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Wear Your Clothes Better
You got the punk attitude and you got the punk clothes. Now you have to accessorize. Accessorizing is not only for women; guys need to add some spice to their punk presence as well. Whether you are wearing a belt, suspenders, or toting a bag around, more is good.
- Start out simple. Choose your favorite pair of jeans and a rockin’ shirt you feel comfortable wearing. Think of them as your canvas.
- Let’s take it from the top. Is there anything that can be added to your shirt to make it more appealing? Try rips, buttons, or blood smears (a bit dramatic, but effective). You could try layering a couple of shirts on top of one another; wear a long sleeved shirt under a short sleeve shirt.
- Now let’s move on to the jeans or pants. Same question- is there anything you can do to make them unique? You could put some slits in them, use patches, or French-roll them at the end (just kidding- please don’t do that).
- Jewelry is always a good accessory. Try a necklace, bracelet, or watch. Get funky and try some big beads out.
- I cannot say enough about socks. Socks are an integral piece of accessorizing. Striped, argyle, knee-high, etc. are all great (let’s not do white socks guys- that’s pretty boring).
- Shoes are important. They let the world know what you like sinking your feet into. Whatever you like- high heels, boots, sneakers, etc. will help you display your style.
- Sometimes a punk gets cold and you need an outside layer. Hoodies and jackets will keep you warm with an edge. Select a favorite or get an assortment to keep the outside world guessing.
- The great thing about clothes (especially punk clothes) is that a person’s sense of style is subjective. No two people are alike. Some people may disagree with your style, but that is not your problem. Always feel confident in what you wear and rock it proudly.
Never underestimate the power of the Web or second-hand shops in attaining some cool accessories. There are always discounts going on and the thrift stores are usually mostly cheap anyway.
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Concert Tips
Introduction Are you going to a see a show anytime soon? Seeing live music is an awesome experience, but you have to be prepared. Before engaging in body slamming, crowd surfing, and looking punk; it is important to think ahead. Read the following tips before you engage in your next show: Eat wellYou are going to need your energy for the next Skynyrd(or insert any good band) show. You can try your luck eating the mystery meat they serve for $20 a pound at the stands or you can eat before you go. These eyes have seen enough shows to know which decision I would make, but the choice is yours. ThreadsObviously, you want to wear something punk to go to the show, but you will have to keep in mind what your punk clothes will look like after the show. Think of sweat, overflowing beverages, mud slinging, etc. that may occur. Pick something you like, but that can be replaced if accidentally altered a bit. ArrivalShows always lag behind schedule. Consider opening bands, intermissions, and the fashionable lateness of the main attraction. It may be wise to think of ways to entertain your time close by before entering the venue if you do not want to wait for the main event. Cold hard cashMost vendors at the show will not accept credit cards, so you will have to tote around some dollars. If only they offered gift cards for your favorite shows then you wouldn’t need to worry about bringing extra cash in your wallet. Who’s gonna be there?Often, opening acts may be previously unknown. Do some research and sample some tracks from opening bands. It will create an opportunity to get more excited for the show and possibly create a space in your favorite band cannon. HydrateMost of us will opt for alcoholic beverages at the show, but amidst heavy dancing and cavorting, it would be wise to down some water too. Water at venues can be expensive. Buy one water and continue to refill with tap water. Go in a groupConcerts are more fun when you have others around. Meet up with your friends. Even if you don’t have seats near them, you could set up a place to meet them- like where they are selling the t-shirts. It is easy to get disconnected from people and cell phones don’t always work or are hard to hear at shows. It is good to have a buddy system, so you will never be by yourself. Don’t spend precious time in lineThere are always long lines for the bathroom. Be strategic about when you will be in line. You don’t want to be stuck in line when the main event is on or during an encore. Go before or after the parts of the show you will want to see. Be sociableA concert is a good place to meet new people. You will already know that you share the same taste in music. Look for the people clad in punk clothes – you know they will be good for conversation. Take a walkParking is getting more expensive through the years. It is considerably cheaper to park further away from the venue and then hike it to the show. Use the extra money you save on something you can use repeatedly like a cool pair of Chuck Taylors. Save your cashConcert tees are a great memento, but they are usually overpriced at the show. Look for “middlemen” outside of the concert selling tees or look to buy shirts of your favorite bands for less online. Enjoy yourselfThe number one rule of concert going is to have fun. Who cares if people look at you strangely for dancing or singing along to your favorite tunes? Express yourself and don’t worry about what is cool or fitting in; just have a good time.
