MUSIC ON THE FRINGE: A HISTORY OF PUNK
As the absurdity and theatrics of 70's rock grew to epic proportions, an undercurrent of sound developed. Musicians fed up by the excessive costume changes, 12-string guitars, and painfully long solos, united under a common flag: Back to the basics.
Punk was pure Rock n' Roll played by young people at the fringes of society. Most of them barely knew how to play their instrument. They stuck with what they knew: songs with three chords played over and over for two minutes or less with lyrics about girls, boys, boys dressed as girls and New York City.
While the rest of New York City was trying to name it, Max's Kansas City embraced it. First came The Ramones and The New York Dolls, followed by Suicide, Blondie, The Misfits, The Dictators, Johnny Thunders and many more.
They would play upstairs, crash in the booths and ultimately cement Max's place in history as the birthplace of a cultural revolution.