Archive for the 'punk' Category

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Rock’n’roll Decontrol!: A Punk Discussion at Quimby’s 7/20

Jul ’19
20
7:00 pm
Toxic Reasons, with Ed Pittman on the mic, with DOA on the bill too!

Rock’n’Roll Decontrol will feature a punk discussion with Tony Erba (iconic member of bands like Face Value, 9 Shocks Terror, Cheap Tragedies, Fuck You Pay Me and more), classic punk Ed Pittman (Toxic Reasons, New Regrets), and writer/photographer/drummer David Ensminger (who has played with the singers of Sado-Nation, the Dicks, Big Boys, Plimsouls, and more).

David Ensminger’s numerous books include an upcoming interview collection featuring a focus on the history of Washington D.C. punk and another volume with interviews culled from the last ten years of his work in zines like Razorcake and Maximum RocknRoll as well as brand new interviews with members of Toxic Reasons, Agnostic Front, and the Flesh Eaters. 

Earlier this spring, Ensminger released:

Beneath the Shadows of T.S.O.L.: a collection of four interviews with groundbreaking singer Jack Grisham (done by Ensminger as well as Welly, editor of Artcore and singer for the notorious Welsh punk band Four Letter Word) that span the years from 2001 to 2018; it also includes a concise T.S.O.L. record chronology by Grisham, plus fan essay too, along with myriad rare photographs (including from famed punk chronicler Ed Colver!) and tons of gig flyers. It is an essential read for those interested in the Southern California punk revolt, death/dark/gothic/politico punk, and the history of underground music on the West Coast.

Bio: David Ensminger is a college instructor and the author of several books covering both American roots music and punk rock history — Visual Vitriol: The Street Art and Subcultures of the Punk and Hardcore Generation (Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2011), Mojo Hand: The Life and Music of Lightnin’ Hopkins (Univ. of Texas Press, 2013), Left of the Dial: Conversations with Punk Icons (PM Press, 2013), and Mavericks of Sound: Conversations with the Artists Who Shaped Indie and Roots Music (Rowman and Littlefield, 2014). His book The Politics of Punk was published by Rowman and Littlefield in Aug. 2016, while Out of the Basement: Punk in Rockford, IL, 1973-2005 was published in March 2017 by Microcosm Press.

Currently, his chapter on the film Repo Man (“Looking for a Joke With a Microscope: The Intersection of Punk and Humor in Repo Man”) was featured in the new Routledge Companion to Popular Music and Humor. Both The Boston Globe and The Economist have highlighted his research; meanwhile, he writes for both academic and popular press publications like Art in Print, Razorcake, The Journal of Popular Music Studies, Houston Press, Trust(Germany), Artcore (Britain), and Maximum Rock’n’Roll.

For more info:

Facebook Event Invite.

Contact David Ensminger, davidae43(at)hotmail(dot)com

Tony Era tears it up in Fuck You Pay Me, 2017, in Cleveland, pic shot by David Ensminger.

Al Burian Brings Anarchy and Apocalypse to Quimby’s June 20th

Jun ’19
20
7:00 pm

Writer, musician, comic artist zine-maker (and former Quimby’s employee) Al Burian (best known for his Orwellian-themed band Milemarker and darkly humorous personal zine Burn Collector) reads from new work and presents his newest book, NO APOCALYPSE: PUNK, POLITICS AND THE GREAT AMERICAN WEIRDNESS, a collection of columns and miscellany from turn-of-the-millennium publications such as PUNK PLANET and THE SKELETON. Seen through our contemporary lens, The 00’s reveal themselves to have been a time of splendidly naive optimism: remember when we all thought George W. Bush was the worst US president there could possibly be? Remember when the neighborhood seemed too crappy to ever get gentrified? Return to those carefree days, when the Y2K computer virus had just failed to happen and environmental collapse was still near-future science fiction.

