LA 80's Punk Scene

[One-Off]

I was just making a playlist of all my favorite Stones songs and I realized I got to "Tattoo You" and after that I didn't know a single song. What happened? Well, that was when I was in college (80's) and could actually go and see live music and the live music scene back then was all about punk.

One of my favorite bands from that time, one that I saw many times, was X. These days I was thinking that their song "Los Angeles" (which I hear often because it's on my running playlist) could be a white supremacy anthem. Got me wondering.

I found this. I wonder if Bonzer5fin could confirm.

How L.A. Punks of the '80s and '90s Kept Neo-Nazis Out of Their Scene

John Doe and other insiders from the era reflect on what worked then—and what we can learn today

www.lamag.com

 

[doc_flavonoid]

 

[GWS_2]

Ha. Hanging around The Masque were you? A few weeks ago I found an X cassette tape in the glovebox of my ‘58. Seems to me they went kind of mainstream/top 40 sometime in the late 80’s? The only openly white supremacist type people I ever met were wandering around that scene or affiliated with a certain motor scooter club.

But yeah, somebody get B5fin. He could probably write 20 pages of epic name dropping/stories. Single spaced, no paragraphs, three sentences.

 

[$kully]

Can’t speak for the LA scene but punk and hardcore kids have been fighting Nazis off all over the world for a long time. They’ve always been attracted to the music and the dance floor mayhem and would often times show up to start sh!t. Particularly in certain regions. Everyone I know in bands that toured would come back with Nazi fight stories from Allentown, Pa. Floriduh too.

 

[Woke AF]

My experience starting in L.A. around '79 was going to arty Pogo parties and moving on to punk shows. My favorite was the Beer Garden in Harbor City??? The dancing was fun and if you fell someone would always help you up, no matter what they or you looked like. Never learned to appreciate the spitting. Then what we called jocks started showing up. They would not dance and it seemed they were only at the shows to stand around and shove and hit people dancing. That's when violence became a threat. I don't remember any nazi symbols but I wasn't looking either.

I was jumped several times just walking to the store in Garden Grove. And I don't think my fashion was very extreme. Never went to any shows in Orange County but I heard they could get pretty violent. San Francisco punks had a rep of dressing and looking tough but no worries about them.

Fashion, what a fun time to be young.

Exene and John Doe came into a restaurant I was working in the late 90's and they 'loved' my burrito. B5fin over and out.

 

[need 4 speed]

I was around and in the punk scene in that time frame . I went to tons of show at many different venues, from my experience the Nazi stuff is being way over stated, what I saw was more for shock value than any real white supremist stuff. I'm not saying there wasn't a small element, but it was small. Possibly may be worse now , in certain areas and band followings. Most of the punk bands I follow now are signed to Pirate Press, which is a label that core value revolve around family, respect, unity, equality.

 

[need 4 speed]

My favorite was the Beer Garden in Harbor City

No Dancing Waters show in San Pedro?

 

[Woke AF]

No Dancing Waters show in San Pedro?

Even though I grew up in ‘Peedro’ I don’t remember ever going to any SP shows. Besides the pogo parties with the jack the box girl. So yummy.

back to b5f, my hs friends were friends with the minutemen.

 

[One-Off]

Even though I grew up in ‘Peedro’ I don’t remember ever going to any SP shows. Besides the pogo parties with the jack the box girl. So yummy.

back to b5f, my hs friends were friends with the minutemen.

I went to a Dead Kennedys show at the San Pedro Longshoreman's Hall. Not shitting you- it ended a riot. SWAT Police came into the hall swinging their clubs. I saw a girl get clubbed because in the mayhem she was accidentally pushed backwards out of the fleeing mob.

All the clubs I went to back then are gone, with the exception of the Whiskey- the Anti Club, Club Lingerie, Madam Wong's...best show I saw was the Red Hot Chili Peppers as an opening act for the Circle Jerks. They blew away the Circle Jerks and you knew they would not be an opening act for long....

 

[xxx]

Napalm Death - Nazi Punks Fuck Off (Dead Kennedys cover) (Official Audio) - YouTube

Dead Kennedys - Nazi Punks Fuck Off (Live) - YouTube

 

[xxx]

I spent a lot of time in a lot of clubs from 1981 and on. When I could hitch a ride in the 70's, I got to see some epic acts!
Made channel 11 in the 80's when they did an expose on punk rock music. The footage was from a dead kennedys show at devonshire downs, northridge. Way fun to be a teenager in the 80's!

 

[need 4 speed]

I went to a Dead Kennedys show at the San Pedro Longshoreman's Hall.

I was there too, "luckily" ended up getting out a side door when the chain broke from the crowd push (then got a PD beating )
Saw Circle Jerks at the Barn @ Alpine Village another riot

 

[Lance Mannion]

Bad Brains are the most hard core white supremacist punk band of all time, all Nazi all the time.

 

[One-Off]

I was there too, "luckily" ended up getting out a side door when the chain broke from the crowd push (then got a PD beating )
Saw Circle Jerks at the Barn @ Alpine Village another riot

When the panic first started my friend wanted to bolt towards the door but I was afraid of a crush so I convinced him to stay back. We were at the very back, close to the police line as they cleared the hall. When I saw them club the girl (she was totally innocent, just kind of tripped and fell backwards towards the cops) I felt like going over to the cops and speaking my mind. Luckily I didn't.

 

[PRCD]

 

[One-Off]

Bad Brains are the most hard core white supremacist punk band of all time, all Nazi all the time.

Avid fan?

 

[Lance Mannion]

Avid fan?

To be honest, I only like their reggae stuff, the rest doesn't do it for me.

 

[cmogenic]

Fender's Ballroom. Saw so many good shows there as a teenager. Saw so many crazy suicidal and skinhead fights too. Never forget leaving an MDC show a bit early to get home by my curfew and there was a big line of Long Beach PD in helmets and with sticks waiting for the show to end. What a great time for me — lots of surfing and lots of great shows.

 

[VonMeister]

Can’t speak for the LA scene but punk and hardcore kids have been fighting Nazis off all over the world for a long time. They’ve always been attracted to the music and the dance floor mayhem and would often times show up to start sh!t. Particularly in certain regions. Everyone I know in bands that toured would come back with Nazi fight stories from Allentown, Pa. Floriduh too.

Orange County, Ca.

 

[VonMeister]

Fender's Ballroom. Saw so many good shows there as a teenager. Saw so many crazy suicidal and skinhead fights too. Never forget leaving an MDC show a bit early to get home by my curfew and there was a big line of Long Beach PD in helmets and with sticks waiting for the show to end. What a great time for me — lots of surfing and lots of great shows.

The Cathay de Grande was where I probably saw more shows than anywhere else. Madams Wongs, Fenders, The Whiskey the Country Club were all right up there. Saw a lot of the larger bands, especially the ones from Europe at the Olympic and the PVA.