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How to do your Laundry (aka Take the Funk out of your Punk clothing)
Introduction Your friends won’t stand near you at the punk shows, you have worn your that same t-shirt for a month now, and your dog won’t even go for walks with you. It is time to do your laundry. The following offers tips and suggestions on doing your wash. Funk is meant for listening, not worn. Get it together- Yeah, detergent doesn’t come free with the experience; you have to buy it. The world is split into two kinds of people: those who use liquid, and those who use powder. I prefer liquid because it is less messy; yet it is more expensive, so that means less money to buy pants and jeans.
- Bleach. Yes, it is a great Nirvana album; but it also is a cleaning product to use on whites. Only use it with whites. Don’t blame me when your Misfits hoodie gets ruined- I warned you.
- Fabric softener is not just to be used on girls clothing. Guys can be tough while wearing soft clothing. It’s okay, it makes you more versatile of a person. I would go with the dryer sheets, rather than the liquid form though. Added suggestion: Dryer sheets are good to use in your cars as a freshener.
- Johnny Cash roughed it and used an empty keg for his laundry basket, but he was tough, you might think it is easier to use a basket.
Divide and conquer
- Whites are basic under shirts – like wifebeaters, white socks, undies, sheets, pillowcases, and the other colorless items you may have jammed in the corner of your room.
- Lights are any garments that have some light coloring like pastel hues, or white with colored patterns or stripes.
- You’re punk, so you have dark clothing; they are also grouped together. Dark socks, underwear, skirts, and dark colored pants go together. Some dark garments are best left hand washed. The best way to determine is to sink the garment in the sink. If the color does not bleed into the water a lot, then it is okay for the wash.
- Any wool, satin, or other variety of super-soft material is labeled as a delicate item. These are better left hand washed. Most dresses and jackets should be professionally cleaned.
All washed up
- Pre-treat any visible stains before placing garments in the wash. You can use the liquid detergent, or go above and beyond, and purchase a stain removal product. Rub the detergent into the stain and throw it in with your shorts and other items.
- If the machine you are using does not have a detergent dispenser, you have to put the detergent into the machine BEFORE you put in the clothes. These machines are old school; they prefer Led Zeppelin to SlipKnot. Start the cycle, pour the detergent in, wait for the water to get sudsy, and then put in your clothes.
- A new school washer warrants you to simply pour the detergent into the top, and the mixing procedure will be done for you.
- Whites require a “hot” cycle. The cycle gets your whites whiter.
- Lights and darks require “warm” or “permanent press” cycle. The cool water rinse protects the colors from fading.
- Delicates not washed by hand should be machine washed with a “cold” cycle.
- Pay attention to the tags on the clothing. The instructions will never steer you wrong, pay attention to them.
- Never fill the washer more than ½ to ¾ full. If you do, then your clothes will not get properly cleaned. Do not mistreat your punk clothes, it wouldn’t be right.
High and Dry
- Prepare the dryer before drying. It is not a grueling process, just clean out the lint filter. It’s somewhere in there, just look around for it. Don’t rely on your roommate to do it, there’s a better chance of Alice Cooper teaching ballet.
- Add the fabric softener sheets to the dryer.
- While transferring your punk clothes from the washer to the dryer, shake them out to relieve excess water and wrinkles.
- If you had stains in your punk clothes before the wash, see if they were removed. The heat of the dryer will only set them in deeper.
- Just as with the washer, don’t overload the dryer.
- Do not leave your punk clothes in the dryer for too long, unless you want them looking like clothes for the kids.
Raise or Fold
- Immediately begin folding your punk clothes after the dryer is done with them. It will make them less wrinkled.
- Never hang sweaters or other form fitting articles of clothing. The hangar will leave a mark and stretch in the shoulders.
- Always hang button down shirts, garments made of linen, and other synthetic fibers.
* Jeans, sweatshirts, and other t-shirts can be folded and put in drawers.
