In CrustWe Trust!

(Crusties)

So, in light of this past weekend’s show of Tragedy and From Ashes Rise, I have not been to a crust punk show in a while. Since leaving Texas I have not met many people into the music up here in Portland, which struck me as odd since it seemed like it was the Crust Mecca in the early 00’s. What’s crust punk you may ask?? Well you know those individuals who are the vegan eating, all-natural living, cigarette smoking, back patch wearing, non-showering, odor stenching, hair dreadlocking, septum piercing, street living, hooch making, train hopping, anarchist loving, GOP hating, pamphlet giving, food not bombing, sometimes begging punk rock kids?? Well if you do or you don’t, they are the ones who make crust punk music. Now that may not necessarily describe the sound but it does give you an image of what the core fan base that the style is name after is like. (Note: Crusty punks are a specified population amongst crusties, as not all crusties are punks. Crusty punk could also be synonymous with the term gutter punk)

So with all that being said, there are a lot of fans of crust punk that don’t fit into that image, at least all of those qualities. I consider myself a fan of the crust punk, and would say most all of those things minus a few (you decide) do not describe me. It is the music that has drawn me in, and for the most part the message as well. I consider myself a pretty leftist individual, and most crust bands have adopted that political ideology, and some of them take it to the left leaning extremes. The lifestyle that comes with being a crusty can involve many different things, but let’s first examine the squat.

(Squat)

Ahhhhhh good ole Squats… a common place of residence for crusty punks, street kids, old hippies, hobos and crack heads (noted all of the above could also describe one individual). Squats vary from place to place and town to town, but the common principle is you have a place that a whole bunch of people are staying at without paying rent. As you can imagine it does not present for the cleanest of living environments. On a given day you could find a 17 year kid vomiting up loads of free vegan food he ate at food not bombs off the side of a dirty mattress after he had decided to rage a little too hard on some Night Train and Tylenol pm, or a scraggly lookin' dude named Troll whose missing a couple of teeth and shooting up in the corner and then promptly wetting himself. You would probably find a lot of dogs, stray or claimed, walking around and defecating. Don’t expect electricity or running water either, but every now and then you might be in luck do to timing or craftiness. If you decided to walk around just make sure to wear your shoes.

(an alright squat)

There are some alright squats, and some folks do ok limiting the complete dirtbaggery to a minimum, but it’s kind of hard to regulate a place no one owns, unless you got some muscle. Squats could definitely be a violent place, and crusty punk kid’s aint always the roughest of cats. Sure they talked like they could handle their own, but most of these kids are suburbanites who are rebelling against mommy and daddy republican-corporation lifestyle so they decide to skip out on a train or runaway with their older heroin addicted significant other named Kraven(male or female) to live in a roach infested house that is falling apart. They didn’t grow up in the streets and sure as hell can’t handle themselves as well as those who did. Needless to say when you are squatting, you don’t start shit with someone who has been stabbed 4 times and has a rusty screwdriver in his hand.

(Squat)

So what kind of buildings are squats in? Any kind of building! It could be a shitty apartment complex, an old factory or warehouse, a foreclosed business or house that has been vacant and pretty much given up on, and so forth. Squats for the most part don’t last too long, and will eventually get busted up, or ratted out. Police are known to come in and bust it up with some baton action, and crusty smashin.

When away from the squat you will rarely find a “true” crusty punk working, as most have smells and appearances that would prevent them from getting the most basic of jobs that our society has to offer. More likely you will find them on some sidewalk, alley way or street corner, usually in proximity to a venue, shelter or popular drinking strip, hanging out with a small group and multiple dogs (93% of crusty owned dogs are pit-bull mixed breeds). They will usually ask for some change or to bum a smoke, and aren’t too persistent if you just keep walking and shrug your shoulders and give a look of “sorry brah, just smoked my last one”.

(Street Kids probably smokin'

Crusty punks are stereotypically smelly (it’s kind of hard to shower when you live in a place with no running water), and their clothes are worn for long periods of time without the use of cosmetic odor enhancers. Crusty’s are also known to be of the freegan lifestyle at times, although I feel most will eat meat as long as they aren’t the ones paying for it. Crust punks like to wear black… but I guess so do Goths. Either way the lifestyle of crustys does vary, the thing that they all have in common usually is the love of crusty punk.

So while there is this image and stigma that accompanies the styles name and the people who are usually associated with it, crusty punk is one of my personal favorites of the punk rock genus. Crust punk is the evolution of d-beat, anarcho punk, and certain styles of metal melding into one. That in combination with lyrics that typically surround bleak views, and sociopolitical themes, with topics such as animal rights, militarism, feminism, oppression, and fascism commonly found, all come together to create a fuel angst brand of punk that is unforgiving and unmistakable

(Discharge)

Tracing back the roots, you would probably find the beginnings of crust punk in the bands Discharge and Crass, two seminal English punk bands that helped to develop punk rock in a more intense direction. When you think of English punk initially you probably think of Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned, X-Ray Spex and The Buzzcocks. Musically and ideologically, Discharge and Crass took what their predecessors were trying to do, and made it more of a punch in the stomach rather than a slap on the wrist. Crass with their unique sound in combination with political commentary paved the way for anarcho punk, while Discharge produced a heavy and faster sound characterized by a prominent distorted bass tone known as D-beat. Japanese Hardcore and early Black Metal were to other influences on crust punk, especially in terms of vocal sound.

