WYBSTYN

Why Be Something That You’re Not

Detroit Hardcore 1979-1985

(by Tony Rettman)

This book contains only about 230 pages, but it still took me about two months to read. It’s not that the book is boring or hard to follow- actually, it’s so fascinating that I was stopping after every chapter to look at old flyers, old 45s, scan Ebay to see how much these records are worth and try to remember the glory days (at least for me) of punk rock in Detroit.

WBSTYN is a journey through Detroit’s musical past but there’s nothing about Motown or the Grande in here. Punk started in Detroit around 1977, hardcore came in in 1979 and both of these scenes were here and gone before they could really be appreciated. The book is mostly an oral history (in the vein of Please Kill Me) and this is always a blast to read because people’s memories can be so different when describing an event that they both had been part of. This book is no exception – I was present at a lot of these shows, but I also had a hard time matching up my recollections with the book, but that is to be expected and appreciated.

Tony’s book starts in 1979 when a bunch of brash kids in East Lansing, Detroit and other areas realized that the music they were listening to was mostly crap. The hardest thing today is to explain to somebody who wasn’t there exactly how atrocious the music was in the 1970s. You almost have to lock somebody into a closet for a week and subject them to a steady stream of Journey, Foreigner, Doobie Brothers, Styx (name your least favorite 70s rock band here) to explain what we had to listen to in those days. Add in the fact that radio was a pathetic shadow of the 1960s, live music consisted of cover bands and there was virtually no way to hear anything new and non-commercial. It’s no wonder that punk came along when it did. In Detroit punk started in 1976/1977 and quickly centered around a few places like the Red Carpet and of course, Bookies. However, in 1976, the word “punk” included anything that was different from the mainstream, so Elvis Costello and the Talking Heads were just as punk as the Ramones. The situation began to change very quickly and it’s hilarious to read that kids who were just a few year younger were referring to the Ramones, Pistols and Clash as old and boring. The first chapter of the book is filled with comments cutting down the first wave of Detroit bands as not being punk enough. There is some truth to this, but a band like the Ramrods, who were the quintessential punk band of their own or any era were not mentioned. I was already a fan of the original Detroit punk scene, but it didn’t take me long to start following these new crazy bands that played so much faster and were far more aggressive that their elders. Perhaps this is my favorite part of the book – where did this new style of music come from and how did it develop into such a powerful force so quickly?

I have to agree that there is a definite schism between the 1977 punks and the 1979 kids that created hardcore in Detroit. The book release party included a show with the “new” Negative Approach, a reunion by the Fix, Tesco Vee and a reunion of most of the Necros. St. Andrews Hall was packed, but I didn’t see anybody from the 1977 class even though many are still actively playing music and supporting local bands 30 years later. So what caused this terrific difference in the music between two generations of kids that were separated by only a few years in age, but light years in attitude?

For one, the outside world had changed quickly. By 1979 the Ramones had already become what they essentially would remain for the next 25 years and had done most of their best work, the Pistols had famously imploded and the Clash were on their way to mega-stardom. The original punk generation had moved on to other types of music and the door was open for bands like Fear & the Dead Kennedys to fill that vacuum. The “Decline of Western Civilization” had been released and kids all over the country were now slamming into each other on the dance floor; to me that movie did more to spread punk around the country than any band did. So there was nothing surprising that the kids in Michigan and Ohio would also start playing music that was so much faster and aggressive that it quickly fractured the Detroit punk scene into distinct camps. The history of the Necros, the Fix and NA is described in detail here by the guys (not too many girls here) that started it all and this explains exactly where they were coming from. To this day, nothing I have ever heard in my life approaches the raw intensity and passion that a Negative Approach show could deliver. The kids were right – hardcore did rule.

Of course, we all know that this moment in history could not be preserved – the inevitable downfall began. In many ways, the music was limiting – do we really need 20 bands that sound just like NA or the Misfits? All of the pictures in the book (and there are quite a few great ones) show that hardcore was predominately young, male and white. As time went on, the skinhead problem from England infected enough kids here that going to a hardcore show became an exercise in self-preservation and knowing how to defend yourself. That does not lead to an enjoyable evening for the band or their fans.

As hardcore vanished into the past it seemed that this slice of musical anarchy and mayhem would just remain a memory for those of us fortunate to be there. But in reality – it hasn’t vanished at all. Successive generations of kids still listen to the music, create their own bands and pay hundreds of dollars for records that could hardly be given away back in 1980 - (a portfolio consisting of Fix, Necros, Misfits records has handily beaten the stock market). The crowd at the book release party had just as many young kids there who weren’t even alive when the Freezer & Clubhouse were going as there were aging punkers like myself.

The book is dedicated to Larissa Strickland (Stolarchuk) was passed away way too soon. She was one of the few girls active in hardcore and I felt a special kinship to her since we are both Ukrainian. Larissa went on to play with L-Seven and the Laughing Hyenas.

So go ahead - Buy and Read this book – it describes a time in Detroit music that was just as revolutionary and important as any other time in Detroit’s rich musical history. For one brief shining moment – hardcore did get it right.