They say that if you remember Woodstock, you weren’t there. How sad. I do, however, remember Punk Rock and how this musical genre was a big part of my youth.
It was a decade after the birth of Punk before I would be exposed to and identify with this subculture.
The highlight of a recent Las Vegas trip was to experience the Las Vegas Punk Rock Museum.
Guided Tours
What better way to visit to this expertly curated hall of memories than a guided tour by legendary musicians such as members of NOFX, Social Distortion, Adicts, Bad Religion, Dead Kennedys & The Sex Pistols, just to name a few.
Our guided tour was with Todd Morse of The Offspring who took us through the museum sharing stories that made the images come alive with context. Todd even got Noodles on Facetime to say hi to our group and squeeze in one more story out of him.
The Experience
Before our start, we had a quick Shamrock Rebellion Nitro Irish Stout by Flogging Molly from the Triple Down bar, covered in band stickers for ambiance.
The tour started in a room with images and quotes from some of the legends of the scene, giving us a sense of how this music genre impacted and even saved lives…while also taking some away.
At the start of the exhibit is a large picture of Joe Strummer with a very young harmless Harley Flanagan (Cro-Mags), whom Todd would point out along the tour, noting his gradual evolution into one of the scariest individuals on the scene.
We started with CBGB’s, The Ramones and early NYC images, clothing and memorabilia.
I was enthralled by such an extensive collection of iconic bands, venues and artifacts of a genre that inspired so many to start a band.
Room after room, we witnessed the evolution of the scene, where the UK also gave birth to its own flavor of Punk, and the divergence into sub-genres such as Ska-Punk, Pop-Punk, Hardcore, Emo, and Irish Punk to name a few. Granted, some Punk purists might not classify these as true Punk, but I disagree. Music does evolve, and having the whole spectrum of genres just shows what an impact their early Punks had on music.
A wall of leather jackets captured the sweat of those who sought to make an art statement with DIY attitude.
You could take a seat on a couch that Kurt Cobain used to nap on, during recording sessions.
A chill space was devoted to Social Distortion as clips from Another State of Mind played on a large TV. A wall was devoted to Joe Strummer and The Clash, where you can see a handwritten lyric sheet of London Calling, while another displayed the Zines of the time.
You could touch Lemmy’s amp stack or see a recreation of NOFX’s jam room is sometimes used for very loud live performances.
Up the stairs, you cross a Tattoo Parlor, complete with band related designs, if one wishes to get a lasting souvenir. I opted for a t-shirt.
Have you dreamt of playing on the very instruments of your heroes? The jam room has guitars of many performers, which you can pick up and play.
In our group was a member of The School of Rock, who asked for Pat Smear’s guitar. After thinking about what to play, he started with In Bloom by Nirvana…nice!
The tours ended where it started, the gift shop for take home memories.
Conclusion
While our guide Todd confessed that he didn’t have encyclopedic knowledge of all the artifacts, his tour made these come alive with stories as he pointed out certain ones, like Pat Smear’s Grammy Award which has a rule about not having one of these on public display…how punk rock!
Both my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our experience at The Punk Rock Museum, which ended up being the highlight of our recent trip. In fact, the Arts District became our favorite part of the city, without all the cheesiness of the Strip, or even Old Vegas.
Want a Rum cocktail in a pirate bar? Need a thrift store find? Farm to table meal? Speakeasy anyone? The Arts District has it all, including The Punk Rock Museum, a memory mecca.
Writer: Randal Wark is a Professional Speaker and MasterMind Facilitator with a passion for live music. You can follow him on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. His Podcast RockStar Today helps musicians quit their day jobs with out-of-the-box advice from Ted Talk Speakers, Best Selling Authors and other interesting Entrepreneurs and Creatives. He created the Rock Star Today Music Business Jam Session for musicians. Randal is a collector of signed vinyl, cassettes and CDs.
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