Top Punk Rock Moments of 2010

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With a new decade safely under way, we thought it would be fun to look back at the year past and compile a list of our favorite Punk Rock Moments from 2010.  And quite a year it was.  Bands protesting the government.  Bands brawling with each other and bands coming to one another’s rescue.  Elaborate hoax pulling front-men and front-men who get beat up by their own fans.  Unjustified bannings and unprecedented acts of charity.  In one way or another, they all somehow embody the punk rock ideology.

Reminisce with us by checking out our list of the top Punk Rock Moments of 2010 here.

Cokie the Clown takes on SXSW Music Festival

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I don’t like clowns. I’ve never liked clowns. After reading Stephen King’s “It” I’m perpetually checking my bedroom for signs of Pennywise before I go to bed. Pennywise the clown, that is, not Pennywise the band. Now that I think about it, I wouldn’t want to find Fletcher Dragge under my bed, either… But we’ll get to him a little later on.

This March, NOFX front man Fat Mike gave me yet another reason to be creeped out by clowns with his now infamous SXSW solo performance. If you haven’t already, you can read a detailed description of the set here. For the purpose of our list, I’ll briefly refresh your memory.

Fans gathered at Emo’s Annex on March 25 anticipating a fun and intimate solo performance from the NOFX frontman. Instead, they witnessed a somber Fat Mike stroll onto stage in full Cokie the Clown attire holding a bottle of Patron Anejo Tequila which he poured out into a tray of shot glasses. After knocking back a few himself, Fat Mike shared the rest with the eager audience and started his set consisting of acoustic versions of both old and new NOFX songs. These songs, however brilliant, were intermittently overshadowed by Fat Mike sharing graphic, depressing and down right traumatizing personal stories from his past of sexual violence, suicide and euthanasia. It left the audience stunned, to say the least. When the set ended, video footage taken that night was played back to the audience, revealing that the bottle of Tequila they had willingly consumed was actually half filled with Fat Mike’s piss.

Or so we thought. Months later, a video surfaced showing a cleverly executed last-minute bottle switcheroo that turned the aforementioned incident into one big joke.

That night, Cokie the Clown’s face paint was a mask from behind which a very troubled Fat Mike was finally able to release some of his most heavily held personal secrets. In just the same way, the “Piss-in-a-Patron-bottle” stunt that from start to finish completely encompassed Fat Mike’s performance was a distraction. The elaborately orchestrated prank took the spotlight off of Fat Mike’s intimate performance and masked his inner disturbances in a cloud of controversy. The once-in-a-lifetime songs he played, and the stories he told were memorable, but what everyone is going to remember is the piss.

Whether an elaborate hoax or desperate cry for help, Fat Mike himself explains this years most punk rock moment best in an interview on JBTV by saying quite simply that he “Likes doing stuff that pisses people off”.

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Pennywise Roll With The Punches

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Each summer, the Vans Warped Tour serves as a hotbed for internal turmoil within the alternative music community. With so many different musical genres and ideologies being condensed into such close quarters for an entire summer, it’s no surprise that tempers tend to flare, and egos begin to inflate. We’ve all heard about Fat Mike’s criticisms of Underoath’s religious beliefs, and the constant battle between traditional punk bands and the newer pop/metal influenced groups which seem to be taking over the tour at an alarming rate.

But the most controversial story of the 2010 Warped Tour, involving an altercation between Pennywise and Alesana, didn’t have to do with religion, integrity or musical style. Rather, it could be summed up quite simply as… an accident.

Initially, the story broke reporting that Fletcher and Randy from Pennywise assaulted members of Alesana in their RV after the Denver stop of the tour. Further investigation revealed that the boys from Pennywise mistook Alesana’s empty tour van for that of Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band, and decided to hang around inside and wait for someone to show up. Then, a very shocked Alesana tour manager returned to the van to find a few unwelcome strangers invading their space (I’d imagine it was like returning to your campsite and finding a couple gigantic drunken bears rummaging through your foodstuffs). The resulting confrontation did not go smoothly. Despite a lack of harmful intentions, the ordeal turned into a brawl with everyone involved getting a little roughed up. Then the cops arrived on the scene, Fletcher “got tazed five fucking times”, and spent the night in jail. Bad Ass.

