirley, that witch, had spotted me and beckoned me to walk the plank of my mortification.

My horrified state of mind was interrupted by the wild glare of happiness in Kelly’s eyes. I am not quite sure what she said – something about a loser, headgear, and a kangaroo - I could only concentrate on the laughter that played upon Sue’s face as I walked the two-thousand miles from the side of the building to the Kangabus.

From that point on I has a dissident feeling towards school, parents, bus drivers… basically, any figure or institution of authority. I questioned everything and everyone. Thank the powers that be for punk.

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You Know You're Punk Rock If....

You have a copy of “The Anarchist Cookbook”.
You have seen the movie “Suburbia” at least 10 times.
You saw “http://www.greenday.com/” before they were ever heard of.
You have owned at least one record by each the following bands: The Circle Jerks, Black Flag, MDC, GG Allin, & The Exploited
You made your own punk clothes (DIY) before Hot Topic started selling the whole thing out.
You’ve waked up under a bridge at least once in your life.
You’ve snuck out of your parent’s house to see your friend’s band play pretty much every weekend.
You’ve been suspended from middle school for wearing a Dead Kennedy’s t-shirt.
You know what “squatting” is.
You grew up and you still don’t have a “real job” or live in “suburbia”
Your mom is still wondering when your going to grow out of it.

Add your own ideas in the comments!
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12. You own the original poster that came out with Dead Kennedys Frankenchrist.(penises and all)

13. You color your hair by the shade you like the best in your crayon box rather than what people say "haircolor" should be.

14. you dressed as a prep for Halloween and your family cried to see you looking so good and your friends laughed so hard they peed!

15. You've put someone's eye back in after a night in the mosh pit instead of taking them to the ER.

You remember bands like Butt Hole Surfers, Bauhaus and The Stupids and remember when Husker Du, the Cure and the Dead Milkmen had never been heard of by anyone on a football team!

Comment by Sara

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How Lip Service Clothing became Lengendary

Introduction
Make a statement with your clothing. That is what Drew Bernstein had in mind before he began his company Lip Service. His story is both interesting and inspirational. Fueled by his punk background and realized through hard work and ingenuity, Lip Service has grown into the popular company it is today. The following tells the story of how Lip Service came to be.

In the beginning
Drew started out his music career playing with the bands America’s Hardcore and Crucifix. With great experiences and connections behind him, by 1984 Drew found himself band-less and working a menial job cleaning up after construction sites.
A friend of his offered to provide him with some side work pitching samples of clothing to buyers. He quickly found a niche, quit his construction job, and dedicated his attention to selling clothing. His creativity soon helped him create big ideas.

A big idea

One day he proposed an idea of making leggings with prints on them. Until then, leggings were mostly solid, so offering prints would be a novel idea. He made 200 pairs of his pants (with the infamous skull & crossbones seen to your right) and they soon became hot items on Melrose and up the Pacific Coast. The leggings were just the catalyst to other ideas that soon formed and became popular.

By 1985, Drew was doing well and more ideas came to him. Designers were looking for stretch jeans, and he delivered the Lip Service Stretch Jeans. Business was moving and so was Drew. He got out of his parents house and moved into a warehouse. In three years, he had opened three retail stores and a hired a few people to help him with business. With hard work and a couple of breaks, Drew became more popular…

Friends in high places
One day Izzy Stradlin from Guns ‘N’ Roses was perusing through the warehouse and found a jacket that he thought would be perfect for their frontman, Axl Rose. Soon after, pictures were all over the press with images of Axl wearing Drew’s jacket. This got Lip Service a lot of publicity and more attention.

Still going…
About twenty years later, Lip Service is still growing strong. The company does all of the work themselves and stay close to their punk roots of inspiration. Their clothing can be found all over the world and worn by those who appreciate the independent, idiosyncratic style.
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Comment by Janine

This story is so nostalgic for me. Drew Bernstein and I hung out a lot together in 1984. In fact he introduced me to the vegetarian burrito (I had never had one before). He came over to my house one day and showed me a napkin with a picture of a skull and crossbones dagger drawn on it. He said "I'm going to put this on tights and sell them to the same stores that buy my other stuff." Well the rest is history. He always had vision. If anyone deserves this kind of success, it is Drew!

