Publication:
HeartttaCk

Author:
Felix Von Havoc

HeartAttack #7
Felix Havoc, Minneapolis punk rocker
1. Los Crudos
2. Heist 7" on ecocentric
3. Pist/Brutally Familiar 7" on 6 weeks
4. Authorities Soundtrack for trouble 7"
5. Ulcer 7", split with Capitalist Casualties
6. Aus Rotten
7. V/A Flex Your Head LP
8. DRI Dirty Rotten 7" (LP?)
9. Rollins, Henry. Get in the van. (book)
10. Overkill 7" on SST

The end of civilization as we know it

Greetings HaC readers, after a letter and a column in the last issue Kent has decided to let me have a regular column. Like it or not you'll be hearing more from me. First, a few introductory notes. My column in the last issue of HaC was originally intended to be a article in the "Welcome to 1994" issue of Profane Existence. However, after I submitted the article it was decided that my contributions were no longer welcome at PE. Since then I wrote a few articles here and there but nothing for a major fanzine until Kent agreed to run the urban control article. Coming from more of an anarchist punk perspective politically and a punk/HC thrash perspective musically my opinions and commentary may seem a little out of place in HaC. I must admit that I dislike the vast majority of the bands covered by this magazine. Where I do fit in is my commitment to D.I.Y./Anti-corporate priciples and my political stance.

To give those of you who don't know who I am an idea of where I'm coming from I'll say this much about myself. I was born in 1969 in Washington D.C. My parents were into the hippie/biker drug culture. Dad was in and out of jail and mom was strung out on speed or eastern mysticism. I grew up in the Hyattsville/ Bladensburng/ Riverdale area of P.G. county right outside of D.C. I got into punk and started going to shows in 1983. I got really into the DC straight edge bands and British anarchist punk. I got involved with local anarchist and animal rights groups as well as Positive Force DC. In 1988 I moved to Minneapolis where I was involved with the Anarchist Youth Federation and Profane Existence as well as numerous other political groups. From 1988 to 1993 I sang in the band Destroy! I have a B.A. in History and Russian area studies from the U. of MN. I currently work full time as a roofing and remodeling contractor. I also run Havoc records and distribution, sing in Code-13, work at Extreme Noise record store and together with some other folks book all ages punk shows in Minneapolis. My interests include record collecting, girls, motorcycles, trucks, guns, comic books, and the star wars trilogy. My sole companion in this life is Attila Von Havoc a seven year old Doberman Pincher. That there is more than you will ever want to know about Felix Havoc.

Kent tells me that this issue is to somehow be centered around the recent music festival in Columbus Ohio. While most of you where there I was in Dayton at a festival very different yet no doubt very much the same. The show took place June 23d and 24th at the Brookwood Hall outside Dayton. The event was a fund and conciousness raising effort for American Indian Movement activivist and political prisoner Leonard Peltier. Peltier has been in prison now for 20 years, a victim of the FBI's dirty war against civil rights and radicalism in the late 60's and early 70's.

Peltier was involved in native american struggles in the uppper midwest in the early 70's. Along with other AIM activists he was involved in a stand off with Federal agents at Wounded Knee South Dakota in 1973. In 1975 150 Federal and other law enforcement agents attacked a Native American camp at Oglala, SD. A shootout resulted in which two FBI agents and an AIM member were killed. Peltier and three other activists were charged with the murder of the two FBI agents. Charges against the other three were eventually dismissed. Peltier was arrested in Canada and extradited to the US on the basis of evidence which the government later admitted was falsified. Peltier was tried and convicted in 1977. The governments case was weak and successive examinations of the case have revealed numerous inconsistencies. Ballistic evidence has failed to link Peltier's rifle to the murder weapon. Testimony and evidence used to convict Peltier has been proven to have been obtained by coercion and fraud. Peltier was tried by a judge known for his anti-Native American sentiments in a climate of prejudice. Successive appeals and requests for a re-trial have been denied by the government. Peltier has been imprisoned for 20 years. The government has all but admitted the fraudulent nature of its prosecution but fears the negative fall-out from an appeal which would bring all the dirty laundry into the open. The legal battle to free Peltier continues to this day. For more information on Leonard Peltier and his case or to make a donation to the defense committee contact: Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, P.O. Box 583, Lawerence KS 66044.

Back to the festival. Music was provided by Morticite, Ass Rash, State of Fear, Hiatus, Code-13, Rekt, Warpath, Pawn, Mankind, Final Warning, Aus Rotten, and Los Crudos. Terry of the band Pawn and the Alienation collective organized the event. It was pretty well organized for such a big undertaking, the sound was decent, food was available, and there was plenty of space around the hall to camp out. Judging from the money collected there were about 450-500 people were in attendence. Lots of people brought records to sell and trade, and still more brought beer and got wasted. Anti-Racist Action showed videos and provided literature. The bands were all great and it was a blast to play the show. Over $2000 was raised for the Leonard Peltier Defence Committee a group who needs every penny they can get.