Now, I don’t condone confrontational violence in any way, but I can’t help but sympathize with Fletcher and Randy. I’d need to throw a few punches too if I’d been stuck in a band for 20 years with egomaniac/eternal wet blanket Jim Lindberg. Now that Alesana have dropped the assault charges and signed to Epitaph, and Pennywise have replaced Jim with Zoli Teglas (of Ignite), things are looking good for 2011.

In leiu of footage from the brawl, here’s a video of Fletcher throwing Fat Mike into a drumkit.
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Epitaph Keeps it Real

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Revered independent record label Epitaph Records, owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz, is famous for launching the careers of many notable Punk Rock bands. But recently, the label has strayed from it’s traditional sound and opted instead to sign deals with bands that fall under all sorts of musical genres. From emo, screamo and metalcore acts all the way to indie bands and hip-hop artists, all can be found on the growing roster of Epitaph Records and its associated labels. Then, on February 2, 2010, Epitaph announced that it had inked a deal to sign Minneapolis band Off With Their Heads. Unbelievable as it is, this was the first straight up Punk band to be signed to the label in nearly a decade, since the Deviates signed with Epitaph in 2001.

What’s so Punk Rock about this, besides the obvious? It’s Epitaph’s attitude of “doing-whatever-the-hell-it wants”, whether that be branching out musically, sometimes in unexpected ways, or returning to the solid punk sound that made it such a successful label in the first place. Just as Brett Gurewitz always seems to find his way back to Bad Religion, I have confidence that Epitaph Records will continue to find it’s way back to Punk Rock, no matter how far it strays.

Furthermore, Off With Their Heads is a fucking fantastic band. Two enthusiastic thumbs up!
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Disney Denies Screeching Weasel

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Legendary Pop-Punkers Screeching Weasel were scheduled to play a show at the House of Blues in Orlando, Florida in 2010 that was sure to be a smashing success. Everything was going according to plan… until Disney decided to ban them. What for, you ask? Content. Oh, how specific!

Now, I know that Screeching Weasel are often regarded as the single most offensive band in the history of the universe (Italics are universally known to denote sarcasm, right?), but the decision to ban them from playing on Disney owned property seems like a double standard, considering the venue has hosted such bands as Bad Religion and NOFX. I’m almost certain that for every Screeching Weasel song that mentions being naked, NOFX frontman Fat Mike has performed a show where he actually WAS naked. I guess the more people who hate you, the more Punk Rock you are, right?

The news left Ben Weasel equally confused. He expressed his opinion via Twitter, which can be summed up by saying that he, as well as us, have “no idea” why the band was shut down.

I’m gonna bet my money on the fact that Disney was scared Minnie Mouse was going to kick Mickey to the curb, shave her head, and skip town on the back of this guy’s Harley.

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Bands Boycott Arizona

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In June, Arizona state legislature passed the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, affectionately known as bill 1070 (There’s that sarcasm again!). Now, I’m no expert on the intricate workings of the American government (having lived the entirety of my life in Canada) , so I’m going to let the all-knowing geniuses at Wikipedia explain the details.

The act, which is widely considered to be one of the strictest anti-illegal immigration laws passed in recent history, wasn’t universally well received. In fact, many musicians and bands openly expressed their desire to have the Act repealed by signing the “Sound Strike” petition, boycotting Arizona and calling others to do the same. Among the list you’ll find Rise Against, Anti-Flag, My Chemical Romance, Billy Bragg and a slew of other politically minded bands. Gypsy Punkers and self proclaimed “band of  immigrants” Gogol Bordello released a statement regarding the bands decision to boycott Arizona in response to Bill 1070, praising the “positive aspects of immigration” and  outlining the importance of cultural diversity. I’m sure this sentiment is shared by all of the bands who’ve made the choice to take action against Bill 1070.

The decision to boycott Arizona will undoubtedly piss off many music fans, but as Fat Mike taught us earlier, pissing people off is what Punk Rock is all about. Well, that and giving a loud (and usually out of tune) voice to the oppressed and unheard. That being said, a quick glance at the list of bands boycotting Arizona exemplifies that musicians of all genres care about universal human rights. The important lesson here kids is that you don’t have to play Punk Rock to be Punk Rock.

