Pistols in booth.  Credit John "Boogie" Tiberi

Who is interested in all this archaic information anyway?  Well, the punk era was a very innovative time in music. Although few of the groups of the time saw any financial success, the music they made had tremendous influence in subsequent years.  When bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam broke through in the 90's, they were climbing on the shoulders of the ground-breakers from the punk era.  Today, popular bands in the mainstream "alternative" genre are able to maintain a hard edge while enjoying tremendous popularity and financial success.  It took almost two decades for the world to be ready for the music that was originally spawned in darkened dives in the late 70's.

Fans of the great bands of today may be interested in checking out some more of the music that influenced their favorite groups.  Rancid fans may want to check out a couple of the early Clash albums if they haven't already.  Green Day fans may want to immerse themselves in more of the vintage punk of the 70's.  Sublime and Mighty Mighty Bosstones fans may love the Specials, Selecter, and the English Beat.  Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Foo Fighters devotees need to crank up Husker Du's Zen Arcade if they haven't yet had the pleasure.  The connections go on and on.  The influence of the original punk bands run deep.

I also know many people who lived through the punk era, but never really participated.  Maybe they were too popular, well adjusted, or comfortable at the time.  They now have a curiosity about the music scene they missed out on while they were dancing to Disco Duck.

Finally, there are also a few of us aging people who lived through the era but have been molded into model workers and citizens over the years.  Our punk music collections exist primarily on vinyl and our turntables burned out ten years ago.  A wave of nostalgia hits us once in a while to remind us of the individual that still lurks within.  Why not pick up a few Imperative CD's so you can pop them in the stereo of your minivan when you are on the way over to pick up the kids from soccer practice.

Stiv Bators of the Dead Boys. Photo by Godlis, Ebet Roberts Credit Bomp Stiv Gallery .