I want the title “Punk before Punk was Punk”. Unfortunately I am way too late, and the NY Times already gave the title to a band with the cute little name, Death.
Actually, I am probably not even punk by most people’s standards. So, I’ll have to settle for “35 years too late, and way off the mark”, and leave the punk title to the band that deserves it.
The Short Version:
Death was formed by three brothers, David, Dannis, and Bobby Hackney. The brothers started playing their own variation of rock in the mid-70’s. At the time, the punk genre didn’t even really exist. Like anyone else that has been ahead of their time, it was difficult to find an appreciative audience. The brothers were playing for a Detroit audience who’s taste was more Motown or Disco- so, the hard-edged aggressive sound of Death- got a lot of “WTFs?”. Frustrated with the whole scene, they called it quits and moved to Vermont. The Hackneys didn’t give up on music but they softened their tone a little and switched to reggae.
Fast-forward 30-ish years. Bobby Hackney now has grown sons of his own who are also musicians. David, Dannis and Bobby were so put off by the whole experience with Death(that sounds odd in a sentence no matter how you say it), that they never even mentioned it to their sons. Death almost faded away into musical history, until last year, when Bobby’s son Julian was at a party in San Francisco and heard a song by Death, instantly recognizing it as his dad’s voice. When Julian dug into the subject a little more, his dad decided to pull out their old tapes. Julian and his brothers, Bobby Jr. and Urian, were so blown away by the music their dad and uncles had played, they reformed their own band as Rough Francis to play as a Death tribute band- that should make any father proud! Several decades and a few crazy little twists later, and now a record label has picked up Death’s music and recently released an album- almost 35 years after it was recorded!
You might say what does this have to do with travel or adventure- and you’d be right, but what it does have to do with is attitude. We love free spirited go-getters and jet-setters, and trend setters. The Hackneys definitely fit this. The 1st song I found was “Keep on Knocking” -I played it over and over until everyone at the studio banned it-temporarily.
I guess the lesson here is a pretty obvious one: if you have something good, stick with it, “f”‘ what anyone else says. And, if it really is good, eventually the world will come around.
Venture Boldly.
The Long Version:
Read: the NY Times article.
Listen: Death, “Keep on Knocking”
Buy: the CD, “…For the Whole World To See.”