Comment by Janine

TOO FAST BLOG: SOME OF OUR DERANGED THOUGHTS
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Sign Up to Blog Enter your Email blog post will be emailed to you Previous Posts - Wear Your Clothes Better - Concert Tips - How to do your Laundry (aka Take the Funk out of y... - 10 Best Albums of Punk - Why I Relate to Punk - You Know You're Punk Rock If.... - How Lip Service Clothing became Lengendary - I Heart My Tattoo Artist - Hair Dyeing Information - How to Take Care of Your Clothes The Archives - August 2006 - October 2006 - November 2006 - January 2007 - February 2007 - March 2007 - April 2007 - May 2007 - June 2007 - July 2007 - August 2007 - September 2007 - October 2007 Join Our Blog	Home Page of Blog Why I Relate to Punk ...submitted by a friend (p.s. anyone can submit a blog to maureen@toofastonline.com) I am not going to get into what the main tenets of punk are, or what it means to be “punk.” I am simply going to relate some information as to why I can relate to punk: the music, the culture, the clothes, etc. When I was in 5th grade, I was a pretty normal kid. I played Nintendo, I loved firecrackers, wearing hats backwards, and wanted pizza for every meal. I also happened to have a crush on this blue-eyed, blond girl in my elementary school class. For anti-stalking purposes, let us call her Sue. Sue used to walk to her house afterschool each day with my neighbor, Kelly. Kelly was a bit unruly and mean. We eventually became friends in high school- mostly due to Kelly’s taste in clothes. Back then, I really wouldn’t have minded if all of Kelly’s hair fell out and her face became frozen while she taunted me for wearing my headgear (yes, my teeth were not perfect growing up, yet my parents felt it to be perfectly normal for a ten-year-old kid to wear headgear out in public). My parents were a bit uncool, unreasonable, and strict. Despite being at the prepubescent stage of life, they felt it necessary to send me to KinderKare afterschool. If you are not familiar with KinderKare, think of two to six year olds, nap times, and a big, stupid-looking bus with a kangaroo affixed to the top that picked me up in front of the school. I would regularly make it a routine to find every stratagem under the sun to avoid Sue seeing me wait for the Kangabus at the conclusion of each school day. As fate would have it, the events of one afternoon went as follows…. Afterschool: me in Alice Cooper t-shirt, ripped jeans, and headgear. I spot Sue and Kelly about two-hundred paces down the road approaching my way. Sue was looking lovely in a tank top shirt, jeans, and Chuck Taylors. Out of my peripheral, I see an all too familiar, ridiculously looking object approaching from the opposite direction, then came the Kangabus in all its glory: menacing, haunting, stupid. This would be a defining moment in my life… With my heart frozen in horrific paralysis on the thought of Sue seeing me entering the Kangabus I hid behind a crevice in the school’s outside wall. I would wait in fear while Sue and Kelly walked by and then I would quickly access the “tartcart.” It seemed like diamonds formed out of coal more quickly than the following seconds were spent. I attempted to actually wedge myself into one of the tiny cracks in the wall, but my headgear would not fit. I watched as the much younger kids boarded the bus…maybe Shirley, the bus driver, would just forget about me.. No she would not – I had an assigned seat next to her because I strapped little Jimmy Hines to my skateboard once and rolled him down the aisle (not because I was mean, but because I thought it would be fun). Sue and Kelly were only a few feet away from the vehicle of my nightmares at this point. The warm, afternoon air was met by a metallic clicking sound. “Anthony I see you hiding on the side of the building. Stop horsing around and get on the Kangabus.” Shirley, that witch, had spotted me and beckoned me to walk the plank of my mortification. My horrified state of mind was interrupted by the wild glare of happiness in Kelly’s eyes. I am not quite sure what she said – something about a loser, headgear, and a kangaroo - I could only concentrate on the laughter that played upon Sue’s face as I walked the two-thousand miles from the side of the building to the Kangabus. From that point on I has a dissident feeling towards school, parents, bus drivers… basically, any figure or institution of authority. I questioned everything and everyone. Thank the powers that be for punk. Bookmark on Delicious \| Digg This Post a Comment