Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 11:53:16 -0700 From: Ralph Alfonso To: audities@smoe.org Subject: garage/punk Message-ID: Greg wow.... now, this brings up the question, when did "garage rock" come into general usage.... prior to the 77 punk explosion, 60s garage rock was known as "punk rock" by collectors, so when did punk switch from describing the 60s bands to describing the new 70s punk bands? was it the UK press? I doubt it. I'm not sure when the term came into vogue, but my guess is that the term "garage rock" was originally an Americanism. I've long thought that moving the family Oldsmobile, the bicycles, and the lawnmower into the driveway so that Junior and his teenage buddies can practice "Louie, Louie" in the vacated family garage was strictly an American phenomenon. (It could be Canadian, too, I guess.) (In my era as a teenager, the garages in my town resounded with stumbling tyro versions of "Smoke On the Water", "Rock and Roll All Nite", and "Slow Ride". And now a college friend of mine who lives out in the northwest suburbs of Chicago informs me that his neighbor's kids bash out Blink-182 and NoFX tunes in *their* garage. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.) If this was and is the preferred method of learning the rock'n'roll ropes for kids in the UK as it has been for decades in the US, I'm sure that the British Auditeers will chime in and tell us. But it's my impression that the ubiquitous detached carport of American suburbia was such a stereotypical rehearsal space for kids with guitars and drums that it naturally led to the invention of the terms "garage band" and "garage rock" on these shores. I'd be interested, however, in seeing if it really has been a more popular venue over the years than that other stereotypical home rehearsal space, the basement. Where did Auditeer musicians cut their teeth in their early bands, practice-wise? Gregory Sager