The sweet taste of home....
Bloody Bike Brigade
Back in 1995, if you wanted to go to a punk show where I'm from, you had to go all the way into Salem. That meant you had to get your parents to drive you into town. Fortunately for me, a few of my friends had parents who were all right, so I could catch a ride with them if I was lucky enough to go at all. In those days, all the punk shows were at the Grande Theatre downtown. Pop punk was really popular then and a few of the local bands were playing the good sounds. I saw the best punk bands Salem will ever know play there until they either shut the place down or my dad put an end to it, I don't remember which. But anyway, I saw Mr. Bottle and The Drapes play there and these bands had so much energy. We just waited for all the lame opening bands to play and then when Mr. Bottle came on you knew people were going crazy in the pit. They use to do a cover of that Operation Ivy song "Knowledge" that I won't forget. And the Drapes, those guys were actually from Portland but they played a few shows in Salem and tore the place down. They did a cover of that oldies song "Earth Angel" and I must've got knocked on my ass a couple of times during that one. Those were the days...
They shut the Grande down in 1996 or 1997 and it was empty for years before someone turned it into some wine shop for yuppies. After they shut it down, you couldn't see a punk show in Salem anywhere. Not until my old buddy Nate Porter moved back from California and rented a house on Summer street around 2000. He and I used to go to the shows together. I always got to ride with him because his parents were a lot more supportive than mine. It's ironic the only place you can see a punk show now in Salem is at his house.
I was looking around on the internet recently and I found a copy of The Drape's first record in some record shop in England. How it got over there who knows, but I almost pissed myself when I saw it. It just came in the mail and let me tell you, there's nothing like the sweet taste of home. To me, those guys played the archetype of punk rock and then they broke up before they went to shit. Their lyrics are all about good times and good friends and that's just what I need over here....I got it blasting right now and it's good to be home....
Back in 1995, if you wanted to go to a punk show where I'm from, you had to go all the way into Salem. That meant you had to get your parents to drive you into town. Fortunately for me, a few of my friends had parents who were all right, so I could catch a ride with them if I was lucky enough to go at all. In those days, all the punk shows were at the Grande Theatre downtown. Pop punk was really popular then and a few of the local bands were playing the good sounds. I saw the best punk bands Salem will ever know play there until they either shut the place down or my dad put an end to it, I don't remember which. But anyway, I saw Mr. Bottle and The Drapes play there and these bands had so much energy. We just waited for all the lame opening bands to play and then when Mr. Bottle came on you knew people were going crazy in the pit. They use to do a cover of that Operation Ivy song "Knowledge" that I won't forget. And the Drapes, those guys were actually from Portland but they played a few shows in Salem and tore the place down. They did a cover of that oldies song "Earth Angel" and I must've got knocked on my ass a couple of times during that one. Those were the days...
They shut the Grande down in 1996 or 1997 and it was empty for years before someone turned it into some wine shop for yuppies. After they shut it down, you couldn't see a punk show in Salem anywhere. Not until my old buddy Nate Porter moved back from California and rented a house on Summer street around 2000. He and I used to go to the shows together. I always got to ride with him because his parents were a lot more supportive than mine. It's ironic the only place you can see a punk show now in Salem is at his house.
I was looking around on the internet recently and I found a copy of The Drape's first record in some record shop in England. How it got over there who knows, but I almost pissed myself when I saw it. It just came in the mail and let me tell you, there's nothing like the sweet taste of home. To me, those guys played the archetype of punk rock and then they broke up before they went to shit. Their lyrics are all about good times and good friends and that's just what I need over here....I got it blasting right now and it's good to be home....
posted by Anonymous at 2:54 AM
1 Comments:
I knew the guitarist for Mr. Bottle. His name was Justin and we used to ride dirt together. He's in Hagness's video "Appetite for Dislocation."
~J
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