The Alternative Music Foundation located at 924 Gilman Street, often referred to simply as "Gilman", is a non-profit,[1]all-ages, collectively organized music club. It is located in the West Berkeley area of Berkeley, California.
As early as 1984, punk rock fan and Maximumrocknroll founder Tim Yohannan began thinking about the establishment of an all ages music space in the San Francisco Bay Area where bands could play and interact with audience members free of the structure of conventional music promotion.[2] Actual organizational work began in 1985, with Yohannan joined in the effort by Victor Hayden, who had previously started a parallel project to start a punk club in Berkeley and who had already located a promising space in an industrial section of Berkeley.[3] Although Yohannan initially had misgivings about the 924 Gilman Street location spotted by Hayden, he was ultimately persuaded that the building was a suitable space for the project which was envisioned.[3] Negotiations began with the landlord and in April 1986 a lease was signed.[4]
The organizing circle was expanded with a view to raising the $40,000 needed for rent and remodeling and for generating the volunteers necessary to make the construction project happen.[4] Yohannan made use of his political connections and experience gained as a campaign volunteer for Berkeley Citizen's Action Group, an organization which had won majority control of the Berkeley City Council, and was able to call upon friends sitting on various city boards, urging their cooperation with the new venture.[5] Berkeley mayor Gus Newport was supportive and project organizers took care of every detail into winning the tacit approval for the project from businesses and residents of the area.[6] The landlord also proved himself reliable and supportive of the goals of his new tenants.[6]
Tim Yohannan later recalled:
"We didn't know shit about construction, and people were coming out of the woodwork, just showing up and helping—people who had the skills we needed, carpenters, plumbers, electricians. We had to build new bathrooms, etc., and pass the inspections. We got our final approval from the city the afternoon of our first show, which was New Year's Eve, December 1986."[6]
Rent on the 2,000 square foot building was $2,000 per month at the time of the club's launch—regarded as a reasonable and manageable rate.[3]
On December 31, 1986, the first musical performance was held at 924 Gilman. Since then, it has been one of the longest-running independent music venues in the United States. The club slowly progressed as a mecca for punk youth to get away from everyday issues at home, work, government, etc.
In its initial phase, hardcore punk shows were held three days a week—on Friday and Saturday nights as well as Sunday matinees.[7] This quickly proved to be overwhelming for club volunteers, however, and as an alternative non-hardcore shows began to be run on Fridays by a separate crew of organizers.[8] These Friday shows were more poorly attended than the Saturday night and Sunday afternoon hardcore extravaganzas but nevertheless served their purpose of providing an alternative venue to bands seeking to escape the grim reality of 21-and-over bar shows while allowing core volunteers to avoid the burnout associated with excessive event scheduling.[9] This necessary scheduling adjustment had the serendipitous effect of diversifying and broadening the base of support for the 924 Gilman space.
Founding principles
As one early participant recalled, "in order to not be closed down by local police we had to have rules, such as no drinking in or around the club, no fighting, things like that."[10] This necessitated a regularized approach to security and resulted in events that were less violent than the 1980s hardcore norm, providing a more or less "safe environment" and sense of collective responsibility.[10]
Josh Levine, a long time punk rock fan, band member, and 1986 Gilman volunteer later recalled:
"There was something in the air, you could say, back then. A good feeling, or a sense of pulling together, and unity among people who just wanted to see bands that was free of sexism, homophobia, racism, and especially violence. Shows were not as safe then—there were shows I went to before Gilman where I got beat up... Shows where I went to jail, just for being a punk rock kid out after curfew. And worse, shows where I saw people getting beat up by skinheads, or jocks, and there was not a damn thing I could do about it if I wanted to stay healthy. Those were the kind of things that motivated us to get involved."[11]
Despite a few early incidents of vandalism, a fertile creative environment rapidly developed. The venue saw the first public appearance of Operation Ivy, a thrashing ska-punk outfit that gained nearly instantaneous local popularity,[12] and was a proving grounds for the young Green Day—the albums of whom helped to launch the Lookout Records empire of Larry Livermore and David Hayes. The eclectic sounds of this and other pioneer "Gilman bands" stood in contrast to the speed metal and ultra-aggressive hardcore which dominated the punk world during the middle 1980s.[13]
Staying true to the "independent spirit" was also a major component of the venue's philosophy, and many of the bands that started out at Gilman found themselves on the outs with the club after achieving mainstream success.[14] Green Day's song "86" from their album Insomniac is about being banned from the club after their major label debut Dookie was released.[15]
September 1988 closure
