Tag Archive for 'David Ensminger'

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.

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.