I remember a conversation a lifetime ago about the then-changing dynamics (and admittedly, economics) of DIY punk record production, distribution and consumption. The internet changed shit (...duh) and there were so many more options - options in general but specifically options without the realm/s of things classified as DIY punk. Gone were the days when a mediocre band could self release a mediocre EP and go on tour and hit a few distros and move 1000 copies (or more) with relative ease while the "bigger" bands could reliably crank through five times that number. We were (at the time of this conversation) in a place where even the flavor-of-the month bands would struggle to sell more than a few hundred records and hope that their online streams and bandcamp DLs might result in enough visibility for their live shows to be well attended. Maybe they'd sell some shirts, you know? And it's not about money - it's about survival. It's all connected. Anyway, as a contribution to this conversation, my buddy mentioned a band from Buffalo called BROWN SUGAR who dropped a stellar full length back in 2011 and flew through 500+ physical copies like it was 1994 when they hit the road. See, the internet didn't care....but the punks did. Tour. Put it in their faces. Play shitty shows where none of the people are cool - they'll recognize that you aren't cool either and you will all realize that you're on the same team. Fuck selling records, it's about getting to the next place to connect with new freaks - or connect with the one freak in that next place, you know?
Why do I say these things? Because the dude who played guitar for BROWN SUGAR later played in a band called SKATEBOARD and also in a band called THE PUNKS. Each band released a demo in the 2010s and some genius packaged them on one destined-to-be-overlooked cassette in the 2020s. But let us not get bogged down in the connection to a conversation about punk economics, instead lets talk about how fukkn much undiscovered DIY punk lights a fire under our collective ass. The five tracks from THE PUNKS are enough to make your old-ass self want to go start a new band (tonight) and the twenty punk minutes on the SKATEBOARD side...well, sometimes the shit is life affirming even if there isn't a story attached to it. This time though, there is. Kinda.
Why do I say these things? Because the dude who played guitar for BROWN SUGAR later played in a band called SKATEBOARD and also in a band called THE PUNKS. Each band released a demo in the 2010s and some genius packaged them on one destined-to-be-overlooked cassette in the 2020s. But let us not get bogged down in the connection to a conversation about punk economics, instead lets talk about how fukkn much undiscovered DIY punk lights a fire under our collective ass. The five tracks from THE PUNKS are enough to make your old-ass self want to go start a new band (tonight) and the twenty punk minutes on the SKATEBOARD side...well, sometimes the shit is life affirming even if there isn't a story attached to it. This time though, there is. Kinda.