A History of Punk Rock

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.

THE NEW YORK DOLLS MATCH THEIR STYLE WITH SUBSTANCE

In the beginning, there was the New York Dolls playing "Trash" at Max's in 1972. This New York Dolls video captures one of these performances.

The attitude and the clothes were the draw, but what made The New York Dolls and these early shows so important was the music with its in-your-face combination of garage rock, doo-wop and blues.

THE RAMONES MAKE PUNK HISTORY AT MAX'S

Formed in 1974, The Ramones burst onto Max's stage with a comic-book look and songs that quit before the 2 minute mark.

Bouncing between Max's and CBGB's for their first performances, Johnny Ramone, Joey Ramone, DeeDee Ramone and Tommy Ramone stormed the New York scene with their raw, purely American sound. Check out this Ramones live video.

SID VICIOUS AND THE SEX PISTOLS BRING THE FILTH AND THE FURY

Sid Vicious, the Sex Pistols' bassist, was suddenly and strangely thrust into the spotlight as the poster boy of Punk Rock. His "don't care" attitude, rampant drug use and notorious mean streak was everything outsiders expected from the scene.

When the band went their separate ways, Sid Vicious drew large crowds by playing solo at Max's. These rare moments in Punk history would fatefully become some of Sid Vicious' final performances.

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One of Suicide's early performances at Max's.A confrontational guitar solo from a DevoBlondie's Debbie HarryDevo and David Bowie talk backstage at Max's
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B-52s. Devo and Squeeze ride the NEW WAVE

The DIY attitude of Punk was contagious in Max's. Following early performances of bands like The Ramones, you could hear members of the audience talking about starting their own bands. In fact, kids in the audience at The Ramones first UK show went on to start The Clash and The Sex Pistols.

Back in New York, groups like the B-52's, DEVO, and SQUEEZE, spurred on by what they saw at Max's, began to play upstairs not long after they formed.

DEBBIE HARRY waits tables downstairs then takes the stage upstairs with BLONDIE

At the forefront of the New Wave sound was Blondie, led by a former Max's waitress Debbie Harry.

Before she was a singer, a songwriter, an actress and a cultural icon, Debbie Harry slung steak and chickpeas in the restaurant downstairs.

With a front-row seat to the New York Dolls, Wayne County, and The Heartbreakers, it was only a matter of time before Debbie Harry caught the bug. Soon after forming Blondie, Debbie Harry was headlining the same place she had been clearing the tables.