The evening also sees the first US appearance of DEAN STREET, an epic comic book series (we dare not say “serialized graphic novel”) by Al Burian and Berlin comic artist Oska Wald. The action in DEAN STREET takes place in a mythical version of Chicago, and features a zany cast of characters, some unnerving supernatural occurrences, and the best rock show ever drawn. 

Plus a brief music performance by ANARKUSS, the post-apocalyptic no-electricity song and story act. A glimpse into what punk bands will sound like when the power grid fails and we all revert to eating nuts and berries…

“Al Burian is the bastard love-child of Spalding Gray and Henry Rollins”  -Ex Berliner

Thursday, June 20, 2019   7pm – Free Event

More info:

alburian.blogspot.com

anarkuss.bandcamp.com

Facebook Invite here.

Quimby’s Opens Wicker Park Lit Fest: 3 Songs with Jonas, Marc Lazar, Kathy Moseley & The Blue Ribbon Glee Club 9/14

Sep ’17
14
7:00 pm

Quimby’s is proud to to open this year’s Wicker Park Lit Fest with 3 Songs, the reading series that combines words and music, during a festival that celebrates this neighborhood’s rich legacy of literature and entertainment in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago. WP Lit fest continues through the 17th at a variety of venues around Wicker Park!

Three writers read one piece each, and each song is performed by Chicago’s only a cappella punk rock group The Blue Ribbon Glee ClubBRGC regularly performs songs by Fugazi, Gang of Four, the Dead Kennedys, the Buzzcocks and more.

Readers featuring their work at this performance:

Jonas, zinester – “Words and Guitar” by Sleater-Kinney

Marc Lazar, performer – “Glad Girls” by Guided By Voices

Kathy Moseley, zinester – “Dress” by PJ Harvey

Jonas writes zines and stuff. He wrote a long zine about punks and parenthood called Cheer the Eff Up, and a whole lot of other zines he probably can’t remember at the moment. They’re all probably also about punks and parenting in some stupid way. He also wrote a novel called The Greatest Most Traveling Circus. He lives here in Chicago with his wife and two little minions. He likes music a whole lot. The song he picked is “Words and Guitar,” but he almost picked David Bowie’s “Suffragette City” because aaaaaawwwwwwwww WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA’AM!

Marc Lazar works with adults with autism, and is a storyteller, former journalist, and member of BRGC. He is a fan of books, TV shows, and music about outsiders and misfits (including The Misfits), and recently discovered the joys of vegan elote pizza. (It’s better than it sounds, but kind of messy!)

Kathy Moseley has been publishing the zine SemiBold since the last century,  is a 15-year-old girl living in the body of a 50-year-old woman. She blogs at semibold.wordpress.com.

Here’s the Facebook event invite to SHARE that you’re coming!

facebook.com/wplfest

#WPLITFEST

#mychicagobookstore

facebook.com/blueribbongleeclub

 

Read local + shop small!

Quimby’s Welcomes the Authors of Brick Through the Window: An Oral History of Punk Rock, New Wave & Noise In Milwaukee 4/29

Apr ’17
29
7:00 pm

In late-1970s Milwaukee, a compact circle of locals drew from their city’s cultural heritage, as well as the examples of New York, London and Los Angeles, to embrace the new in the form of a dynamic punk rock scene.  Drawing on influences from 1960s garage rock and early ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll, Milwaukee punks created a formidable body of work.  A new book published by Brickboys/Splunge Communications, Inc., tells the story in the words of the pioneers and participants.

Brick Through the Window: An Oral History of Punk Rock, New Wave & Noise in Milwaukee, 1964-1984 chronicles a small number of people who made history in a setting that produced internationally recognized bands such as the Violent Femmes, Die Kreuzen, Plasticland and Oil Tasters. Original interviews with such visionaries as the late Mark Shurilla and Richard LaValliere tell stories of imagination, creativity, resourcefulness and sacrifice.  Compiled from hundreds of hours of interviews, Brick Through the Window brings vividly to life a short-lived period of creativity and excitement in a heartland American town that was home to a musical subculture more prolific and diverse than that of many larger cities.

