Minneapolis hardcore

Along with Boston, New York City, Washington D.C., Los Angeles and Chicago, Minneapolis was a preeminent scene for punk rock in the early/mid-1980s. Early venues included Jay's The Longhorn Bar, which hosted the Suicide Commandos and touring acts, including The Plasmatics, and the Police on their first US tour.

Goofy's/The Upper Deck, which was located above a strip club just off of Hennepin Avenue, was a major spot for early hardcore and presented popular all-ages shows, as well as Duffys, which hosted early shows by Flipper, Black Flag, The Nig Heist, Circle Jerks, Willful Neglect, Discharge, Nina Hagen, The Meat Puppets, Minutemen and many other bands and radical artists who rose to a level of international fame in the following decades.

WADE-ESSC-CALHOUN-WILLFUL-N/ Wade Calhoun, lead vocalist of the now defunct hardcore outfit Willful Neglect. Photo circa 2003

First Avenue and 7th Street Entry also hosted all-ages shows for the young scene which quickly established itself on the map with local bands including Hüsker Dü, the Replacements, Final Conflict, Loud Fast Rules (later Soul Asylum), Otto's Chemical Lounge, Outcry, Skullfuck, Ground Zero, Idol Threat, Exmo 6-Desmo, The No-Dicks, Rifle Sport, The Warheads, Man Sized Action, and Red Meat, Timbuktu, and rare &th St Entry appearances by punk "all-star" bands such as The Velvet Fruit Tree, The Used Toilet Papers (Bob Mould, Grant Hart, Don "The Baptist" Holzschuh, of the Warheads, and Tom "Tippy" Roth ,Guitarist of Man-Sized Action, and The Noble Mice, among others.

The legendary punk zine Your Flesh by Ron Clark and Peter Davis was based in Minneapolis, as was Urban Decay. Zinester Saint Vitus holds heavy sway from the era and area.

Independent record stores supporting the local punk scene include the original Northern Lights records on Hennepin Ave, Treehouse Records (formerly Oarfolkjokeopus) in south Minneapolis and Cheapo Records in St Paul.

The early to mid-1980s Minneapolis hardcore movement included both U.K sound-inspired leather punks and a large skate punk contingent, with Uptown Minneapolis as the heart. Both scenes hosted many garage shows for local and touring bands. The skate punks congregated at The Alternative Bike Shop (The Alt) in Uptown. The UK influenced punks earned the nickname McPunks for hanging around the Uptown McDonald's bus stop. The Minneapolis bus system, immortalized by the Replacements pop-punk song "Kiss Me on the Bus", was the artery connecting punks from Minneapolis Southwest High School and St. Paul with a ride to 7th Street Entry and Northern Lights Music.

Some of the bands from the early to late 1980s era were Final Conflict, not the California band of the same name, Skullfuck, Willful Neglect, Misery, Iron Fist and Outcry. Final Conflict released one 7" EP "In the Family" on local Reflex Records. Reflex was run by Terry Katzman, then manager of Oar Folkjokeopus and also released records by Hüsker Dü, Articles of Faith and two compilation tapes "Kitten" and "Barefoot and Pregnant". Skullfuck recorded a demo,

but no copies survived. Willful Neglect from St. Paul released two 12" EPs on Neglected Records that were re-issued on CD; Wade Calhoon & James Wallin (of Willful Neglect) recorded their Made in the Shade album released in November of 2014. Red Meat was another hardcore band that released only a demo tape Island of the Dogg. later, some of the tracks by Red Meat re-surfaced on the Lung Cookies compilation LP. Outcry released 1 lp and 1 7"EP and were influential among the straight edge and skate punk crowds.

In 1987 Blocked Out was formed out of Minnetonka, MN. With singer Greg Anderson, guitarists Chris Pierre and Keith Pichelman, bassist Steve Erickson and drummer Jim Alden. They were very influential in the suburban punk scene. Only released an EP on tape before breaking up in 1991.

On Oct 2nd 1987 Punk icon and legend GG Allin played a show backed by Mpls band The Fuckin' Shit Biscuits in the 7th St. Entry. This was the only show that GG Allin ever played in Mpls.

