DIY: PUNK EVENTS

Ronnie Rocker

There are more things we can do as punks to build a scene and community.

MAPA EVENTS

I have already talked about putting on shows in my local area. That hasn’t been as easy as I had hoped. Finding bands, no problem. I have a handful of punk and hardcore bands ready to, I just need a venue. But there are a lot of other events punks can put on for punks.

PUNKS IN THE PARK

I want to do an event called, that’s right, PUNKS IN THE PARK. So, what is it? Basically it is a picknick in the park. Basically we pick a park, town green, or some public location and have a potluck picknick. Everyone brings something and everyone shares. It’s that simple. Punks can bring acoustic guitars and play music. Yeah, that’s OK. Bring a Bluetooth speaker and play some punk. Got kids? A dog? Bring them too. We could have games, punk storytelling, contests, and DIY punk crafts. Anything goes. Here’s the thing, because it’s a public park and just a “picknick” you don’t really need to follow the rules. What I mean is, pull a permit.

One thing to think about is alcohol. Most public parks don’t allow for that. Let’s face it were punks and a lot of like to have a few beers, so you need to be crafty. Keep it out of site, put it in a cup, and don’t get to shitty. No one needs to get arrested. Now I’m not saying break the law, I would never do that! But if you choose to drink in public keep it stealthy.

PUNK ROCK FLEA MARKET

The punk flea market is something that is not my idea. I have seen these things happening all over the country. New Jersey has the largest Punk Rock Flea Market on the east coast. Basically, you rent a space, inside or outside. You charge “vendors” a fee, like 25 bucks to cove the rental space. The punks bring stuff they want to sell; this should be punk related stuff not your old blender. Think records, pins, patches, T-shirts, posters, flyers, music gear and instruments, your art, shit you made, it’s all good. Of course you need a “FRER SHIT” table. Put all the shit you don’t think you can sell there and I’m sure someone will want it.

Another thing you can do is give local bands a discount and have them come out and sell their merch. Now you have bands there who are promoting their punk rock music, people will want to know when and where they are playing, and something bigger might happen.

Depending on the venue for this event you can have food trucks, live music, punk workshops, tattoo artists, and even invite celebrity punk guests. The freaking NJ market has a beer garden! How cool is that?

The whole idea is to keep it DIY, somewhat underground, and independent. It should be by punks for punks and not Hot Topic like bullshit.

PUNK ART SHOW

A lot of us are artist, so let’s have an art show. It doesn’t matter if you are a painter, photographer, sculpture, or whatever. Do you make art? Let’s put on a show. A lot of times you can do this sort of thing at the local library or some other venue you can get for free.

Punk art is everywhere. Flyers stapled to telephone poles, hand-drawn zine covers, album sleeves, photography, collages, patches, painted jackets, graffiti-style lettering, screen-printed shirts, show posters, comics, stickers and weird shit somebody made at their kitchen table. Some of it is professional. Some of it looks like it was made at 2:00 in the morning with a Sharpie, scissors and a busted Xerox machine. Both belong on the wall. That’s you Punk Rock art show.

PUNK PUB MEETUP

Alright, this is simple. We go to a pub and have a few beers. It’s simple. It’s easy. It only costs a few bucks. For us old punks this is no big deal, it’s just what we did when there wasn’t a show. We all knew where ethe punk rock bar was and we all went. Well, in today’s online world it doesn’t happen that much anymore. Most of the old bars I used to hang out in are long gone, the One Up in providence for example. The One Up was a place where the punks went, all the time. After it closed, a few places popped up that we took over, but nothing really took the place of One Up. Providence has the Scurvy Dog, which is definitely a punk bar, but I don’t live in Providence anymore.

For me living in the burbs now, there are a few pubs I can go to and where I could have a Punk Rock Meetup. Most have good food and good beer. They know the guy with the blue mohawk when he walks through the door. I know the bartenders, they have a beer waiting for me when I walk in most of the time. I know some of the regulars. I have a beer, eat something, bullshit with people and go home. So, why couldn't one of those places become a punk meetup spot once in a while?

I'm not talking about turning your neighborhood pub into CBGB. I'm talking about finding five, ten or twenty punks who live in the same general area and saying: "We're meeting at Joe's Pub Thursday night at 7. Come down." That's it. The whole point of a Punk Meetup is to discover who lives around you. So, look at the places you already have.

PUTTING ON PUNK ROCK EVENTS

Here’s the thing. If you can make something free, that’s good. But, that’s not always possible. You don’t want to go broke putting these type of punk events on. Sometimes you have to charge fees. You can charge vendors/participants and make admission free. You can charge vendors/participants and sell tickets. You need to charge a fair price, you are trying to get rich, you are trying to build a punk community and have some fun.

Not everything needs to make money. Actually, some of this stuff probably shouldn't make money. If you can make the event free, make it free. If you have expenses, charge enough to cover them. Two bucks. Five bucks. Whatever makes sense. If you're renting a room for $200 and 40 people throw in five bucks each, there's your room. The goal isn't to turn every gathering of punks into a fucking business. The goal is getting people together.

This is probably the most important part. Don't decide your first event needs 500 people, that's how nothing ever happens. It’s more likely your first few events may only draw one or two people. Believe me, Sam and I sitting in a pub for a punk rock meetup is sometimes as good as it gets, and we work together! Sometimes no one shows. Other times a hundred people show. It’s like rolling dice.

WHAT MAPA NEEDS

Well, basically what we need is bodies. We need people who want to get involved, help build the local scene, and help organize and run these events. It can’t be a one-man show. We need people involved to put on events from the smallest pub night to a show with three bands. It’s that simple. This website, our print zine needs you to succeed.

DON'T WAIT FOR MAPA

This might sound strange coming from the guy building MAPA, but I don't want people waiting for MAPA to organize everything. That's the opposite of what this is supposed to be. Take these ideas. Steal them (I did!). Change them. Improve them. Do something I haven't thought of.

Then tell us what happened, send pictures. Write about it. Tell us what worked and what went completely to shit so somebody else can learn from it. Because MAPA doesn't succeed when everybody waits to see what MAPA does next. MAPA succeeds when people start doing shit without us.