If my math is correct, 17 years ago we had a statewide snow day, which if you aren’t familiar with the term, means NO SCHOOL due to weather conditions (in this case it was close to -25 degrees fahrenheit outside with double digit wind chills to boot!) As an 18 year old punk rocker who hated high school, this was huge news, and to this day I still think back to that memory with fond emotions. Sitting in the Day By Day cafe with my best friends, drinking bottomless pots of coffee, rolling cigarettes, talking and telling stories, and enjoying a freedom that only a teenage punk rocker can know.
17 years on and the same weather event has been happening once again. The now famous “Polar Vortex” has descended upon us down from Canada and beyond and has enveloped us, and most of the United States with temperatures that haven’t been seen in almost a generation! This morning when I checked the NOAA website, it was -20 at about 8 :00 AM. By the afternoon it had warmed up a bit to about -14 or so. Tomorrow is suppose to be about the same as what we experienced today, with the rest of the week warming up to above zero and more in some places.
So on this coldest of cold nights, I find myself in my basement not quite halfway through my night of homebrewing. I don’t get to brew as much anymore, but it was on my short list of things to do while I have been home from work over winter break, and luckily I am getting in a double session tonight! Brewing has been one of my hobbies for almost a decade now, with periods of near blind devotion, and then lulls of no brewing at all. I am okay with that, it mirrors life and is just a reminder to myself that I only can do so many projects with my limited free time.
But being honest with myself, I really do enjoy home brewing. I am pretty good at it, even with some of the minimalistic approaches I take towards the process. I just figure that folks have been making their own hooch for thousands of years with a lot less sophisticated methods and toys than we have available to us today, so if you take a few basic precautions you should be able to make some pretty decent beer. So far that line of thinking and follow through has worked well for me.
And I guess that brings me back to what I really wanted to write about tonight. The experiences I had back in my late teens and early twenties and the importance of having a DIY punk scene (or something equivalent) is something that can never be taken away from me, and will always be a part of who I am. The Punk scene not only gave me a chance to find out who I really was, but also gave me the opportunity to try new things and ideas that helped to form my beliefs for the rest of my life.
And ultimately, for all of us old Punk Rockers, it is the music that we always come back too. The songs and albums that changed the path we were on. The experiences that set us apart from the rest of the herd, the anthems that defined our beliefs, and the values that marked the line in the sand that we would not let them cross! It is the music that keeps me rooted in my story and past, and it is the music that lets me move into the future. Up THE PUNKS and stay warm my friends!!! Peace & Cheers
Crimpshrine – the band that changed everything for me …
Grimple – A great song for any day …
Nausea – Quite possibly my favorite punk song of all time …
Mischief Brew – An anthem for a new day…
Crucifix, prejudice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T36W_p27k3o
Great post. I’m guessing that you must be a bit younger than me. My list would be more like: Led Zepellin, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Pink Floyd etc. 😀
Good luck with the cold!
I have a request. Please can you write a bit more about home brewing. Especially about how to do it in a very simple way with home grown or local ingredients.
Thanks, and happy new year to all
Richard
I’m with Richard- great post.
In my case I never warmed to the punk scene even though I’m of the same generation as yourself. I always said to my friends that I didn’t like punk rock. But then they pointed out that I loved the Dead Kennedys and the Dead Milkmen and Sonic Youth and Camper Van Beethoven, and what were they, if not punk? And they had a point. I loved all those bands. I just didn’t like the fuck you attitude of the punks I met in my life as a late teen and early twentysomething.
Which made me wonder. Why aren’t hippies and punks allowed to get along? It always seemed like such an artificial distinction- one bunch has mohawks and tatoos, the other has dreads and patchouli oil. But the outlook on life is the same (Except maybe for the ‘fuck you’ attitude. Hippies seem to err more on the side of being too nicey-nicey.) The DIY thing and being conscious of what you’re putting into your body and being opposed to the system. Why the hell didn’t hippies and punks not get along? I never got that.