Show explores punk salvation
Joe Sib of 98.7 FM’s punk rock show “Complete Control” will perform “Broken Word” at Largo on Jan 6.
By Katie Meschke
Jan. 3, 2010 9:00 p.m.
For those of us who weren’t around to experience the golden age of ’80s punk, Joe Sib’s spoken word concert “California Calling” can be a way to travel back to the period when rockers rebelled and rebels rocked. The Jan. 6 concert at Largo will feature spoken stories told by Sib backed by photos by a wide array of punk and rock photographers.
Sib, who grew up in Northern California, has gone from young boy too afraid to go into the skate park to owning SideOneDummy Records, home of the likes of Flogging Molly, Anti-Flag and The Gaslight Anthem. The journey from past to present has featured Sib rocking out in various bands, going on tours and of course, collecting stories. Sib threw down his tales on a CD, which he then gave to friends, who insisted he share the stories live.
“My spoken word isn’t something serious that will change the world. It’s about growing up in California and how punk rock saved my life and brought me to where I am today,” Sib said.
Though Sib expected his stories about partying with Joe Strummer of The Clash and other rockstar-esque stories to excite the audience, he found the story of his parents’ divorce, seen through a humorous lens, to hold the most weight with listeners.
“The thing that everyone shares in more than punk rock is the breakdown of the family and how that really throws a wrench into everything,” Sib said. “In the ’80s kids were discovering different things, and I discovered punk rock. I think that was the thing that saved me from … being a bored kid … I was really angry at my parents for getting separated, but I didn’t know how to express it. So to shave my head or dye my hair or get a Mohawk, that was the next best thing.”
Some of these phases of Sib’s life and the musicians that affected him so greatly will be illustrated in the form of a slideshow. Lisa Johnson, rock photographer, will contribute several photos that not only reflect on Sib’s stories, but also offer another window into the world of punk.
“If you’re looking at a photograph and you have an emotional response or you feel something, then hopefully in that regard it is similar (to music). Hopefully by looking at it you can get an essence of what the music is like,” Johnson said. “Music speaks to me, and I’m so drawn to music as an outlet of expression, and I connect with it so well that it became natural for me to document things around me.”
The music being the main point of revolution for Sib, he found skateboarding to be inextricably tied to punk.
“As much as I like punk rock because it’s an individual thing, skateboarding was the same. There wasn’t any coaches, there wasn’t anyone. It was just you and your friends in a backyard pool or ramp,” Sib said. “Everyone, good and bad, can skate together. That ran parallel with punk rock. It was the home for the unwanted.”
Jesse Malin, fellow musician and longtime friend of Sib, will be opening the concert with an acoustic set. Malin also found what many thought to be a rebellious attitude an integral part to their freedom.
“It’s the outsider’s coming-of-age story … We were driven from our homes and places that might have been a little more normal and a straighter way of living by music to go for something more on the outside,” Malin said. “The music spoke to us, and when it speaks to you, you have to go and do things. Sometimes people don’t always approve, and people question you. You have to listen to your heart.”
Often, Sib finds that listeners have very similar stories to his own, all stemming from music and the life that surrounds it.
“Whenever I’ve gone through a bad time, whenever I’ve gone through a good time, there’s always been music associated with those feelings,” Sib said. “When you walk out of the show, you go with a different take on how important punk rock was to certain people. This story is one chapter in a thousand stories people have.”
