Fugazi’s ‘Instrument’ & My Feelings on DIY Punk Culture & Community
*Originally written October 4th 2010*
DIY has been a huge part of my life — the culture that inspires me the most, the community that supports and enables me and the ethos that strengthens me and gives me the confidence and courage to go ahead and make things happen.
The documentary ‘Instrument’ about the band Fugazi came at a good time for me, i just got back from tour, going to a week’s worth of shows at varying venues, communities and with all kinds of people in the audiences, showcasing the very best and worst experiences as a promoter and as a gig goer.
I’ve been attending DIY gigs for a fair few years now and since 2007 i have been active in putting on shows, setting up events and helping bands book tours across the UK and Europe. Recently i have only been focusing on touring, giving hosting shows up after many financial struggles and constantly being out of pocket and feeling like i’d let down bands by not being able to pay them more than just their basic travel expenses through door costs etc.
‘Instrument’ got me thinking again about all the amazing moments i had had at DIY shows and the power of being at a show where everyone feels safe, supported and able to have a good time surrounded by like minded people. In the film the band repeatedly would stop playing to address fighting in the crowd, to speak out about keeping fellow audience members safe and to encourage dancing and participation but to exclude violence, generally being aware of your actions around others, not injuring those around you unnecessarily. It’s all about respect. In once scene Ian McKaye pulls a man out of the crowd and makes him apologise for spitting at him. He then explains he is a human being and would politely now ask him to leave, he is then escorted from the stage. Another scene shows him speaking to the crowd at another show, he speaks slowly and clearly about an incident he witnessed in which a man attacked two other men for being gay. He then speaks to the audience in a sort of rallying chant ‘it is NOT ok to beat someone up for being gay, it is NOT ok to beat someone up for being black, it is NOT ok to beat someone up for being a woman, it is NOT ok to beat someone up, FULL STOP.’
Say what you want about Fugazi, or Ian McKaye or Guy Picciotto, at the end of the day, they’re human beings, everyone says and does things they will probably regret at some point and also, people change - the things they say may not be true to their future selves in different situations and lifestyles they find themselves in. For me, i like to try and look at things in the positive, try and grab whatever good intentions i can find from things and learn from them, to try and apply things that work or things that have enabled people safety or success and use them when working. There are a lot of things i would have done differently looking back, some things i sort of regret i guess, but you know, you have to find your feet and learn as you go, otherwise you’d spend your time worrying and analysing and not getting anything done, art and punk to me are about getting out there and just doing, it’s all about process.
To hear someone at a show say these things in today’s world would be great. I can’t remember the last time i heard someone address current affairs in such a manner before, during or after a show. In a world of constant scene scrutiny, competition and purity, i’m sure people may feel pressure to behave a certain way and in some ways, maybe even keep their mouth shut in fear of sounding preachy, un original or just off the mark.
A friend of mine recently said ‘my mum always said to us as kids, to always be nice to people regardless of who they are.’ It’s simple but it totally applies to a generalised blanket across life and society. No matter what scene you’re in, what political group you belong to etc if you treat people as human beings, celebrate their equality, freedom and efforts on the same level, then that’s a good start. To hear a male singer of a hardcore band address violence against women, queer people and people of colour directly and then blanket violence is not appropriate by any measure is remarkable and so important. Sometimes we imagine that everyone already knows this, everyone is aware of things that are good and bad, but this is not true. More and more, we are seeing communities white-washing and making generalisations on class, colour and academic levels, isolating and alienating people within them, communities that declare themselves liberal, left-wing, radical or politicised in some way. It’s also important to realise there are always new people coming into this, just like with the footage of Fugazi at the early shows and also the early shows of Bikini Kill, new thinking and ways to build and strengthen communities were just coming about, this was so important to everyone as a whole, the band and the audience as a group and also as individual people. There will always be new people arriving into these circles and events, people looking to understand what’s going on, looking to broaden their horizons, looking for something to be a part of they feel passionate about, It’s important we don’t just grow tired and apathetic, we need to keep on at what we feel passionate about, we need to keep working together to include people at every level and to try and call upon eachother to come together and work towards a safer community space, safer neighbourhoods, safer attitudes and a safer future. Violence should have no place alongside the word ‘punk’ today and any scene that accepts violence within it, is something i want no involvement in.
Whether it be physical aggression through supposed dancing, injuring fellow people around you or using terms to offend people, behaving in an aggressive way through your actions, words or thoughts is unacceptable and unless we keep on top of this and see this as important, this will continue.
At a recent show, i witnessed a band completely disrespect the equipment the headlining band was providing for everyone to use, a basic sort of DIY punk tradition; when playing a small venue and trying to keep costs down, one band generally will provide the big, bulky equipment and everyone will respect that and take care of it. When trying one’s hardest to put on a show, to shock and pull what you could probably equate to some sort of low rate GG Allin fan salute, i guess thinking of others, respecting your peers and focusing on positive action within communities goes out the window. To then hear (after jumping into said borrowed drumkit and bass amp equipment, cracking a bass flight case and using xenophobic and aggressive language to the band that supplied the equipment to share resulting in the headline band having to pull the show, not get to play and try and salvage the equipment to avoid shelling out their own money for someone else’s childish idiocy) that the singer of the band and primary perpetrator of this behaviour wrote online that the headliners were ‘un punk’ for their actions in pulling the show and taking the equipment from them mid-set.
This is exactly the reason why we have to be careful. This is violence. It is unacceptable and it is dangerous. We would expect this in the very places we exclude ourselves voluntarily from, the places we choose to turn our backs on and the places we use as examples in setting up safe spaces to perform, connect, communicate and share our art and passions.
This documentary drilled in me once more, the fuel and fire i had within me when deciding to become active in DIY, the need to move forward, the need to be amongst people who share the same passions and need for survival and respect. It has always been about the politics for me, working with venues who understand where we’re coming from, working with people who are supportive and calling people out on behaviours that are unsavoury and destructive. There are always times where things slip and there’s a fine line between controlling people and trying to enforce guidelines to benefit people.
In the last 10 minutes of ‘Instrument,’ the film-maker is interviewing a bunch of people after a Fugazi show, asking them what they think of the band, their ethos, music etc and one guy explains how, to him punk rock is about not giving a fuck, getting out there and partying, another says he is annoyed at McKaye who is trying to organise the audience and he was particularly pissed off at how they stopped playing if fights erupted or things looked dangerous. He saw this as regimented, a sort of holier-than-thou act.
What i’m trying to say here i guess, is that as my friend’s mum said, we should try and appreciate and understand where others are coming from. DIY came from politicised roots embedded in various denominations of soils, whether it be combating and rallying against racism, sexism, homophobia and any other kinds of bigoted opinions and violent behaviours. DIY culture is a protest in itself and as people either actively setting up shows, forming bands, writing zines, distro-ing records, attending shows, blogging about bands etc we need to realise our abilities and opportunities to speak our minds, to share our thoughts, to call out bullshit and negative/violent behaviours and strengthen our communities, keeping people safe and encouraging people to get our there and change the world around them. DIY is about getting active, calling for revolution from your bedroom, mum’s garage, lines in your zines, lyrics in your songs, images and words on your posters and most of all to celebrate and showcase self empowerment and expression.
