Review: Pioneers of Portland Punk Exhibit at the Central Library

Sat July 20, 2024 - Multnomah County Library, Central Branch

Doug told me about this one. We met at 1:30 at the coffee place across the street and headed up there, thinking the talking started at 2. Wrong! It was totally packed and the panel was deep into a discussion of their punk histories. We heard Toody laugh and it rang through the library, it was a welcome call! The panel was Toody, KT Kinkaid, Jerry A, Mish Bondage, Fred Noize, Mike King, and a few other people I think.

During the Q and A Penelope Houston talked about being a librarian at the SF Library, and starting their punk archive that was starting to have exhibits in the City. Someone else asked what bands the panel was into now, who they went to see; Toody talked about her upcoming shows but nothing from anyone else. The guy was surrounded by people in current punk bands, and I wanted to be the moderator at that point and say “Anyone who’s in a band right now raise your hand” so the curious could take note and find folks to talk to after. But, no one asked me.

I got a cursory look at the exhibit, but I was mostly intent on giving Janice Morlan, Multnomah County Librarian who made the exhibit possible and photographer a copy of It Did Happen Here. She sent a contact sheet of amazing early Poison Idea photos, and we used one in the book so I wanted to get a copy of it to her. Same for Mike King. I got to say Hi to Toody, Kelly, and some old comrades from KBOO before it got too overwhelming, and I went to kick it on the front steps.

I went back a few days later, when it was a library exhibition only and not an event, and was impressed! Not just the heavy hitters of Portland Punk, but way more of the regular artists and freaks and people who made the scene were included. A lot in the memorial section, sadly, but also poignantly. I love the old flyers covering the marble pillars like they were telephone poles, and didn’t have the right tools to add the flyer for an upcoming Noxeema show to the display, but I did think about it, and also asked a librarian for tape. They didn’t have any. I was proud that I did make the exhibition in a way. Alien Boy was a zine that Icky and I made in memorial to Jim Jim (inspiration for the Wipers song Alien Boy) - James Chasse who was murdered by the portland police Sept. 17, 2006, and the cover was on one of the fake flyer poles. Other things I liked were old business records of the clubs and a breakdown of how things actually worked. I love a map with string on it for more information! The inclusion of a can of aquanet hairspray and a DARE shirt probably helped for the context if you weren’t there, but the can of hairspray brought me back to that smell wafting in many of the dankest bathrooms of all time.

Thanks old punks for starting the scene. Thanks for holding onto the archival material until the mainstream caught up enough to care. Thanks to the library for hosting.