Home Page of Blog You Know You're Punk Rock If.... You have a copy of “The Anarchist Cookbook”. You have seen the movie “Suburbia” at least 10 times. You saw “http://www.greenday.com/” before they were ever heard of. You have owned at least one record by each the following bands: The Circle Jerks, Black Flag, MDC, GG Allin, & The Exploited You made your own punk clothes (DIY) before Hot Topic started selling the whole thing out. You’ve waked up under a bridge at least once in your life. You’ve snuck out of your parent’s house to see your friend’s band play pretty much every weekend. You’ve been suspended from middle school for wearing a Dead Kennedy’s t-shirt. You know what “squatting” is. You grew up and you still don’t have a “real job” or live in “suburbia” Your mom is still wondering when your going to grow out of it. Add your own ideas in the comments! Bookmark on Delicious \| Digg This Post a Comment 12. You own the original poster that came out with Dead Kennedys Frankenchrist.(penises and all) 13. You color your hair by the shade you like the best in your crayon box rather than what people say "haircolor" should be. 14. you dressed as a prep for Halloween and your family cried to see you looking so good and your friends laughed so hard they peed! 15. You've put someone's eye back in after a night in the mosh pit instead of taking them to the ER. You remember bands like Butt Hole Surfers, Bauhaus and The Stupids and remember when Husker Du, the Cure and the Dead Milkmen had never been heard of by anyone on a football team! Comment by Sara Home Page of Blog How Lip Service Clothing became Lengendary Introduction Make a statement with your clothing. That is what Drew Bernstein had in mind before he began his company Lip Service. His story is both interesting and inspirational. Fueled by his punk background and realized through hard work and ingenuity, Lip Service has grown into the popular company it is today. The following tells the story of how Lip Service came to be. In the beginning Drew started out his music career playing with the bands America’s Hardcore and Crucifix. With great experiences and connections behind him, by 1984 Drew found himself band-less and working a menial job cleaning up after construction sites. A friend of his offered to provide him with some side work pitching samples of clothing to buyers. He quickly found a niche, quit his construction job, and dedicated his attention to selling clothing. His creativity soon helped him create big ideas. A big idea One day he proposed an idea of making leggings with prints on them. Until then, leggings were mostly solid, so offering prints would be a novel idea. He made 200 pairs of his pants (with the infamous skull & crossbones seen to your right) and they soon became hot items on Melrose and up the Pacific Coast. The leggings were just the catalyst to other ideas that soon formed and became popular. By 1985, Drew was doing well and more ideas came to him. Designers were looking for stretch jeans, and he delivered the Lip Service Stretch Jeans. Business was moving and so was Drew. He got out of his parents house and moved into a warehouse. In three years, he had opened three retail stores and a hired a few people to help him with business. With hard work and a couple of breaks, Drew became more popular… Friends in high places One day Izzy Stradlin from Guns ‘N’ Roses was perusing through the warehouse and found a jacket that he thought would be perfect for their frontman, Axl Rose. Soon after, pictures were all over the press with images of Axl wearing Drew’s jacket. This got Lip Service a lot of publicity and more attention. Still going… About twenty years later, Lip Service is still growing strong. The company does all of the work themselves and stay close to their punk roots of inspiration. Their clothing can be found all over the world and worn by those who appreciate the independent, idiosyncratic style. Bookmark on Delicious \| Digg This Post a Comment This post has been removed by the author. Comment by Janine This story is so nostalgic for me. Drew Bernstein and I hung out a lot together in 1984. In fact he introduced me to the vegetarian burrito (I had never had one before). He came over to my house one day and showed me a napkin with a picture of a skull and crossbones dagger drawn on it. He said "I'm going to put this on tights and sell them to the same stores that buy my other stuff." Well the rest is history. He always had vision. If anyone deserves this kind of success, it is Drew! Comment by Janine