(Amebix)

Crust Punk emerged in the mid 80’s with bands like Amebix and Hellbastard leading the charge and they were the some of the first bands to actually be labeled crust punk. This was followed by more and more British band, Euro and especially the Scandinavian punk rock scene produce a large amount, and eventually America started to produce some great crust records. The scene itself started to blend and merge with other underground extreme forms of music such as the likes of grindcore, powerviolence and thrash. Crust punk had an influence on all of those scenes in sound, but especially in imagery and philosophically.

(From Ashes Rise looking Fashionable)

So, I know that I have painted a dirty image of crust punks, and it is true that there are a number that fit that description, but there are a lot of exceptions to the overall stereotype found amongst a large scene. Overall though I would say the crowd you may find at a crust punk show a bit more diversified, and probably only a small percentage of them are actually true “crusties”, in the more complete definition. There a lot of individuals who dress in the general crust image, which is pretty much the common idea of a punk look, have the general crust ideals, and just not be on the streets, as stenchy or jobless. You will also find crust attracts fans of metal and other harder oriented music. There are the “crusty punks” who have the general image, but you can tell they take care of their image and hygienically are more “on top of things” so to speak.

(Amy Miret from Nausea)

One other observation I have had from my time at crust punk shows is that there are more females involved than other types of hardcore punk, and that there is a fair amount of cute women. For myself, there is something kind of sexy about a crusty girl who has a pretty smile, and has a well-kempt appearance. Some have the potential to have been cheerleaders or sorority sisters, but they chose a more interesting outlet and social scene.

A lot of “crust punks” involved in the scene do have jobs, or some form of income (i.e. trust funds, drug dealing). A lot are involved with bands, labels, social causes, or can be found bartending, piercing, tattooing or other professions more acceptable for a dirgy look. A lot have their own places which range from a legit house or apartment to an empty warehouse they rent out and have turned into some form of a squat. So while there is this general image of crust punks being dirty and smelly, the glove may not always fit so tight (sometimes a little large, or small). The scene today varies in image, and it is still the music that draws in the various crowds.

Today it is still a relatively underground form of music  in what is still an underground scene (the hardcore punk scene in general). It makes sense, a lot of the music is very lo-fi, grimy sounding, and just can be a blast of noise (all of those can be great things). I can see it taking a specific musical palate to stomach a lot of the bands, and while I enjoy quite a bit of it, there are those that exceed most of the other in quality of release. I would find it hard to understand someone not liking Tragedy’s “Vengeance” (possibly my favorite release of the 2000’s), but there are a lot of people that just aren’t into it. Crust punk will always be an underground form of music, it doesn’t have the traits that would open it up to mainstream enjoyment, and that is how most crust punks and the bands like it. I understand that logic, you have something you enjoy and feel is untainted, and you help to mold it in a direction that will keep it that way. It is funny to see scenes fluctuate in popularity, and I feel there was a trend for a while to be on the crust bandwagon (probably around the time that Tragedy album came out), but I have been out of the loop for a while. The Tragedy/From Ashes Rise show was pretty packed, so there scene is still going in Portland, so get dirty, stay smelly, and enjoy this mix of delicious crust covered punk. 

Link: SFMTC Vol 13 - In Crust We Trust!

SFMTC Vol. 13 - In Crust We Trust! 

01. Tragedy - Conflicting Ideas

02. Totalitar - Kannibalerna

03. Aus Rotten - American Ethic

04. Electro Hippies - Sheep

05. Amebix - the Church is for Sinners

06. Discharge - The Blood Runs Red

07. Hellbastard - Death From Above

08. Antisect - Your Standard, Your Law

09. The Holy Mountain - Genocide

10. Doom - Police Bastard

11. Man is the Bastard - Blood Gutter

12. Wolfbrigade - In Darkness You Feel No Regrets

13. His Hero is Gone - Scare Tactic

14. Warcry - Mania for War

15. Copout - Burned Up

16. Union of Uranus - Pancea

17. World Burns to Death - ...In Fear of Your Bombs

18. Bastard - Misery

19.- Born Dead - The Last to Starve 

20. Disfear - The true face of war

21. Nausea - Inherit The Wasteland

22. Severed Head of State - An All-Consuming Void

23. Dropdead - Nazi Atrocities

24. Anti-Cimex - Smell Of Silence

25. Deviated Instinct - Mechanical Extinction

26. Crass -  Where Next Columbus_

27. Deathreat - Consider it War

28. Antischism - Salvation or Annihilation

29. Extreme Noise Terror - Bullshit Propaganda 

30. Disrupt - Subject to Suffering

31. Deathside - Cut The Throat

32. Dystopia - Green Destroyed

33. Capitalist Casualties - Drug Culture

34. Disclose - War is Insanity

35. Skitsystem - Pain