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Stage Diving into Sonoma County’s Early Punk Scene

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A stagediver flies over the crowd at the Cotati Cabaret during a set by punk band MDC in 1987. The band originated the chant “No War, No KKK, No Fascist USA” that would grow to become a staple at anti-Trump protests nationwide. (Murray Bowles)

Airdate: Friday, May 1 at 9 AM

When punk rock thrashed through the Bay Area in the 70s and 80s, there were some venues that became iconic hubs, like Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco and Berkeley’s Gilman street. But in rural Sonoma country, the scene was cobbled together in backyards, barns, and from fields with very long extension cords. Growing up in Santa Rosa, KQED’s arts and culture editor Gabe Meline was both a part of the punk scene and an obsessive collector of its flyers, zines, cassettes and ephemera. He’s now guest curated a new exhibit at the Museum of Sonoma County, Disturbing the Peace: Sonoma County’s Early Punk Underground. We talk to Meline — and check in those in punk scenes of other Bay Area towns — about the music and ethos of punk and why this young DIY movement against authority is so relevant now.

Guests:

Gabe Meline, senior editor, KQED Arts & Culture

Mike Park, owner, Asian Man Records - an independent label based in San Jose; member of the ska-punk band Skankin' Pickle in the 1980s and 90s

Matthew Kadi, photographer; played in punk bands in Fairfield and Vacaville in the 1980s and 90s

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