Godfather of the Brighton punk scene, the city wouldn’t be the same without Punker Bunker’s Buz.
How healthy is the Brighton punk scene?
There are a lot of people in Brighton who like a bit of punk rock whether it be old school 80s, pop-punk, grindcore, oi!, crossover, hardcore, D beat or one of the dozens of subgenres that are out there. We get a nice mix of people at our shows, all ages and backgrounds who just want to see good live bands and don’t care if they’re wearing this week’s trousers! There are some great bands that have come to light recently in Brighton. Trippin Violet, Blackstorm and, of course, A.S.B.O Retards.
Punk seems like a scene that keeps healthy in the background – is that true?
It’s primarily a roots music that comes from the people and doesn’t need an industry behind it to keep it going. There will always be garage punk bands banging away in back rooms with spotty nerds putting out their records and writing zines about them. As long as a scene doesn’t become elitist it will survive. Some people can be very precious about their particular little scene and it becomes inclusive and self-referential.
Is your passion for music is as strong as it was back in the day?
If not more so. We only put on bands we want to see and I’m still seeing great bands appearing from around the world. This year we’ve seen some great shows from the likes of The Night Marchers, World/Inferno Friendship Society and Git Some. In December we have Dillinger Four back after seven years and, of course, the mighty Dan Potthast. Shows are starting to stack up for 2010 with Cannabis Corpse, The Slackers, Chris Murray and The Peacocks and loads more.
What sort of thing do you sell in the Punker Bunker record shop?
We try and stock tiny obscure punk labels no one else does. I based the shop on places I used to go in my youth. We stock new, and some used, CDs and vinyl along with T-shirts, zines, tickets etc. I feel fortunate that we’ve been able to do it for so long as record shops around the world are closing at such a rate. By keeping small and niche hopefully we can survive.
You’ve put on some real legends – which are the ones that stick out?
Too many to name really! If I was pushed I’d say 7Seconds at the Freebutt, Avail, Rezillos, Scared Of Chaka, The X-Rays, MU330, Capdown, The Dickies, Nomeansno, The Slackers, Guitar Wolf. Too many.
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