by Gregor MacKenziePART SIX
Louder and Faster
Gets
Louder and Faster
The Early 1980s / The Hardcore Scene / Slamdancing
The early 1980s were an interesting time period. The first wave of new bands was giving way to a second wave of bands that were developing a different kind of a sound, faster and more harsh, compared to the earlier bands. Husker Du was the leader of this new sound, here in Minneapolis. Some people called the new sound "hard core" and some called it "thrash". Some of these newer bands were Ground Zero, Final Conflict and Willful Neglect. As the music grew more aggressive, so did the audiences and slam dancing emerged, with people smashing into each other on the dance floor in a crazed frenzy.
At Jay's Longhorn, the dancers did "The Pogo" (I understand this dance was started in England by Sid Vicious) which was just kind of like jumping up and down in the same place. No one did any slam dancing at Jay's Longhorn. I liked some of the "hard core" or "thrash", bands, but it seemed to me that they lacked a sense of humor and were a bit too serious for me. I thought slam dancing was really stupid and I heard that people were getting injured at some of these shows.
A Strange Feeling At Goofy's
There was a downtown club called Goofy's which featured the thrash bands (as well as some of the older bands) and I started going there to check out the scene. One night, in 1983, Final Conflict was playing there and I was standing at the bar when a young guy came up to me and said, "Can I ask you a question?" and I said, "Sure." He asked me, "Are you an undercover police office?" "No," I answered and I started thinking, maybe my time here in the rock and roll scene is coming to an end. I was 28 years old at that time and I had been an observer and a participant in the local music scene for seven years or so. Later on, I heard that the night after that happened; there was a mini-riot at Goofy's and the place closed down. Fred, the guy who ran Goofy's, would later make a very bizarre proposal, to film a punk rock concert at Metropolitan Stadium (now the site of the Mall of America) which would conclude with the stadium being blown up. His proposal was not accepted but the stadium eventually was torn down anyway. I continued to go downtown to First Avenue/7th Street Entry in the mid 1980s, but I found fewer and fewer bands that I liked. Several of the local bands that I admired had achieved some measure of national success, but on a very limited basis. The rock and roll revolution started by The Suicide Commandos, seemed to be coming to an end, for me anyway. My trips downtown grew fewer and fewer. I got discouraged with the difficulty in selling and promoting records and the "No Surveyed Performances" reports from ASCAP that I would find in the post office box (we had to pay ASCAP dues to maintain the publishing company). At some point in the mid-80s I closed the checking account for Break’er Records (the account was usually lower than the minium required balance, which triggered a monthly service fee). I kept the post office box for quite some time (most trips to the box yielded only junk mail; it was a rare occasion to get a record order or fan mail), but I went there one day to find my key didn't work. I hadn't paid the rental on time and the post office had rented the box out to someone else.
LOOKING BACK
When I look back on the local rock scene at Jay's Longhorn and First Avenue/7th Street Entry in the late 70s to early 80s I feel very fortunate to have witnessed so many great bands. The talent was incredible. In my opinion, many of these bands were far better then many of the national/international bands of that time period. It really did seem like being in the midst of a musical revolution, however, the major radio stations (for the most part) did not participate in this revolution and the result was the majority of the local bands achieved a limited amount of success (as far as record sales, airplay and number of gigs). If these local bands had received local/regional/national airplay, I believe that many of them would have lasted longer, sold more records, played more gigs, attracted larger audiences and would have had much greater overall success.
One of my favorite songs by The Ramones was We Want The Airwaves. One of the lines from that song went as follows: “We want the airwaves... if rock is gonna stay alive...” How right they were. I heard dozens and dozens of songs by numerous bands that I thought could have been hit songs, if given the chance. How sad, that they never got that chance. I wish The Misanthropes could have played at Jay's Longhorn. The guys from Fingerprints had tried to get us as an opening band on one occasion, but that fell through, apparently, the “powers that be” at the Longhorn did not like the idea. As far as Break’er Records goes, I also feel very fortunate to have been able to work with the various musicians and groups I was involved with. Although the label had limited success in selling records and getting airplay, we sure had a lot of fun. I miss those days and think about that time period often.
NOW
I've only been down to First Avenue/7th Street Entry a couple of times in the last several years. It feels different now, to be there. I do go out on occasion to see bands; recently I saw Crow and Gypsy out at The Medina Ballroom. I really appreciate the local bands from the 60s and 70s. Many of them were (and are) very talented and had a huge impact on the local music scene in that time period. On occasion, I come up with a new tune for The Misanthropes. The Misanthropes have had a couple of practice sessions over the past several years. I am hopeful we can have a reunion gig at 7th Street Entry sometime soon.
LOOKING AHEAD
There are a number of unreleased songs from The Misanthropes and other Break’er bands. We have recently been reviewing the old tapes. I hope that at some point these unreleased songs will be made available. I have lost touch with The MORs and Wilma and The Wilbers, I would hope that they would both get together for a reunion gig at some point. I am certain there will be another rock and roll revolution at some point, exactly when it will occur or from where it will originate, I have no idea.
FREE ADVICE
For anyone wanting to be a musician, I would offer some simple advice: have as much fun as possible; write your own songs; explore the history of rock and roll in your hometown or home state; treat everyone with respect that you meet along the way; be realistic in your goals; have frequent meetings with the band (good communication is the secret to all mutual endeavors) and avoid acting like a rock star.
FINAL THOUGHT
I hope you have enjoyed hearing about Break’er Records and about the music scene at Jay's Longhorn and First Avenue/7th Street Entry in the 1977 to 1983 time period.