I know this punk guy named Tony. You probably know the same guy. I met him many years ago when he was in his teens and had a rockabilly band called Al and the Black Cats. Then his band The Chernobyl Babies infected my little punk bar with pogo punk years later. He always has a smile for ya. Always has a couch and a beer for ya. Nicest guy ever. Known all over the world.
Years ago he married Michelle and moved to Tulsa, OK. These two have been a shining example of how to truly adapt those DIY skills we were taught by SST and Dischord Records. They'd host a festival every year called Fuck You We Rule OK; they put together an annual Punk Rock Flea Market; opened a record store (Boulevard Trash); promoted punk shows; and most recently put together a traveling Oddities and Curiosities Expo. That's a long ways away from making copy ‘n’ paste flyers for shitty bands! These two have a hustle like I haven't seen in a long time, and it's genuine and from a pure place.
I'm lucky in the fact that they recently brought this traveling flea market of weird shit to Grand Rapids, MI. It was hosted at DeVos Hall. For those of you who don't get the irony of that, I'll give you a brief history lesson on Grand Rapids, MI. Have you heard of the concept of a pyramid scheme? Yep. We invented that with a little company called Amway. The DeVos and Van Andel families were at the top of that pyramid and made millions and millions of dollars. For better or worse, they invested in Grand Rapids, building hotels, skyscrapers, and slapping their names on everything. This also resulted in the city being a mostly conservative place. Fortunately the tide is shifting and we are becoming far more progressive than it was when I was growing up. Baby steps. BUT DAMN YOU GOTTA LOVE THE IRONY OF A PUNK KID FROM THE OUTSKIRTS OF GRAND RAPIDS FILLING THAT PLACE TO CAPACITY WITH ALL FORMS OF ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE PEOPLE AND FREAKS!!!! I'm laughing so hard at that.
My crew and I showed up at 2pm and the place was packed nuts to butts. I hate large crowds now thanks to my raging anxiety, but seeing my friend's success in the flesh put that shit to rest. Thousands of punks, goths, emo kids, rockers, hip hoppers, freaks, and normies filled that hall from 10am until 6pm. I ran into punk friends I haven't seen for the better part of 5 to 10 years. Tony and Michelle gave us a common ground and a reason to congregate. Tony is electric like that.
There were so many people that it was difficult to get to the tables of weirdo art and stuff. Taxidermy of all kids, including a giraffe head and neck, witchy things in small jars, B-movie style art and apparel, creepy dolls, they had everything. There was even a sideshow stage with a guy letting people use a stapler on his skin. My friend and fellow poster artist Craig Horky even had a booth set up. We had a nice chat about the new house he bought and finding a secret room in it. We had a fun debate on how it should be best used. Should it contain a ball pit like Chuck E Cheese or should he turn it into a sex dungeon? I think we decided a combination of the two. I bought a couple of fun patches for my new jacket with a ufo on one and a kraken on the other, cuz old habits die hard.
It was a fun time. After finally finding Tony (he said the turnout was so bonkers good that they are planning on two days next year) and catching up with him, it was time to round up my Aussie partner, my punks, and my blind comedian and hit the road. All of that is true. I roll with weirdos. Proudly. We grabbed some drinks after at a local bar and had laughs about all the cool and crazy things we bought and saw. We decided last night that we are going to the expo in Chicago at the end of July. And next year I am going to have my own booth selling dick coloring books and dick crayons.
I've been feeling very uninspired lately. Tony and Michelle changed that. Keep in mind that these DIY skills that are handed down from generation of punk to generation of punk can be applied to all aspects of your life. This doesn't have to be only about basement punk shows. Think bigger than that.
