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Bazillion Points

We Got Power!: Hardcore Punk Scenes from 1980s Southern California [Hardcover]

We Got Power!: Hardcore Punk Scenes from 1980s Southern California [Hardcover]

$ 25.00 USD
$ 25.00 USD
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In 1979, punk was over . . . but by 1981, hardcore was born. As teenagers in 1981, David Markey and his best friend Jordan Schwartz founded We Got Power!, a fanzine dedicated to the first-generation hardcore punk music community in their native Los Angeles. Their text captured the early punk spirit of Black Flag, the Minutemen, Social Distortion, Suicidal Tendencies, and Hsker D at the height of their powers. Meanwhile, their amazing photographs captured the dilapidated houses, abandoned storefronts, and disaffected youth culture of the early Reagan era. Never before seen, except in crude fanzine form, these detailed and richly narrative photos are now collected to present an intimate document a uniquely fertile creative moments.

 

Signed by the authors Jordan Schwartz and Dave Markey

 

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Bazillion Points
Language: English
ISBN-10: 193595007X
ISBN-13: 978-1935950073

 

Reviews and Kind Words

Essential reading the funniest of the local mags 
Matt Groening, 1983

Celebrating the hardcore punk scene of 1980s Southern California a new book by zine gods David Markey and Jordan Schwartz 
LA Weekly

"Simply put, [this] is a history lesson for the novice and nerd alike, packed to the spine with pictures and essays that'll blow the mind and flare the nostrils."
AOL Noisecreep

Stunning and beautiful
AP

"With no physical mecca for SoCal punks to revisit, the photos and the book on a whole serve as a yearbook for SoCal dropouts who changed the world."
Inked Mag

"Fascinating reading and a fun time to relive a dangerous era in the safety of your own home."
The Aquarian Weekly

The essays are sometimes anecdotal, sometimes reflective, but never maudlin. And photographsnearly 400 of them, hard-boiled and loving simultaneouslycapture the decrepit L.A. landscape and its wasted youth
LA Record

About the Authors

DAVID MARKEY was born December 3, 1963, in Burbank, CA. He made his first film at the age of 11 and published a neighborhood newspaper at 12. In 1980, he became involved in the local underground music scene. He helped form Sin 34 in 1981, and captured the punk scene in the Super 8 film The Slog Movie. Markey was a part of We Got Power fanzine from 1981 to 1983, then kept the name alive through his We Got Power Films. He cowrote and directed Desperate Teenage Lovedolls in 1984. He photographed, edited, cowrote, and directed Lovedolls Superstar in 1986. Also that year, his band Painted Willie toured with Black Flag for six months, a period depicted in his film Reality 86d. Later, he traveled with Sonic Youth and Nirvana across Europe to make 1991: The Year Punk Broke. Markey has directed music videos for Meat Puppets, fIREHOSE, Shonen Knife, Mudhoney, and Pat Smear, and collaborated with visual artists Cameron Jamie, Raymond Pettibon, and Kim Gordon. In 2005, he accidentally discovered he was adopted, leading to work on the autobiography Dark Circles. Markey directed the documentaries The Reinactors; Dinosaur Jr. Bug (Live) at 9:30; and the Circle Jerks film My Career as a Jerk.

JORDAN SCHWARTZ met David Markey while skateboarding in a flooded Santa Monica parking garage in 1979. As they discovered the growing Los Angeles hardcore punk rock scene, Jordan teamed up with David, his sister, Jennifer, and Alan Gilbert to found We Got Power magazine. Jordan contributed in many roles, including that of staff photographer. Jordan had producing and acting roles in Desperate Teenage Lovedolls and the sequel, Lovedolls Superstar, notably appearing as the rock star Brews Springstein. Jordan facilitated the release of three Black Flag skateboards featuring original artwork by Raymond Pettibon. In 1984, Jordan began working and living at SST Records Global Network Agency booking gigs and tours for various high-profile bands on and off of the label during the pioneering years of the U.S. independent scene. In 1988, Jordan began a career working with computers connected to the Internet. He lives in Santa Monica with his wife and dog, still hangs out at Rip City on the weekends, and makes it to local gigs.
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