Punk house

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A punk house is a dwelling occupied by members of the punk subculture. Punk houses are similar to the hippie crash pads of the 1960s and the slan shacks of science fiction fandom. The Factory, an alternative living space founded by Andy Warhol as the home base of The Velvet Underground, is directly linked to the formation of punk rock in New York City. In the early 1980s, a few punk gangs developed around allegiance to certain punk houses.[citation needed]

Punk houses are often centered around certain political or personal ideologies. It is not uncommon for a punk house to be anarchist, strictly straight-edge, or vegan.[1] A clique of punks may start a punk house by squatting an abandoned building, by renting, or by owning property. Punk houses are often communally inhabited in an attempt to minimize the individual expense of rent or property tax.

Punk houses serve as backdrops for local scenes; punk houses often provide overnight shelter to touring punk rock bands, and sometimes serve as a venue for shows.[2] Bands or record labels sometimes form in a particular punk house. Many punk houses have associated punk zines that sometimes share the name of the house.[3] Groups of anarcho-punks run their houses as communes. Inhabitants sometimes identify their houses with unique names and symbols so they can represent their residence with clothing, slogans, and graffiti.

Often, inhabitants of a punk house will break furniture, dishware, or other household items for little or no reason. Many inhabitants engage in giving each other mohawk haircuts.

Notable punk houses

A sign posted at the C-Squat punk house
  • Lost Cross, Carbondale, IL - A house serving as a practice space, venue, and hangout continuously since 1986.[4]
  • Calgary Manor, Calgary Alberta - venue occupied by members of Calgary punk scene and featured in the film Another State of Mind.[5]
  • C-Squat, New York City – Residence and music venue; occupied by members of Leftöver Crack and other punk bands.[citation needed]
  • Coyle Street, Portland, Maine
  • Krakow (also known as Poland Street) home to bands such as Butcher Boy, The Waldos, Theodore Treehouse, Pastel Sound Explosion, Trapper, Older Men and hosted a number of touring bands, including Cuddle Magic, Grass Is Greener. Portland, Maine
  • Darkmouth Portland, Maine
  • The Phoenix House, Olympia, WA - House located on Phoenix Street in Olympia, Washington, famous for showcasing bands such as Nirvana and Bikini Kill, while also providing cheap living, as the house has many rooms. The house officially closed in May 2011, though an attempt at reviving the universally famous house is currently in the works.
  • Dial House, Essex, England – home of Crass
  • Die Slaughterhaus, Atlanta, GA – residence, venue and record label; occupied by members of Black Lips, Deerhunter and other bands.
  • Positive Force House Arlington, Virginia – former residence of Positive Force D.C.[6]
  • Eddy Street Castle- Eau Claire, WI- Cullen Ryan lives there with his wife and two kids.
  • The BFG, Appleton, WI - venue occupied by members of Tenement, Wartorn, Technicolor Teeth, and The Parish.[7]
  • The Hellarity House, Oakland, CA - Venue, Home to many infamous faces, and best run traveler haven ever. Hellarity House closed on March 5, 2012.
  • The Black Hole, Fullerton, CA[8]
  • Storey House, Santa Cruz, CA - A longtime venue for touring bands, couch for traveling punks, and home to about fourteen weirdos.
  • Fort Goof, Kensington Market, Toronto, Canada – Residence, boozecan and music venue; occupied by members of Bunchofuckingoofs and other punk bands.
  • Funky Towne - Huntington, West Virginia - punk house, music venue, vegan dinners, arts and crafts, lending library, movie showings and more. There is all ways something going on when traveling punks, college student from Marshall University and locals get in a room. Occupied by members of folk punk band The Disappearing Man
  • Butcher Shoppe, Wacky Kastle and Gay Gardens - Boston, MA - 3 of the most prominent (but now defunct) punk and show houses in the Allston neighborhood.
  • The Elimination Chamber - Huntington, West Virginia - Punk house, music venus and the main office of a local DIY record label called "It's a Trap records". Occupied by members of a local punk band called Reptile Zoo.
  • Harm House, Springfield, Illinois - residence, productive space, occasionally holds house shows, and a place open to touring bands and anyone down on their luck

Media representations

Notable punk rock songs that mention punk houses include: "Punkhouse" and "Ashtray" by Screeching Weasel, "Homeo-Apathy" by Leftöver Crack, "Party at 174" by The Bouncing Souls, "Kids of the Black Hole" by The Adolescents[8] and "Landlords" by Pinhead Gunpowder. Aaron Cometbus chronicled his experiences in a punk house called "Double Duce", in a novel of the same name.[9] Photographer Abby Banks released Punkhouse: Interiors in Anarchy, a book of punk house photography that catalogs many such places in the United States. Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore edited the book.[10][11] Punk houses have served as settings for a number of punk films, including Suburbia, "The Taqwacores (film)", and SLC Punk!.

See also

References

  1. Green, Penelope (January 3, 2008). "Anarchy Rules: The Dishes Stay Dirty". The New York Times. Retrieved September 26, 2011. 
  2. Agnew, Meaghan (December 13, 2007). "Dirty, chaotic, comfortable - welcome to the punk house". The Boston Globe. Retrieved September 26, 2011. 
  3. Leitko, Aaron (December 18, 2009). "The Orange Line Revolution". Washington City Paper. Retrieved September 26, 2011. 
  4. DuBach, Jared (November 17, 2005). "Carbondale's music legends remember the '80s". Daily Egyptian. Retrieved September 26, 2011. 
  5. "Youth Brigade Interview - Shawn Stern". ThePunkSite.com. June 18, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2011. 
  6. Andersen, Mark; Jenkins, Mark (2009). Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital. New York: Akashic Books. pp. 168–169. ISBN 978-1-933354-99-6. 
  7. Pascale, Arthur (October 31, 2008). "DIY Venue Spotlight: The BFG". ALARM Press. Retrieved September 26, 2011. 
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Social Distortion: History". SocialDistortion.com. Retrieved on April 13, 2007
  9. Cometbus, Aaron (2003). Double Duce. San Francisco: Last Gasp. ISBN 0-86719-586-X. 
  10. Banks, Abby (2007). Punkhouse: Interiors in Anarchy. Abrams Image. ISBN 0-8109-9331-7. 
  11. Hix, Lisa (February 13, 2008). "Punk style at home in Oakland's Purple House". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved September 26, 2011. 
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