And guess what? The last Saturday in April is Independent Bookstore Day (IBD), so enjoy it here with this extraordinary book! Click here for more info about taking the #MyChicagoBookstore challenge for an opportunity to get discounts on books!

For the men and women who created the world of music in Milwaukee, the most American of cities, this book is not just an important historical document; it’s critical.  Their story is told, and told well.  In interviews with the players, and fantastic photos, the adventures and misadventures are chronicled with more gusto than the beer that made Milwaukee famous.”  –Wayne Kramer, singer/guitarist/activist, founder, the MC5

Co-authors Steven Nodine and Eric Beaumont will celebrate the release of Brick Through the Window with a discussion and book signing, with recordings of music mentioned in the book.

For more info: 

brickthroughthewindow.com

e_beaumont(at)yahoo(dot)com

Invite your friends with the Facebook invite for this event!

Sat, April 29th, 7pm  –  Free Event

More info about Independent Bookstore Day here!

Punk Then, Punk Now, Punk Forever: Documenting DIY Culture 11/18

Nov ’16
18
7:00 pm

outofthebasementcov_lgA meet, greet, and discussion with authors David Ensminger and Daniel Makagon — two punkademics who explore and document the DIY scene of punk rock, plus local punk icon Martin Sorrondeguy of Limp Wrist and Los Crudos, who will be projecting photographs. The three will discuss punk history, their own involvement throughout the decades, DIY culture, and future issues, like chronicling scenes in a digital era that may lack traditional zines, flyers, and records.

Ensminger’s Out of the Basement: From Cheap Trick to DIY Punk in Rockford, IL, 1973-2005 “emits in vigorous detail the lineaments of the sweat-drenched musical underground nestled in his rock hard hometown… sense impressions combine with slices of scholarly reflection and the author’s own energy and timeless enthusiasm.” —  Denise Sullivan.

Martin Sorrendeguy is a punk singer known worldwide for his work with Los Crudos and Limp Wrist; he is a filmmaker that made Beyond The Screams: A U.S. Latino Hardcore Punk Documentary in 1999, and is an avid photographer whose exhibits, monograph, and lectures document’s punk’s global impact.

Daniel Makagon’s Underground: The Subterranean Culture of DIY Punk Shows published by Microcosm “explores the culture of DIY spaces like house shows and community-based music spaces, their impact on underground communities and economies…” As associate professor at DePaul University, he teaches and researches urban communication, documentary, music culture, guerrilla art, and democracy. He edits the City Series for Liminalities too.

David Ensminger writes for Razorcake and teaches at Lee College. His new book, Out of the Basement (Microcosm Publishing) is a portrayal of a rust belt city full of rebel kids making DIY music despite the odds. It combines oral history, brutally honest memoir, music history, and a sense of blunt poetics to capture the ethos of life in the 1970s-2000s, long before the Internet made punk accessible to small towners. From dusty used record stores and frenetic skating rinks to dank basements and sweat-piled gigs to the radical forebears like the local IWW chapter, the book follows the stories of rebels struggling to find spaces and a sense of community and their place in underground history. It includes hilarious untold stories and anecdotes about Fred Armisen, Green Day, and the Misfits. Ensminger has authored six books covering both American roots music and punk rock history, including Visual Vitriol: The Street Art and Subcultures of the Punk and Hardcore Generation (Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2011) and Left of the Dial: Conversations with Punk Icons (PM Press, 2013), and Out of the Basement (Microcosm). His new The Politics of Punk analyzes radical music, social justice, community building, and punk philanthropy.

For more info: leftofthedialmag@hotmail.com, http://visualvitriol.wordpress.com

And this:

David Ensminger, “The Politics of Punk: Protest and Revolt from the Streets” (Rowman and Littlefield, 2016)

Nov 18th, 7pm

Free Event

Invite yr friends with the Facebook event invite.