Punk is Dad and the Decline of the Youth: An Opinion Piece
"The Death of the Electric Guitar" pops up on the Washington Post feed.
"Kids are just into beeps and boops"
"Punk is dead"
"Worse, punk is DAD"
"Why don't kids do something constructive?"
"Music was better back in my day"
You can't go a day without hearing about {or saying yourself} one of these things. Teens are simply not into rock.
First, that is the parents' fault. I'm a mother of a teenager who knows more about punk than I do, because she grew up with it and stretched out on her own while I was busy working and keeping kids clothed and fed. Play some Anti-Flag for your kid once in a while, or at least New Found Glory. Start them young!
But most importantly, where did the rock music go? Every single time I see a band- in different regions, mind you (I straddle DE, Philly, Lancaster, DC)- that I would love to take her to, it is 18+ or 21+. Local bands play bars, venues don't want to play to youth for a myriad of reasons. I am in the middle of reaching out to venues to find more of exactly what those are, so expect a follow up.
But do you know what happens? Kids don't get into rock. They don't have the experience of seeing a band play a coffee shop or a church rec room who goes on to be their next favorite. I remember seeing My Chemical Romance play to 40 people. Now, I would have been to young.
I cut my teeth on my independence by sneaking out to shows in Philadelphia while my dad thought I was spending the night at my friends. Yes, it was the wrong thing to do. But everyone survived and I have some great stories to tell. I made my best friends going to shows, and I still talk to them over a decade later. Punk is more than music, it is a social and political community. Two things this country is sorely lacking.
Sometimes a venue pulls through, I actually got to go with my daughter to the same lineup I saw when I was sixteen. Rancid, Dropkick Murphys, Bouncing Souls... you are forever in my heart.
But since last year, there has not been one opportunity. Every single band we have wanted to see has been out of her reach. At one point I considered getting her a fake ID just to have for concerts for her. Yeah, that is not okay.
You want to save the electric guitar? You want the next Bad Brains, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Ramones? Bands: 1 time a month make a point to play an all ages show. Venues: try to squeeze in two all ages show a month. The future generation of rock will thank you.
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