Although the Gilman "warehouse" provided a vital all-ages venue and spawned a vibrant local musical scene, its success was neither inevitable nor linear. On September 11, 1988, citing the "physical and emotional exhaustion" of volunteers, ongoing problems with vandalism, and financial difficulties resulting from a $16,000 legal award to a slam dancer who had fallen and broken his arm in the pit, and expiration of the building lease, Gilman shut its doors.[16] In a published eulogy by Tim Yohannan, Gilman was remembered as a fun place where "the old macho bullshit got attacked" and a stand had been made against "creeping racist and fascist crap."[16] The club's core volunteers were not despondent, Yohannan noted, and hoped to "arrange special shows at other existing venues" in the future.[16]
A note was scrawled on a scrap of paper and taped to the window by Yohannan, noting that the Gilman Street Project was "now closed permanently due to lack of the creative juices necessary to make it worthwhile."[17] Yohannan added that "apathy and taking Gilman for granted" had "led to a consumerist attitude" and that the decision had been made by core volunteers to "work together in other ways."[17]
Although the September closure spelled an end to Tim Yohannan's personal connection with the club, core volunteers almost immediately reorganized to launch a "new club" at the 924 Gilman location, based upon the core principles established by the previous venture.[18]
2016 boycott
In May 2016, members of the club's community anonymously called for a boycott of 924 Gilman in online posts over Facebook and Tumblr[19][20] citing several failures of the club in upholding its stated rules and ethics, notably a show featuring controversial hardcore punk bands Fang and Slapshot only narrowly being moved to an alternative venue, as well as allegations of sexism, transphobia and ableism made against some core volunteers at the time.[20]Maximumrocknroll expressed support for the boycott, with then-editor Grace Ambrose stating that "Gilman's actions run counter to the spirit that propels MRR."[19]
Bands with major label contracts, including AFI, The Offspring, and Green Day, are only allowed to play the club when membership approves that individual show,[21] a policy that enabled Green Day to play at Gilman again at least twice since they signed with a major label.[22] Many of the other bands which have played the club in the past are now defunct. The venue still serves the East Bay and Northern California hardcore scene by bringing local, national, and international acts to the East Bay.
A 2004 history of the club, 924Gilman: The Story So Far, was written and edited by Brian Edge, who collected memories and anecdotes from many of the seminal contributors to the club's day-to-day operations from 1986 through publication in 2004.[23] The book is available through AK Press and also contains a full list of Gilman's shows from 1986 through early 2004.
Jello Biafra incident
On May 7, 1994, an incident occurred in which former Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra was assaulted and injured. A group of rough slam dancers in the pit had been crashing into audience members.[24] In the process one of these individuals, said to be a man using the punk rock name "Cretin," knocked Biafra into a chair, with another rolling over his legs, causing serious damage to one knee and leg.[24] Biafra is said to have yelled an epithet at the individual who crashed into him and demanded that he produce identification so that he could be billed for whatever hospital costs would ensue.[24] A fight ensued, during which Biafra is said to have been knocked to the floor and held down, where he was kicked in the head by "Cretin."[24] During the incident others are said to have taunted Biafra, yelling "rich rock star" and "sellout."[24]
Police were called but "Cretin" and his friends escaped the premises in a van bearing Arizona plates.[24] Biafra was hospitalized, where it was determined that he suffered detached ligaments and a broken leg.[24] Biafra was also forced to cancel a scheduled spoken word tour as a result of the injuries he suffered.[24] Biafra held Maximumrocknroll indirectly responsible for the incident, claiming that his assailants were repeating allegations that he was a "rich rock star" made in a column which had recently appeared in the magazine.[24]
↑ Case, Wesley (May 3, 2013). "A brief guide to Green Day". The Baltimore Sun. Tribune Publishing. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
1 2 3 "The Gilman Street Project, Dec. 31, 1986-Sept. 11, 1988: RIP — The Spirit Lives!!!" Maximum Rocknroll, whole no. 65 (October 1988). Reprinted in Edge (ed.), 924 Gilman, pg. 78.
↑ Edge, Brian (2004). 924 Gilman: The Story So Far... Maximum Rocknroll. ISBN097556000X.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Tim Yohannan, "Something Ugly This Way Comes: Jello Biafra Beaten Up at Show," Maximum Rocknroll, whole no. 134 (July 1994), pp. 46–49 (MRR News pp. 1–4).
Eric Reed Boucher, known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and political activist. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys.
1,000 Hours is the debut EP by American rock band Green Day, released in April 1989 through Lookout Records. Through a shared interest in music, school friends Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt formed the band Sweet Children. With the addition of drummer John Kiffmeyer, the played at the local punk club 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California, where they started attracting a following. After playing a show with the Lookouts, one of their members, Larry Livermore, signed Sweet Children to his label Lookout Records. They co-produced their debut EP, 1,000 Hours, with Andy Ernst at the Art of Ears Studio in San Francisco, California, in early 1989.
Lookout Records was an independent record label, initially based in Laytonville, California, and later in Berkeley, focusing on punk rock. Established in 1987, the label is best known for having released Operation Ivy’s only album, Energy, and Green Day's first two albums, 39/Smooth and Kerplunk.
