Gainesville Punk: A History of Bands & Music [Paperback]

Known for The Fest, Less Than Jake and Hot Water Music, Gainesville became a creative hub in the 1980s and '90s for many of punk rock's greats. Whether playing at the Hardback or wild house parties, earnest acts like Against Me!, Spoke and Roach Motel all emerged and thrived in the small northern Florida city. Radon burst onto the scene with chaotic energy while Mutley Chix helped inspire local torchbearers No Idea Records. Through this succinct history, author Matt Walker traces each successive generation's contributions and amplifies the fidelity of the Gainesville scene. Walker meticulously researched this volume through numerous interviews with the musicians, business owners and record producers who were there. He digs deep into old fanzine articles from recent years to nearly 40 years ago, even including a reproduction of the controversial Roach Motel poster that heralded the band and punk's arrival to Gainesville....Walker knows his stuff .Valdosta Daily Times This weekend, thousands of frat bros will leave the sleepy college town of Gainesville, Florida, while a comparable number of street punks, deep-pocketed music fans, and various riff-raff flood its streets. It's a bizarre Halloween switcheroo that happens because the University of Florida Gators happen to take on their rivals in a recurring out-of-town football game that takes place at the same time as a giant punk rock festival known as the Fest kicks off. The few hours when the jocks and their Southern belle counterparts collide with the influx of train-hoppers is always glorious.Gainesville Punk: A History of Bands and Music, [released this week,] explores how the place that produced people like Tom Petty, Stephen Stills, and John Vanderslice went on to incubate talents like Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! and Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music. Vice Magazine A little more punk history will be coming to FEST during its Flea Market that pops up during registration time on Friday. Matlă+