When I was a mini-proto-krusty-skater-travel punk, in the 90’s, I went to a handful of DIY punk and hardcore shows. The self-produced culture and autonomy involved always intrigued me. Growing up in NY’s Hudson Valley, I would end up in spaces like ABC No RIo for Saturday matinee’s or riding in the car for hours to drive another state away for a basement show of touring or local bands.
Plenty of fanzines documented “the scene”, provided advertising and promotion of the independent activities, and were outlets for the philosophy of Punk. In the Northeast Slug and Lettuce, with its incredibly tiny print, was a loud voice of the community. I frequently read the columns, consistently about seasonal mood swings, the record and zine reviews, and Fly’s comics. The values represented in S&L contributed to my budding anarcho-punk lifestyle. I was humored to learn that Christine Boarts Larsen, S&L’s creator, has started an online archive of Slug & Lettuce.
You can search through the countless photos of live bands shot by Christine, from 1998-2006. and you can also catch a glimpse of some earlier artwork by my contemporaries. A handful of Cristy Road illustrations are available as well as my comrade Meredith Stern.
It’s entertaining to look back at the images and artwork. To gauge our progression and pay tribute to the culture we created. It’s a refreshing reminder that resistance can be fostered in subcultural “scenes”. Maybe not evident, in these images, to anon-participating viewer. Yet it was at these shows that I became informed about countless political campaigns which led me many years of different forms of activism, and currently political printmaking!

Since I became a rubber tramp and have been a house punk for years now, I look forward to seeing the earlier S&L years images.