In September of 1983, the strip bar/hardcore punk venue Goofy's Upper Deck was permanently shut down by the city after "a certifiable riot" causing upwards of $4,500 in damages. Midway through Minneapolis band Final Conflict's set, the electricity was shut off by the bars owners and chaos ensued. Mike Etoll maestro of the offbeat absurdist comedy punk combo Exmo 6-Desmo pulled a toilet from the women's restroom floor then threw it through a plate glass window sending it crashing to the sidewalk two floors below. A large homemade smoke bomb was ignited, filling the bar with thick yellow smoke. The liquor was stolen from the bar by, as some witnessed, the owners of the club. This theft was eventually blamed on the crowd in attendance, many of whom were underage. Soon a passel of MPD officers appeared on the scene with pepper spray, and began indiscriminately beating people with their batons. one arrest, and one excessive-force complaint later, Goofy's Upper Deck was no more. The loss of Goofy's Upper Deck was the first blow to the visible Mpls punk scene. After a violent Black Flag show in 1985, stage diving was banned at First Avenue. Three years later the decline of the bar-venue Mpls punk scene progressed rapidly. With the breakup of Hüsker Dü, the once public Mpls hardcore/punk scene moved underground. The slam dancing, stage diving, skate punk crew that drove the small mid-80s Positive hardcore scene evolved into rap and metal, and Queercore electronica. Mpls UK punks began booking independent house shows in place of performing in commercial venues. During this period of change more conservative bands emerged creating a more sanitized, commercial and professional environment with the intention of making major label record deals. this schism caused greater demarcation between the commercial and non-commercial bands within the ever-evolving punk/hardcore scene (Incidentally, the Mpls Goth-Metal and Darksider scene never died, feeding off of the strong Christian/Pagan Scandinavian roots of the Midwest, joining forces in content and spirit with the 90's Early Norwegian Black Metal scene.)

As the punk scene moved deeper underground, a homegrown Midwest rock ethic coalesced into what would become known as alt-country. Minneapolis became a leading alt-country scene led by the Jayhawks, with supporting musicians out of the old post-punk scene playing for Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, etc. In fact, Wilco played their first shows at 7th Street entry.

The late 80s saw the more commercially viable bands and musicians, such as Paul Westerburg of The Replacements, and Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü follow the hardcore trend away from punk, towards a more expansive and mainstream hard rock/pop sound. Around this time bands like the Cows, Halo of Flies, and Babes in Toyland developed a sound that re-established Minneapolis punk originality, blending a dark attitude with droning noise and distorted rock. Local label Amphetamine Reptile arose to publish the new style.

In the early 1990s the 7th St. Entry hosted regular hardcore matinees featuring new bands with divergent styles.

The band Misery provided a nucleus for what became an internationally envied crust punk scene in Minneapolis. Taking their influence from UK bands such as Discharge and Amebix, Misery blended dark and heavy hardcore with an influential anti-authority political stand, encouraging the political punk and DIY scene in the area, which started to flourish. [1]

The Scrods from Roseville, friends of Misery, toured the Midwest area and released a 7" single called "Voyage into Hell", a humorous, but scathing, socio-commentary on the poor quality of communications between local metal and hardcore scenes.

Blind Approach from St. Paul championed the new style of Straight Edge hardcore popularized by New York bands like Warzone. They released two 7"s and toured the USA. Guitarist Matt Henderson went on to join Agnostic Front.

The Libido Boyz from Mankato, MN played melodic and poppy hardcore punk and released several 7"s and LP and did some extensive touring.

Cock E.S.P. was and is one of the more outlandish and original bands that is rooted in the hardcore & gutter punk school of music. Although this extreme metal noise and art enigma does not use the conventional structure of the western musical construct, it embodies the spirit of All-Star Wrestling, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and the chaotic heart, sonic assault, and serious live on stage injuries in the zest and zeal of some of the oldest and most notorious, violent, and stupid punk outfits.

Hardcore fractured into several subgenres with sometimes competing political, ideological and artistic viewpoints. Profane Existence Collective formed in 1989 and released records, produced a fanzine and booked shows. THD started as a radio show, but also was a house doing some basement shows and had a record label. The Sonic Warp Collective took up booking all-ages shows for a while after First Avenue stepped back from doing all-ages punk shows.

In 1994 a group of local punks and hardcore kids (including Dan and Mandy of Profane Existence, Felix of Havoc Record and Jason of THD, among others) got together to open Extreme Noise Records, a long-running DIY co-op punk record store. The new store provided a center for the scene. A new DIY venue opened as the Studio of the Stars and hosted many shows during the summer of 1995.

Some former Minneapolis hardcore musicians made careers with other bands, such as Todd Trainer of Rifle Sport, now in Shellac. Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü had a long solo career. Dustin from the Libido Boyz was in Snapcase for many years.

In 1999 Twin Cities Skins and Punks (TCSP) formally formed and began helping promote local TC bands in the DIY scene and set up all-ages shows. Their goal, as posted on their site, is to make DIY hardcore accessible to as many fans as possible while maintaining the punk ethic of being against "The Man". – "This was and continues to be the all ages DIY punk rock scene, defined as a participatory subculture controlled by those who comprise it: the punks... We believe that packaged tours with no ties to the local punk community utilizing outsider booking agencies without sharing the stage with local acts ..., thereby fostering local growth, reduce their music to a mere product and represent the very antithesis of punk. TCSP banned together to combat these forces, keep influence over the scene in the hands of people with a vested interest in the music and movement and provide a positive and inclusive alternative to the impersonal herding of the club scene."[2]