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Mark Adkins Opens his Big, Fat Guttermouth

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In December, while playing a show with Pulley in Ventura, CA, Guttermouth front man Mark Adkins was so agitated by a flaky sound system (and years of being the sole Saviour of meaninglessly offensive punk rock) that he went bat-shit crazy and turned on the crowd. As one Dying Scenester reports, Mark threw a tantrum that would put a candy-deprived toddler to shame. Apparently this wasn’t the first time something like this has happened. Numerous stories have been circulating of Mark losing his temper at shows, insulting the audience, and even refusing to perform. Then again, should we have expected anything different from Mark? This is, after all, the same guy who exposed his junk on stage in Saskatoon and subsequently got Guttermouth banned from playing in Canada for 18 months. Remember how I said that the more people who hate you, the more Punk Rock you are? This guy is a perfect example of that. Through his incessant button-pushing and asshole persona, Mark Adkins has collected a list of enemies the size of a warped tour lineup.

But this time, after flipping off the audience, screaming profanities, and likely offending EVERYONE in the venue, the swift hand of karma reached out from the crowd and pulled Mark into a bottomless moshpit of angry, ruthless punks. Now, it’s hard to say if the crowd intentionally attacked Mark, or if he was a victim of the aggressive nature of the situation. Either way, the show ended abruptly, and Mark’s face took a harsh beating.

I just don’t know who to give the credit to: Mark Adkins for managing to continuously antagonize the punk community for over 20 years, or the crowd for refusing to deal with his diva-esque hissy fit. As I see it, Mark Adkins and the hand that pulled him into the crowd are one in the same, both actively refusing to ingest the steaming pile of bullshit that’s been put in front of them.
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Milo Gets By With A Little Help From His Friends

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Towards the end of 2010 there was an event that could have ended in colossal disaster had it not been for the saving grace of the Punk Rock Elite. On December 19th in Brisbane Australia, heaps of dedicated punks gathered amidst an unrelenting downpour to see illustrious pop-punkers the Descendents play their third and final set of the No Sleep ‘Til Brisbane festival. Faced with gusting winds, torrential rains, and the many potentially disappointed fans, front man Milo Aukerman experienced every vocalist’s worst nightmare when he lost his voice partway through the set. On the brink of tragedy a creative and mind-blowingly awesome solution was found as members of the other touring bands jumped up on stage to lend a hand. Fat Mike of NOFX (and likely the Descendents number one fan), Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio, Al Barr from Dropkick Murphy’s fame, members of Australia’s own Frenzal Rhomb and even the Descendents own road manager Jason Allen all lent their talents to what would become an unforgettable show. Add to that a few rounds of instrument switching musical chairs, and you’ve got one hell of an early Christmas present for some very lucky festival goers.

Now, while us fans pay homage by wearing band logo patches on our leather jackets, and by performing shitty covers of our most beloved songs at high school talent shows, we’d likely be left speechless if given the chance to tell our favorite bands exactly how much they mean to us. But on that day, which will remain as a shining moment of punk rock togetherness, the aforementioned performers were given a unique chance to give back to one of Punk Rock’s most influential bands. Through them a resounding “Thank You” echoed through the entire punk community in recognition of the Descendents, and all of the bands and artists who were instrumental in pioneering the genre.

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Dying Scene Gives Away 100% of Its Profits To Its Readers

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Last September, in an unprecedented act of true punk rock selflessness Johnny X, founder and chief editor of DyingScene.com, decided to distribute every dollar of profit the website had ever made to its loyal readers. Dying Scene is of course the very website you’re reading this article on and was voted “Best Punk Rock Website on the Internet” by Johnny and his mother, whose basement he currently resides in.

Johnny X was once quoted as saying “Being “punk rock” isn’t about making money, and neither should running a punk rock website.” So maybe its not too surprising that the organization decided to distribute 100% of its profits equally amongst its first 5,000 Facebook friends as a little “thank you” for their enthusiasm and support.

Once that decision had been approved by the rest of the Dying Scene crew it was time to focus on the logistics around such a massive philanthropic effort, and that’s when things started to get interesting.  According to the website’s chief accountant, leveraging Facebook to determine who the “loyal readers” were was the easy part.  Determining the dollar amount due to each one of them, on the other hand, proved a slightly more difficult task, and one that had some surprising results.  Rest assured, though, because eventually the profit distribution plan was worked out and the dollar amounts due to each of the readers were finalized.

Just how ridiculously wealthy Dying Scene made its first 5,000 readers isn’t too important.  Remember, “punk rock” isn’t about the money, but if you’re dying to find out how much your greedy ass missed out on you can read the original announcement here.