I Hate 1984: My Paisley Punk Year
By David Beckey of The Autumn Leaves
In 1984 I was in high school and lived with my family in the suburbs. I worked as a bag boy at Lund's, so I had a bit of spending money (already I'm getting nostalgic). For some strange reason, there were two really good record stores in Hopkins, both only a bike ride away (and yes, one of them had "rental records"). I realized my record obsession was getting a bit serious, and I was a bit embarrassed by it. (Years before, Scholastica had put out a book about The Byrds, which my brother bought. He didn't like it, so he gave it to my sister. She didn't like it, so she gave it to me, and I read it a million times. It also came with a cool EP.) I took to sneaking records into my room by unlocking my bedroom window before going on record-buying sprees. When I'd return, I'd drop the records in my window and walk through the front door sans records. I would take occasional pilgrimages on the bus to downtown Minneapolis to go record shopping, check out books from the Minneapolis Public Library, and shop for magazines at Shinders.
That fall I found an EP called Explosions In The Glass Palace by The Rain Parade. It had a very wide-angle lens sound to it, and there was a wonderful feeling of melancholia throughout that kept me listening to it again and again. The keyboard player, Will Glenn, wore an old "Quadraphenia-style" raincoat on the album cover, and I eventually got one just like it at Ragstock. I found out my high school was letting rock bands play, so with three weeks notice, I signed up and formed a "band" as quickly as I could. My friend Tom was an excellent drummer who liked some of the same bands as me, so we enlisted our friends John, Mike, Jason, and our most reluctant member, Scott, who found us sitting in his family's living room with our gear all set up when he got home one Sunday afternoon. Scott's dad was super nice--he was the one that let us into his house (and oddly enough, he was into The Jam). Scott, however, didn't want any part of our musical endeavours, and obviously regretted his initial promise to play with us. We were unfazed, and since we were in his house, we practiced.
Around that time, I had spotted a Jack Kerouac book in the school library called The Subterraneans, so I suggested that as a band name (not that I ever took the time to read the book). Tom didn't think that sounded punk rock enough, so he came up with Subterranean Resistance, to which we all happily agreed. Even now that name makes me laugh; it reflected our ridiculous situation perfectly. We pooled together covers by U2, Wire Train, Icicle Works, The Psychedelic Furs, and a "punk-rock" version of our school song "H-O-P-K-I-N-S High School"--perfect revenge for having had to endure all the jock-oriented pep-fests. Come the day of the show, I was nervous as hell, but all I had to do was stand there and play guitar in the school theater with the rest of my "band." At one point during our set, I could see an empty pop can being hurled into the air (courtesy of an angry audience member) and shooting straight for my head.
Luckily I ducked in time and kept playing. We were pretty awful, but I later decided that it wasn't what we were that mattered, it was what we stood for (or were trying to stand for). It was our last show, too.
I Hate 1984: The Escapism Ends Soon
Note from Pete: I'm winding up this series this week (with a complete guide to I Hate 1984 and tributes to Husker Du, the Replacements, This Is Spinal Tap, maybe Repo Man, and whatever else people turn in--where are my Madonna, Prince, and Cyndi Lauper fans?). So send your contribution if you've got one, on any topic at all. Here's one from the electronic mail bag...
Eight Days a Week: April 28-May 5
Mary J. Blige on Sunday at the Orpheum in Minneapolis
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28
PICK Blondie. $36. 6:00 p.m., FIRST AVENUE, 701 1st Ave N, Mpls., 612.332.1775 
PICK Twinkie Jiggles Birthday Concert: Radio 4, the Fever, Heiruspecs. $8. 9:00 p.m., TRIPLE ROCK SOCIAL CLUB, 629 Cedar Ave S, Mpls., 612.333.7399 Pushstars. $10,$12. 8:00 p.m., 400 BAR, 400 Cedar Ave S (at Riverside Ave), Mpls., 612.332.2903 Scottie Miller Band (HERE'S A LINK) CD-Release Party. 6:30 p.m., VIKING BAR, 1829 Riverside Ave, Mpls., 612.332.4259 Bachelor Boy Entertainment and Colossus Enterprises present: ESCAPE WEDNESDAYS, w, B96 Beat Masters, 9:00 P.M., 21+, Escape Ultra Lounge, $5.00