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10 Best Albums of Punk
IntroductionWhat is the best punk album of all time? This post is all about the music. All will have their own opinions – and they are invited to share. The ten albums below have made the list. Agree, disagree, smash a guitar, etc. – and enjoy.  Joy Division – Unknown PleasuresAfter the death of Ian Curtis, the remaining members went on to become New Order. The songs call from a distance and were enveloped in dread. One can enjoy the last words of an extremely talented musician listening to this debut.  Black Flag – DamagedIntense and loud, Rollins and the boys supplied us with fifteen songs of brilliance. With an underlying sense of humor, Black Flag inserted a serious and deranged message into the brains of those that would listen – and there were a lot of us.  Monks – Black Monk TimeThis 1966 album by a group of GIs stationed in Germany during Vietnam is historical. The music was fresh, blunt, and angry. Maybe the world wasn’t ready for the truth at the time, but the message would soon be carried on by many others in the 70s.  The Velvet Underground – White Light/White HeatFull of guitar greatness and detachment from the world, White Light/White Heat was (and is) well respected by creators and appreciators of punk music. Lou Reed and company remained cool amongst a complete tirade of menace.  Radio Birdman – Radios AppearBy 1976, New York and London weren’t the only ports of punk. Radio Birdman, coming out of Australia, twanged sounds out of their instruments meant to cause discomfort and thought. Radios Appear has a timeless and distant quality to its sound causing its presence on this list and many others.  The Stooges – FunhouseThe boys from Detroit turned things up a notch on this album of madness, exigency, and disturbance. Funhouse delivers the feel of a focused maestro in front of a malicious and chaotic orchestra, but somehow the show is completed.  Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers – The Modern LoversMaybe this pick is biased because members of The Cars and Talking Heads came out of this coalition, but The Modern Lovers is a novel and distinctive album that you can’t place a finger on. Recorded in 1973, it did not really fit in at the time, and pleasantly does not fit in anywhere.  The Clash – London CallingStrummer, Jones, and the rest of the dreary old band from London not only delivered punk, but they did it well. They had thought provoking lyrics delving into political and social unrest and played their instruments like trained musicians.  Ramones – RamonesEven their name sounded punk enough to consume their debut title. Many claim the boys from New York not only set the tone for American punk, but for all of punk. The songs of the debut are trendsetting, innovative, and forever.  Sex Pistols – Never Mind the BollocksSome say that the sound of the Sex Pistols becomes better with age, as if the world wasn’t prepared for them at the time, and it has taken us decades to catch up. The band has it all: the mystery, the legacy, and the indelible and priceless sound. What do you think?......
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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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How Lip Service Clothing became Lengendary
IntroductionMake 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 beginningDrew 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 ideaOne 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 placesOne 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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COME ONE! COME ALL, TO THE ROCKABILLY REVIVAL THIS WEEKEND ON LATINATION TV!
- The Sick Psychobilly Subculture Screams, “Check It Out!!!”-
NEW YORK, October 15th, 2007 – The AIM Tell-A-Vision Group announced that, in a television first, the Latino involvement in the Rockabilly revival nationwide will be celebrated on the nationally syndicated TV shows, LatiNation and American Latino TV!
LatiNation, which is seen weekly in over 90 cities nationwide, is dedicating an entire episode to the Rockabilly lifestyle, along with a dose of Psychobilly in the mix. Rockabilly revelers will get their kicks this weekend (10/20-10/21) as LatiNation goes on set with vintage and modern pin-up photographer Jorge Martín Vargas, then twists and shouts to the sounds of legendary rockabilly musician, Big Sandy. Next, LatiNation gives viewers a retro wardrobe and home makeover with the designs & decor of My Baby Jo and Spitfire Interiors. Viewers are invited to discover Los Angeles, Calif.’s oldest underground music scene with the documentary, “Rebel Beat: the Story of L.A. Rockabilly,” and lastly a dose of psychobilly sickness with Mexican punk mainstay, Calavera!
This special episode of LatiNation also features interviews and footage from the top heavyweights of the Rockabilly and Psychobilly scenes, including L.A.’s Black Cat Entertainment and Austin, Texas’s “Rockabilly Magazine,” and many more! For a short teaser of the segment on Latino Psychobilly band, Calavera go to:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1886898594753061995&hl=en
The theme continues for the next three weeks. The following weekend (10/27-10/28), LatiNation profiles sexy pin-up model, Paula Baby, coverage from Viva Las Vegas and the Hootenanny Festival (11/3-11/4), and an exclusive segment on rockers Tiger Army (11/11-11/12).
LatiNation’s “companion” program American Latino TV gets into the retro-subculture theme with coverage of the sexy art of Burlesque, with noteworthy Latina performers La Cholita and Dakota (10/20-10/21). The following weekend (10/27-10/28), American Latino TV features a segment on the return of Rollerderby, a sport that is gaining popularity in cities big and small all over the U.S. thanks to fearless Latina athletes.
LATINATION: www.LatiNation.tv/wheretowatch for more cities and show times
Los Angeles- KCAL 9 Saturday nights at 12:30AM
New York – WWOR My9 Sundays @ 4:30PM
Chicago – WPWR My 50 Sundays @ 5PM
AMERICAN LATINO: www.AmericanLatino.tv/wheretowatch for cities and show times
Los Angeles – KABC Saturday nights @ 1AM / Sundays @ 4PM (check listings)
New York – WWOR My 9 Sundays @ 4PM
Chicago – WPWR My 50 Saturdays @ 5:30PM
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