My New Writing Gig!

I was lucky enough to come into my mid-teenage years with the dawning of the internet. Before this, I spent the ages of 13-15 living in a small-town in Ohio tracking down any punk album I could get my hands on by any means necessary. I borrowed old VHS bootlegs from my friends older brothers, I dubbed my friends’ fathers pressing of Never Mind The Bullocks and recorded it onto a cassette tape, I even recorded a local channel which broadcast old Much music episodes for the rare moment when a Bad Religion or Rollins Band video would be shown. Then, when I was 16 my aunt and uncle bought me a computer and a year’s subscription to dial-up internet and my life forever changed.

Still have my VHS/Cassettes 

Suddenly bands I had only heard of in legend like UK Subs, Dead Kennedys, and Black Flag were just mouse-clicks away. Yahoo offered me countless images of punk clothing and I began to recreate the styles that I found there. Shortly I was on Kazaa and SoulSeek searching out bands that I had heard OF for years, but never actually heard. In short, the entire world that I had fought so incredibly hard to obtain knowledge of suddenly opened up to me.

So was Punk Rock more special when I had to seek it out at length, or did the internet finally give me the availability of the knowledge I always desired?  Did the scene benefit more from only including the people that had to aggressively seek it out, or is it better in this day and age that Punk Rock websites exist and offer an instant and nearly unlimited library of Punk Rock knowledge and culture? I tend to side with the latter, but regardless of anyone’s opinion, one thing cannot be denied: It ultimately doesn't matter, because either way, here we stand.

This is why I for one choose to embrace technology rather than just be yet another aging asshole bitching about the glory days and that is why I've chosen to write a series of articles for the Punk Rock news-site DyingScene.com

DyingScene.com Profile

I’ll be starting off with a series of How-To/DIY projects, the first of which is how to make your own Punk Rock vest that should be published very soon. After that I’m planning on tackling how to make your own stencils, leather-jacket, band-promotion, and so-on. Occasionally, to ensure monotony doesn't set in, I’ll break these up with a series of interviews/reviews and just plain news from the scene that I've been a part of all these many, many years (goddamn I’m getting old).

But don’t worry dear reader, I’ll still be publishing regularly here (or as regularly as I ever have). So if you’re one of the Pour-Souls reading this you can still expect my bitching and moaning to published here on a regular basis. Seeing as how Rodney Redbottom is now complete, I’ll be writing a bi-weekly post here about the making of it to offer my insight on how to make a short movie for nearly no budget. Hint: have talented, loyal friends.

So until then, keep a watch on my profile at DyingScene.com, watch out for Rodney Redbottom hitting film festivals this Spring, stay tuned here for more drunken gibberish from me, and oh yeah…. I’m writing a book, but that won’t be out ANYTIME soon.