Editor’s note: This is the second part of a series on the local punk music scene. Read part one here.
Punk (and its subgenre offspring, pop punk) is having a moment.
Turnstile’s hitting late-night TV, Blink-182’s back together, The Warped Tour has returned, and Green Day just celebrated major album anniversaries of “Dookie” and “American Idiot.” But what’s happening in punk’s underground — right here in Fredericksburg?
Tom MacGregor has been playing his brand of pop punk with The Ambulance Review since 2003. A native of the Fredericksburg area, MacGregor has seen the peaks and valleys that the local scene has weathered in recent years. From his start in 2003 until 2008-09, MacGregor categorized it as a thriving scene with many places to play: community centers, library branches, even churches.
The venues drew in names from across the area such as Poseur Bill, Atomic Raygun Attack!!, Kenmore and Buried Within.
Unfortunately, several venues that regularly hosted punk shows no longer exist, such as Shooter’s, 909 Saloon, The Bourbon Room, Grapevine Cafe and Horseshoes & Hand Grenades.
As venues closed, opportunities to see punk shows shrunk. According to MacGregor, the scene shifted to mostly house shows from 2012 to 2018.
While punk didn’t die, it did start to grow older.
“There was a growing-up of the fans, musicians, and people that were a part of the community, putting their time, money, and effort into what they found value in, all while finding their place in a completely digital world now,” MacGregor said.
Tommy Nichols, guitarist for Fairfax pop-punk band Tell Me More, lived in the Fredericksburg region at that time. He agreed that the ebb and flow in the popularity of any genre and the changes inherent in the music, particularly over the last few years, led to a slump in new bands, new music and new venues.
If you ask Tell Me More lead singer Nick Castro, the scene never really left though. “I don’t think it went away. It’s cyclical, one day I’m in the mood for this, the next day I’m in the mood for that.”
All three musicians are happy to see the demand for punk and its relations growing. Nationally, new groups have sprung up, including Pinkshift and Drain, plus new albums coming out from long-time bands like The Starting Line, AFI and Dropkick Murphys.
In the Fredericksburg area, punk and pop punk bands include The Ambulance Review, Tell Me More!, Trash Rocket, Thalidomide, inconsolable, Buffalo, Awkward Moment and Kings of the Wild Things. And their venue options are growing rapidly.
Reclaim Arcade, Bumrush Vinyl Records have held regular punk shows as have local breweries like Strangeways and even the surprising venue of alternative gallery/consignment shop Madame’s Oddities.
CaraBella, the shop’s owner, has been booking shows since 2016. Last year, she opened her storefront and offered bands a new place to play.
“I think that bringing a DIY space for artists to use without worrying about ticket sales and promos etc., really helps give freedom to musicians who are yearning for a place to play,” she said.
The current state of punk rock is best summed up by MacGregor,
“I think punk rock music is always going to get played and written when people feel undervalued, different, angry, lost, or feel the need to have a secret-public journal,” he said. “I think it’s on a resurgence because we are in devastating times, grasping to our youth, and need a quick nostalgia hit for some escapism from what is really going on around us.”