THURSDAY, APRIL 29
THE JAM! 2004 A BENEFIT, THE C.O.R.E. , HI-TEST, SELFISH, 3 KINGS 4:00 P.M., All-Ages, The Quest 50 Foot Wave (feat. Kristin Hersch), Robert Skoro at 5P.M. First Avenue $8/12 Ela CD Release, Dujeous, Roosevelt Franklin (Slug and Jean Grae). $6. 8:00 p.m., 7TH ST. ENTRY, 701 1st Ave N, Mpls., 612.332.1775 Deerhoof, 54-71, Sicbay. All-Ages. $8. 6:00 p.m. Edie Carey, Teddy Goldstein, Dave Potts. $8. 7:30 p.m., GINKGO COFFEEHOUSE, 721 Snelling Ave N, St. Paul, 651.645.2647 Kip Blackshire, 9:00 P.M., 21+ Bunkers Bar & Grill $4.00 Ceilidh with Duncan Williamson at 7:30 P.M. Cedar Cultural Center ALL-AGES $12/15
FRIDAY, APRIL 30 (Duke Ellington born 1899)
PICK P.O.S. LIVE on Radio K! (KUOM-AM 770 & KUOM-FM 106.5) as this week�s guest on Off The Record (OTR) on Friday, April 30. Hosts Adam and Keri will welcome P.O.S. in Studio K at 4:00 pm for a live in-studio performance and interview. Listen online here. IBIZA SESSIONS featuring DJ�s JON FRANK and FREDDY FRESH (Freddy's hip-hop book is now in real bound paperback at Cheapo.) 9:00 p.m. / 21+ID $3.00 until 11pm, $6.00 until Close Free with College ID The Figgs, the Candy Butchers, 7TH ST. ENTRY, 701 1st Ave N, Mpls., 612.332.1775 The Paladins, Jack Knife & the Sharps, Paul Galaxy & the Galactix. $8, LEE'S LIQUOR LOUNGE, 101 Glenwood Ave N (at 11th St), Mpls., 612.338.9491 HAPPY APPLE $10/$12. 8:00 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Ave S, Mpls., 612.338.2674. Hydroponics at 9P.M. Uptown Bar $5 Jo-Roke Ka-Roke. Karaoke with DJ Josette Winterfeldt. Free. 9:00 p.m., TUBBY'S BAR AND GRILL, 2500 4th St NE, Mpls., 612.789.7301 2004 Minnesota Folk Festival at Little Log House Showgrounds (Hastings) ALL-AGES Scott Laurent Band, Jessy Greene, High Heels. $7. 8:00 p.m., 400 BAR, 400 Cedar Ave S (at Riverside Ave), Mpls., 612.332.2903
SATURDAY, MAY 1 (May Day)
PICK Scott Hardkiss, Escape Ultra Lounge (here's a link) PICK Thrashfest 5 This daytime D.I.Y. punkfest is fun, cheap, crowded, and timed to the day before the May Day festival and parade--which means you'll meet kids from all over who are staying the weekend. Kicking things off around 2:00 p.m. are Chicago's Get It Away, who play in dinosaur costumes. Headlining before sundown are Amsterdam's Vitamin X, one of the key hardcore revival bands, whose eminently open homeland would be leveled right now if the terrorists truly hated us for our freedom. Between are eight great bands, many on organizer Felix Havoc's international record label: Sweden's Wolfbrigade, Pittsburgh's Caustic Christ, Portland's From Ashes Rise, Philadelphia's RAMBO, Seattle's Spitting Teeth, Tulsa's the Leveling, plus locals Any Last Words and Damage Deposit. (DD's recent song "Government & Big Business Are Out to Screw the Little Guy" is catchier than it sounds.) Collectors, come for the record sales; drinkers and drug takers, keep it away from the premises, or save the former part of it for the $6 hardcore show at the 7th St. Entry featuring Misery, Iskra, Disrespect, and Jacid 9. (8:00 p.m., 701 First Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612.332.1775). Doors at 2:00 p.m. Profile Music Center, 2630 University Ave. SE, Minneapolis; 612.378.2200. Go to www.havocrex.com for full and current schedule. PICK Einsturzende Neubauten. Like Gogol Bordello, who perform in the 7th St. Entry on Monday, Einsturzende Neubauten are a transcendently exciting live band whose fans (and not much of anybody else) stand by their concept albums like old friends defending the opera-singing drunk at the punk club. Their clattering energy is pure industrial--a pipe-banging genre they helped shape 20 years ago. But their driving, dizzying sprawl of chamber styles is all their own, and when they catch a groove on their latest, Perpetuum Mobile (Mute), it makes you want to chant every one of their weird lyrics (which, as always, are in German). Fans of Krautrock, Savage Aural Hotbed, or black nail polish don't need convincing on this score, but the rest of you won't be disappointed. 21+. $12/$15. 6:00 pm. First Avenue, 701 First Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612.332.1775. Misery, Iskra, Disrespect, Jacid 9. $6. 8:00 p.m., 7TH ST. ENTRY, 701 1st Ave N, Mpls., 612.332.1775 Mondo Film CD-Release, Grafton, Sea Whores. $5, BIG V'S, 1567 University Ave W, St. Paul, 651.645.8472 Candystore CD-Release Party. $5. 8:00 p.m., 400 BAR, 400 Cedar Ave S (at Riverside Ave), Mpls., 612.332.2903 The Dames, the Midnight Evils. 9:00 p.m., TRIPLE ROCK SOCIAL CLUB, 629 Cedar Ave S, Mpls., 612.333.7399 HAPPY APPLE $10,$12. 8:00 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Ave S, Mpls., 612.338.2674. Jack Brass Band, Stereoscope, FIVE CORNERS SALOON, 501 Cedar Ave S (at Riverside Ave), Mpls., 612.338.6424 Trippin' Billies at 9P.M. Cabooze 18+ $7/9 2004 Minnesota Folk Festival at Little Log House Showgrounds (Hastings) ALL-AGES