Which brings me to my point. Martin of Crudos pointed out that if the event had been a march or rally in support of Leonard Peltier how many of the people at the show would have turned up? Maybe 1%? There are a number of ways to break it down. From the positive perspective it shows the power of the ideas behind punk music that so many people showed up to lend their support to a man who has been wrongly imprisoned for most of our lifetimes. Realistically how many of these kids would have even heard of Leonard Peltier had it not been for punk bands and publications making his case known. Certainly the mainstream media wouldn't have given them the real deal. The sad truth though is that a lot of those in attendence probably still don't know who Peltier is. Most were there to party, period. The bands and the message seemed to take second place. Most of the bands never mentioned Leonard Peltier from the stage. As I walked around the site of the show it reminded me more of a crusty woodstock than the Rock Against Reagan shows of the 80's. From a cynical perspective, even if the kids didn't care, the Peltier Defence Committee got paid. So the event was a success as a fund raiser if not as a concioussness raiser.

A final note on the Peltier case, rock/rap band Rage Against the Machine reportedly has a video out in which they champion Peltier's cause. I'm not much of a TV fan so I've never seen it. Admittedly Peltier needs all the help he can get and music is a great way to expose young people to issues they may not have considered. But, how the fuck can you take any political statement seriously that is made by a band on a major label. Those bands are part and parcel of the system that keeps people like Leonard Peltier and Mumia Abu Jamal in prison. These political statements are bullshit marketing and publicity. Major label bands can shut the fuck up and go on singing about pot, satan, love and similar balderdash.

Back to my impressions of the show in Dayton. The attendence and enthusiasm go to show that punk is not dead and there are lots of great bands around. But, where is the political concern? Where is the rebellion? When I got into punk in the 80's I felt like I was really a part of something. Something dangerous and rebellious. Reagan was in, America was back and swinging hard to the right. Beneath the surface Hardcore lashed out. Suburban rebels took the smouldering ashes of 77 punk and breathed new life into it. Hardcore struck out with fury and anger and urgency. Bands played fast and loud and had something to say. Hardcore was brutal and honest and raw and political. We were teetering on the brink of nuclear war with the Russians. America was poised to invade Central America and draft all the teenage punkers. When I listen to my old 7"s today the come screaming at me like a klaxon in the night. A wake up call. It was time to take to the streets to make a statement, take a stand. Where is all that anger now? When I go to shows now all I see is drunk/drugged punk/crust drop outs leading a hip (hippie) alternative life style based around being wasted and broke or alternately clean cut fashionable hardcore kids with nothing to rebel against except the high price of stussy wear. Will these kids change the world? No.

The way I see it Punk/Hardcore peaked around 1984. Anybody who went to a DK's, Black Flag, or MDC show that year would probably agree. Sure there are more underground bands and records now, but the scene is more diverse and varied and watered down. Gone are the big drawing bands of those years. As soon as a band gets marginally popular nowadays its straight to the major labels and watered down consumer crap music. And lets face it, punk has lost most of its anger, its power, its vitality, and its political stance. Millions of kids at malls everywhere are buying absolute garbage pop music filler which is being marketed as "punk". A sad joke, but it will blow over. Mark my words Green Day and Rancid will be taken about as seriously in ten years as Kajagoogoo and Flock of Seagulls are today. While the cold war may be over the problems that faced us as teenagers in the 80's have not gone away. But today's bands and kids respond not with social commentary or political activism but with an apathetic "lets party" attitude. How many times have you seen a fanzine review a punk record with political lyrics saying something like "lyrics adressing political issues you've heard before" or "well intentioned but generic political lyrics." Well fuck that. These issues aren't exactly being dealt with so why not beat them into the numb skulls of the apathetic. I'd rather hear a band sing about hating the cops, the government, and the system for the ten thousandth time than some twit "getting in touch with his feelings." The true underground of the punk scene has made a lot of progress in its economics. The DIY ethic is alive and well. Labels and distributions continue to go it alone and lots of people are putting on all ages shows and actually paying the bands. On the flip side of this: a lot of bands just use the underground as a stepping stone to the majors and a lot of bands embrace the DIY ethic simply because they suck so bad no-one would want to help them. I'm glad to see truly independent music going strong in the shadow of corporate punk-lite. But how much of it has a valid message is open to debate. Bring back the anger, the energy, the rebellion. Where did it go?

Publication Date:
January 1, 1988

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