For some people, punk rock’s mere mention can evoke images of and rambunctious young revelers releasing pent-up emotions, but as a musical genre it seems to have become more acclimated into mainstream society.
Parents are no longer as anxious to hunt down like Tokyo Rose the derelict DJs broadcasting punk with the presumed intention of inciting angry riots. Maybe it’s not their cup of tea, but just as their parents finally relented after being inflamed by Elvis’ gyrating hips, they’re now seeing punk for what it is — fun, high-energy, up-tempo music with a message and a conduit for camaraderie, and what it’s not — an automatic fast-track to moral corruption.
Punk as a genre is entrenched in England with bands like the Clash and the Sex Pistols, and New York City with the Ramones, but Southern California is also recognized as a principal pioneering ground. One of the original So. Cal. bands is Social Distortion, which was founded in the late 1970s by 17-year-old guitarist, and principal
Pearl earrings songwriter Michael Ness.