SUNDAY, MAY 2
PICK May Day Parade and Festival May Day in Minneapolis is quite simply one of the reasons to live here, a convivial burst of live music and funny costumes that's as vital to spring as Cinco de Mayo, Art-a-Whirl, and the MSPIFF film festival. Rooted in pagan ritual and labor struggle, the celebration transcends polemic in the best sense: Who wouldn't be, at one time or another, grateful for life itself? And what child will forget the spectacle of the sun puppet crossing the moat in Powderhorn Park as the crowd chants "Sun! Sun! Sun!"? The Heart of the Beast's puppet show at 3:00 p.m. makes you feel like a kid again (so do the cones full of chocolate chip cookies), and the parade that precedes it is so scattershot in its politics--with a "free speech" contingent at the end for unofficial entries--that calling the event leftist would offend at least a third of the participants. The parade kicks off at 1:00 p.m. at 25th St. and Bloomington Ave. S., with a gathering in Cedar Field, and the afternoon festival in Powderhorn (35th St. and 15th Ave. S.), includes food, crafts, dance, and performances by a slew of talents: Machinery Hill, the Viviana Pintado Duo, the Brass Messengers, Rumba Eterna, Slam Minnesota, and many more. HERE'S A LINK or call 612.721.2535 for more information. PICK Mary J. Blige HERE'S HER HOMEPAGE 6:30 P.M. All-Ages, ORPHEUM THEATRE, $52.75 Destroyer, Frog Eyes. $8. 10:00 p.m., TRIPLE ROCK SOCIAL CLUB, 629 Cedar Ave S, Mpls., 612.333.7399 Graham Parker, Anne McCue at 9P.M. Fine Line $19/21 Youngbloodz, Yukmouth, Dorasel, Rob G, 05,02,04, 9:00 P.M. 18+ The Quest $28.00 Strike Anywhere, Paint it Black, Challenger. All-Ages. $8. 5:00 p.m., TRIPLE ROCK SOCIAL CLUB, 629 Cedar Ave S, Mpls., 612.333.7399 2004 Minnesota Folk Festival at Little Log House Showgrounds (Hastings) ALL-AGES CITIES 97 ACOUSTIC SUNRISE LIVE SERIES Featuring live music by Dana Thompson (Read Demko's excellent piece), light brunch. Free. Noon to 2:00 p.m. Fire Lake Restaurant, 31 S 7th St, Mpls., 612.216.3473.
MONDAY, MAY 3 (James Brown born 1928, Pete Seeger born 1919)
PICK Gogol Bordello 7th St. Entry PICK 1st Annual Merengue and Bachata Festival with Kachimbo (merengue band from Puerto Rico), Kenny Ray (a bachatero from New York), and the local El Grupazo, featuring "the lovely Puerto Rican princess" Lulu. $15, open for dinner beforehand (with bachata contest for the third Monday in a row; compete for your chance at $200 cash and lots of good prizes, and your place in the grand finals on Monday, May 10). El Nuevo Rodeo Nightclub and Restaurante, 2709 E. Lake St., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 612.728.0101 Willie Murphy, VIKING BAR, 1829 Riverside Ave, Mpls., 612.332.4259
TUESDAY, MAY 4
KIMBERLY LOCKE Heads up, American Idol fans: Here's the chance to meet Lock ("8th World Wonder") in person at The Mall Of America on the day of the release of her debut album, One Love. She's signing CDs and posing for photos with fans. Sam Goody Central, MINNEAPOLIS, 5:00 P.M. GUSTER $21.25-$24.25. 7:00 p.m. Roy Wilkins Auditorium, 171 W Kellogg Blvd (at RiverCentre), St. Paul, 651.989.5151. Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash at 9P.M. Lee's Liquor Lounge Fastball. $13/$16. 8:00 p.m., FINE LINE MUSIC CAFE, 318 1st Ave N, Mpls., 612.338.8100 The Close, Morris, Sound Salvation at 6P.M. Metric House ALL-AGES
WEDNESDAY, MAY 5 (Cinco de Mayo)
The Flatlanders Historic Pantages Theatre All-ages In Flames, Killswitch Engage All-ages Quest Club Runner & The Thermodynamics, Triple Rock Social Club Harry Connick, Jr. 730PM Northrop Auditorium All-ages. HERE'S A PREVIEW OF CINCO DE MAYO EVENTS.
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