Punk rock percolates beside Illinois’ better-known musicians

 

Bill Knight column for 5-17, 18 or 19, 2021

 Now showing at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield is “The State of Sound: A World of Music from Illinois.” Described as an “immersive and interactive exhibit,” it continues through January, exhibiting decades of the state’s popular music through displays of instruments, props and costumes from the likes of Earth, Wind & Fire, Benny Goodman, John Prine and scores of others.

Its text was written by music journalist and author Dave Hoekstra, an ex-Chicago Sun-Times writer, and since I’ve known Hoekstra for years, I’m sure his work will be comprehensive. But it’s a challenge.

            After all, consider Illinois’ musical heritage: Blues giants Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Paul Butterfield and Luther Allison; folk artists Steve Goodman and Burl Ives; jazz geniuses Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis; country artists Suzy Bogguss and Alison Krause; pop lineups like the Cryan’ Shames and the Buckinghams; and rock ‘n’ roll!

From Cheap Trick and REO Speedwagon to Tom Morello and Eddie Vedder, rockers range from Styx to the Smashing Pumpkins, with Dan Fogelberg, Mudvayne and Head East from Central Illinois and innumerable acts that never recorded commercially. They understandably may be overlooked despite their activities and scenes, so after enjoying the display, visitors might seek supplements of sorts.

One that’s set to come out in June, “Punks in Peoria: Making A Scene in The American Heartland” from the University of Illinois Press, looks at punk rock’s birth and growth in downstate Illinois where in the 1970s and ’80s it had an economic downturn, with factories closing, workers striking, and uncertainty rising. Like “greasers, hippies and garage rockers,” the book says, “punk rock offered a sense of belonging, a community in opposition to ‘the system’.”

Peoria’s punk scene was “an ever-changing ebb and flow of bands, friends, supporters and hangers-on – constantly turning over, and those who made up the scene were generally unaware of what came before.”

Co-written by Jonathan Wright (Peoria Magazines editor) and Dawson Barrett (author of “The Defiant: Protest Movements in Post-Liberal America”), the illustrated book is a well-reported account of the rise of and changes in punk music, blending overlapping histories with the authors’ cultural commentary. They concede Peoria probably wasn’t unique, but one example of a fever breaking from the Bible Belt/Rust Belt, part of the timeless search for friends and fun.

Although generalized as two camps – “sex-drugs-rock ‘n’ roll” types and “straight-edge” skateboarders – people gathered together at various places for Do It Yourself/underground shows for peers listening to hardcore, indie rock, synth and thrash metal in church basements and barns. There, onstage outrage often spilled outside or into crowds, with mayhem devolving into fights and police.

“It was goth kids, gay kids, punk-rock kids, nerds and dorks … music people,” remembered musician Matt Shane.

Mostly affectionate, the text is sometimes unsparing in its observations. The notorious Bloody F. Mess is “a strong personality,” they write (an understated description of the confrontational character who was more of a performance artist than a talented musician). Bloody takes credit for helping “create the first punk rock scene in Peoria in the early ‘80s,” and now lives in Oregon, where he says he’s adopted Hindu ways.

The 231-page paperback provides revealing context and appreciation, too. Peoria punks defied stereotypes, adopting the once-derogatory term “corn chips” as a sign they were fine with being “different,” and sometimes standing up as Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (SHARP) and protesting white supremacists,

Ultimately, DIY promoters brought in bigger, better acts, from Naked Raygun to Fugazi, achieving a sense of recognition, if not mainstream “legitimacy.”

In a nod to the Vaudeville-era phrase about Peoria being a tough proving ground for entertainment, the pair continues, “What played in Peoria, in many cases, really could play anywhere.”

And though they’re not in a Hall of Fame, such energetic, scruffy groups merit attention, too.

 

A related “soundtrack” featuring music from Caustic Defiance, Chips Patrol and 12 other acts from the period is available with pre-orders. For details, go to www.punksinpeoria.com.