Punk rock culture in a preeminently average town Synonymous with American mediocrity, Peoria was fertile ground for the boredom- and anger-fueled fury of punk rock. Jonathan Wright and Dawson Barrett explore the do-it-yourself scene built by Peoria punks, performers, and scenesters in the 1980s and 1990s. From fanzines to indie record shops to renting the VFW hall for an all-ages show, Peoria's punk culture reflected the movement elsewhere, but the city's conservatism and industrial decline offered a richer-than-usual target environment for rebellion. Eyewitness accounts take readers into hangouts and long-lost venues, while interviews with the people who were there trace the ever-changing scene and varied fortunes of local legends like Caustic Defiance, Dollface, and Planes Mistaken for Stars. What emerges is a sympathetic portrait of a youth culture in search of entertainment but just as hungry for community--the shared sense of otherness that, even for one night only, could unite outsiders and discontents under the banner of music. A raucous look at a small-city underground, Punks in Peoria takes readers off the beaten track to reveal the punk rock life as lived in Anytown, U.S.A.

Punks in Peoria: Making a Scene in the American Heartland (Volume 1) (Music in American Life)

Arts & Photography

Barrett, Dawson

Wright, Jonathan

Music

University of Illinois Press

Product Description 
Punk rock culture in a preeminently average town\nSynonymous with American mediocrity, Peoria was fertile ground for the boredom- and anger-fueled fury of punk rock. Jonathan Wright and Dawson Barrett explore the do-it-yourself scene built by Peoria punks, performers, and scenesters in the 1980s and 1990s. From fanzines to indie record shops to renting the VFW hall for an all-ages show, Peoria's punk culture reflected the movement elsewhere, but the city's conservatism and industrial decline offered a richer-than-usual target environment for rebellion. Eyewitness accounts take readers into hangouts and long-lost venues, while interviews with the people who were there trace the ever-changing scene and varied fortunes of local legends like Caustic Defiance, Dollface, and Planes Mistaken for Stars. What emerges is a sympathetic portrait of a youth culture in search of entertainment but just as hungry for community—the shared sense of otherness that, even for one night only, could unite outsiders and discontents under the banner of music. 
A raucous look at a small-city underground, Punks in Peoria takes readers off the beaten track to reveal the punk rock life as lived in Anytown, U.S.A. 
 Review 
"A well-reported account of the local rise of and changes in punk music, blending overlapping histories with Barrett and Wright’s cultural commentary. " --Bill Knight, 
The Community Word\n"The enlightening, entertaining text blends scholarship with anecdotes; photographs of punk rockers add to the mix.This title will interest punk devotees, or readers interested in the intersection of music and sociology in America from rock and roll’s emergence to the present." -- 
Library Journal\n“ 
Punks in Peoria is among the best examples I’ve encountered of a book using scholarly methodologies that’s hugely accessible to any interested reader. Indeed, this text should be seen as a gold standard for academic writers who want to reach the public, with the University of Illinois Press as a key partner in this important work. " -- 
Louder than War\n&quot;Written with moshing, stage-diving energy, Punks in Peoria is the warts-and-all music history of a vibrant punk subculture that gave young people hope and life in the decaying American heartland of rural Illinois.&quot; --Foreword Reviews\n" 
Punks in Peoria isn’t just a deep, heartfelt dive into the punk subculture of America’s quintessential small city. It’s an exquisite map of how music flows through social structures and between generations. Essential reading for anyone interested in how art impacts life.”--Jason Heller, author of 
Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-fi Exploded\n" 
Punks in Peoria is free of jargon, centers the stories of the people who actually helped build the scene, and speaks to the experiences of the small cities and towns that have been the lifeblood of punk rock in the United States. It is a model for good research on punk."--Zack Furness, author/editor of 
Punkademics: The Basement Show in the Ivory Tower\n"One of the strongest legacies of the hardcore punk movement in America was its emphasis on the local and the seeding of the country with self-supporting scenes. Every town has a story to tell itself about itself and 
Punks in Peoria explores this in magnificent detail for the hardcore scene in Peoria, Illinois. While more storied scenes from bigger cities may get the most ink, this book shows how the ideals and power of the music penetrated every corner of the land but was only ever sustained by the grit and ingenuity of the people involved on the ground level. We need a book like this for everywhere."—Guy Picciotto of Fugazi 
 About the Author 
Jonathan Wright is a writer, editor, musician, and longtime veteran of the Peoria music scene. He is editor in chief at Peoria Magazines. 
Dawson Barrett is an associate professor of history at Del Mar College. His books include 
The Defiant: Protest Movemen

Punks in Peoria: Making a Scene in the American Heartland (Music in American Life)

In the tradition of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, an engaging account of the last half-century of political discontent The history of the United States is a history of oppression and inequality, as well as raucous opposition to the status quo. It is a history of slavery and child labor, but also the protest movements that helped end those institutions. Protesters have been the driving force of American democracy, from the expansion of voting rights and the end of segregation laws, to minimum wage standards and marriage equality. 
In this exceptional new book, Dawson Barrett calls our attention to the post-1960s period, in which US economic, cultural, and political elites turned the tide against the protest movement gains of the previous forty years and reshaped the ability of activists to influence the political process.
For much of the last half-century, policymakers in both major US political parties have been guided by the “pro-business” tenets of neoliberalism. Dubbed “casino capitalism” by its critics, this economy has ravaged the environment, expanded the for-profit war and prison industries, and built a global assembly line rooted in sweatshop labor, while more than doubling the share of American wealth and income held by the country’s richest 1 percent. 
The Defiant explores the major policy shifts of this new Gilded Age through the lens of dissent―through the picket lines, protest marches, and sit-ins that greeted them at every turn. Barrett documents these clashes at neoliberalism’s many points of impact, moving from the Arizona wilderness, to Florida tomato fields, to punk rock clubs in New York and California―and beyond. He takes readers right up to the present day with an epilogue tracing the Trump administration’s strategies and policy proposals, and the myriad protests they have sparked. 
Capturing a wide range of protest movements in action―from environmentalists’ tree-sits to Iraq War peace marches to Occupy Wall Street, #BlackLivesMatter, and more―The Defiant is a gripping analysis of the profound struggles of our times.

The Defiant: Protest Movements in Post-Liberal America

History

Americas

NYU Press

Teenagers were changing the world long before Greta Thunberg and Emma González became household names. Teenage Rebels provides a glimpse into the laws, policies, and political struggles that have shaped the lives of American high school students over the last one hundred years. Through dozens of case studies, Dawson Barrett recounts the strikes, marches, and picket lines of teens all over the US as they demand better textbooks, start recycling programs, and protest the censorship of student newspapers. Using historically influenced artwork and accessible writing, this book is for anyone who has ever challenged the rules and wished for a better world.

Teenage Rebels: Stories of Successful High School Activists from the Little Rock 9 to the Class of Tomorrow (Scene History)

Teen & Young Adult

Social Issues

Microcosm Publishing

(We've All Got) Baggage: Envisioning an Ideal Community and Engaging It with Our Own Problems and Hangups (Scene History)

Biographies & Memoirs

Biel, Joe

Green, Joseph E.

Professionals & Academics

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