Energy of Disruption

Just minutes away from the Las Vegas Strip, tucked into a nondescript industrial locale, is a 12,000-square-foot revamped two-story warehouse with a black and lime green storefront — a punk rock history treasure trove. The Punk Rock Museum opened on April 1, 2023, and on the weekend of March 28-April 1, its birthday was celebrated in true punk style.

The weekend was packed with guided tours, discussions, and high-energy punk rock riffs, with several punk rock icons participating. Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman and T.S.O.L. frontman Jack Grisham set the stage on Friday and Saturday afternoons for a weekend of punk rock empowerment as they guided music lovers through the memorabilia-filled corridors.

Too Punk to Die

Upon your first step inside, familiar and influential faces from punk rock history captivate and communicate rebellion against convention, including Joan Jett’s sultry eyes and the Ramones members’ apathetic mannerisms.

“(Joan Jett) is the coolest person in rock and roll — in the whole business. Joan Jett and The Runaways were the most important because they’re the first all-girl rock band in music,” said former NOFX singer and Fat Wreck Chords founder, Mike Burkett, best known as Fat Mike.

TPRM showcases thousands of donated materials, such as concert posters and fliers, set lists, instruments, furniture, clothing, zines, and awards. Imagine kicking back on Kurt Cobain’s “nodding out” couch, soaking in the history of legendary concert venues, and gaining insider knowledge about history’s best punk bands.

A notable exhibit is the Pennywise Garage, an exact replica of the band’s real-life rehearsal space. The graffiti- and poster-filled space routinely hosts live music performances today.

“I don’t think about punk rock as a music source. I think of it as energy of disruption, and it floats through so many genres,” said L7 bassist Jennifer Finch. Contemporary punk rockers from bands like My Chemical Romance and Alkaline Trio — both featured at the museum —have heralded punk band veterans such as The Misfits and The Buzzcocks as important musical influences, supporting Finch’s observation.

On day two of the celebration, famed Canadian media personality George Stroumboulopoulos moderated a revealing roundtable with TPRM CEO Fat Mike, TPRM CMO and Less Than Jake cofounder Vinnie Fiorello, Finch, Grisham, Lyman, and photographer Edward Colver, all dishing on punk rock’s everlasting influence and antics.

“The story of punk rock hasn’t ended — it continues to go,” Stroumboulopoulos said, kicking off the conversation. “The museum is a living museum, and it’s awesome being part of that, and seeing it grow and go forward.”

The group discussed everything from punk rock as a community, sleeping in parking lots, punk rock’s roots, and how Nirvana swung the door open for punk rock’s popularity.

“Everyone remembers the first time you heard ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’ I do,” Fat Mike said, explaining. “I remember I was in the car with (Lagwagon singer) Joey Cape and I was like, ‘This is one of the most amazing songs I ever heard.’ And from that moment on, CDs were actually making more money where record labels could take chances on punk bands. That record changed everything for everybody.”

Hey! Ho! Let’s Go!

Just outside the museum entrance, music fans began to flock toward the main stage to welcome TPRM’s opening band, The Dollheads, a Las Vegas sibling punk band with all the heavy-hitting lyrics that define teenage angst. Next, the pit swelled when the hardcore punk band Knuckleheadz came onstage, and Playboy Manbaby followed, delivering satirical punk rock and ingenious dance moves.

As with most shows, the crowd noticeably inflated as the main attractions’ scheduled arrivals crept closer. Lime green TPRM reusable cups and Pringles cans filled with rum and Coke called “The Fletcher” — a tribute to Pennywise’s Fletcher Dragge’s favorite beverage — were widespread, as were the tattoos and punk rock concert tees commemorating time-honored shows.

Ska/punk legends Voodoo Glow Skulls emerged on stage, its full-throttle trombone and sax intermingling flawlessly with frontman Frank Casillas’ raw, relentless vocals, amplifying the crowd’s energy. As the sun dipped in the background, T.S.O.L. headlined the event with penetrating instrumentals and Grisham on the mic delivering defiant lyrics.

Preserving Punk’s Past

The next day, punk rock history was resurrected in a fascinating array of photography for the “Edward Colver: The Eye of Los Angeles Punk” exhibition. Describing his approach as “moody but legible,” the photographer went deep into the underbelly of the early punk rock scene to snap the rawest, most disobedient imagery. There was no shortage of iconic photos, including a 1982 portrait of Minor Threat’s Ian MacKaye plunged in the pit at The Barn in Torrance, California.

Finch moderated the exhibition discussion and emphasized how Colver routinely integrated the audience into the artist’s live performance photography. These shots captured visual stories of intensity and exultation, eliciting strong emotions for the observer.

“You’re not just a documentarian of the live show. You are also part of the products that came out of Los Angeles that were exported to the rest of the world,” Finch said to Colver.

Colver created legendary album covers such as Black Flag’s “Damaged,” Social Distortion’s “Mommy’s Little Monster,” The Circle Jerks’ “Group Sex,” and the Germs’ “Rock N’ Rule,” classic punk rock albums still heard blasting through bar speakers worldwide.

Next on the agenda were Grisham and fellow T.S.O.L. band members Ron Emory and Mike Roche discussing Roche’s new book, “I Play with Giants.” The book is Roche’s first-person account of the band’s formation and life in the early L.A. punk scene.

It was a sentimental discussion about their half-century-long friendship that was a combination of brotherhood and turmoil. The book details touring with punk icons, the venues, and the community that created the band’s success.

In Punk We Trust

“We come from a society where power trickles from the top, and we’re lucky if we get it at the bottom. We all work together to create communities where it would come from the bottom and move out,” Finch said of punk society. “This museum represents that through the types of donations and loans. It is built by a community, not by a specific narrator, which is what you may see in other museums.”

The TPRM building’s simple exterior is deceitful, as it gives way to an elaborate, rambunctious collection of punk rock artifacts and unexpected spaces inside, such as the Triple Down Bar, a small wedding venue, the Punk Shop souvenir store, the Jam Room, and The Shop, with local house tattoo artists.

Fiorello described TPRM as an illuminating love letter about lifelong friends and careers that still influence artists today. “How could it not be a love letter?” he said. “Punk rock music has given me everything. When I look around, it’s giving these people the same thing.”