Maximumrocknroll, often written as Maximum Rocknroll and usually abbreviated as MRR, is a not-for-profit monthly online zine of punk subculture and radio show of punk music. Based in San Francisco, MRR focuses on punk rock and hardcore music, and primarily features artist interviews and music reviews. Op/ed columns and news roundups are regular features as well, including submissions from international contributors. By 1990, it "had become the de facto bible of the scene". MRR is considered to be one of the most important zines in punk, not only because of its wide-ranging coverage, but because it has been a consistent and influential presence in the ever-changing punk community for over three decades. From 1992 to 2011, it published a guide called Book Your Own Fuckin' Life.
The F.U.'s are a hardcore punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. They formed in 1981 as a three-piece band, released three records and appeared on the compilation This Is Boston, Not L.A. before changing their name to Straw Dogs in 1986 to market themselves as a heavy metal act. In 2010 The F.U.'s reformed under their original moniker.
Operation Ivy was an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California, formed in May 1987. They were critical to the emergence of Lookout Records and the so-called "East Bay Sound."
Mommy's Little Monster is the debut studio album by American punk rock band Social Distortion, released in 1983. The album is notably different in its tone and quality from the band's subsequent releases, featuring styles of traditional punk rock, both traditional hardcore and melodic hardcore, and pop-punk. This is Social Distortion's only studio album to feature bassist Brent Liles and drummer Derek O'Brien, both of whom were out of the band by early 1984 and would be replaced by John Maurer and Chris Reece respectively. The album received underground acclaim from punk rock fanzines, and it has been acknowledged as influential and inspirational to the then-burgeoning pop-punk and skate punk scenes.
Crimpshrine was an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California. The group was formed in 1982 by Aaron Cometbus, founder of the seminal punk rock zine Cometbus, and future Operation Ivy vocalist Jesse Michaels. They grew out of the East Bay scene, centered on 924 Gilman Street, and had an important influence on later East Bay bands such as Operation Ivy, Green Day and punk rock in general.
Tim Yohannan, also known as Tim Yo, was the founder of Maximum Rocknroll, a radio show and fanzine documenting punk subculture. He also helped in establishing a number of DIY collectives, such as 924 Gilman Street, Blacklist Mailorder, and the Epicenter Zone record store.
Lawrence Hayes, better known by his stage name Larry Livermore, is an American singer, musician, record producer, and author, best known as the co-founder of Lookout Records.
Isocracy was an American punk rock band from the Berkeley, California-area, formed in 1986. The band was one of the key bands in the MRR/Gilman Street project. John Kiffmeyer, who later went on to play for Green Day, was the drummer for the band. The other members were Lenny Johnson (guitar), Martin Brohm (bass) and Jason Beebout (vocals), who went on to form Samiam.
M.I.A. is an American 1980s punk rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. The band's sound is generally hardcore and thrash, though they produced more melodic and progressive sounds in their later albums. AllMusic called the band "one of the 50 best So-Cal punk bands of the great early-'80s second wave explosion."
The Mr. Roboto Project is a Do It Yourself (DIY) nonprofit volunteer-run cooperative venue and show space in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Since the fall of 2011, it has been located at 5106 Penn Avenue. The structure of The Mr. Roboto Project was modeled partially after the 924 Gilman St club in Berkeley, CA, combined with elements of the East End Food Co-op in Pittsburgh, PA.
Stikky was an American punk rock band, formed in Berkeley, California in 1985. The band was part of the 924 Gilman Street-scene. The group originally formed with the line-up of Todd Wilder, Chris Wilder (guitar/vocals), and James Porter (bass/vocals). Porter left Stikky in 1987 and was replaced by former No Use for a Name guitarist Chris Dodge. Stikky's songs are known for being hardcore punk yet still retaining the sense of humor that East Bay bands were known for. After the band stopped playing with any regularity, bassist Chris Dodge released some of their material on his own record label Slap a Ham Records.
Turn It Around! is a punk rock compilation album by Maximumrocknroll. Originally released as two 7-inch records in October 1987, it served as a benefit to raise money for the Berkeley, California DIY punk scene. The compilation featured the first appearances of many bands who would later become well known outside of the scene, including Operation Ivy, Crimpshrine and Isocracy. Due to the poor sound quality of the original 7-inch version, Turn It Around! was reissued by Very Small Records in September 1991 as one LP. However, the compilation is currently out of print and has never seen a CD release.
The Last White Christmas was a music festival held in Pisa, Italy on December 4, 1983. Several albums were released with recordings from the event. A 35th anniversary event was held in 2018.
KungFu Rick was formed in 1996 with founding members John Mendola (guitar), Bryan Margner (vocals), Ryan Durkin (vocals), John Biehl (drums), and Eric Kline (bass), who attended high school together in Elmhurst, IL, a suburb of Chicago. The name was created by Mendola during high school after brainstorming names and thought of "Kung Fu Grip", which later turned into a more randomized version of KungFu Rick. It was intentionally misspelled and remained that way for the majority of the band's releases. The band was a vital part of the local DuPage County Music Scene, one that the successful bands, Rise Against and The Plain White T's, emerged from.
Marian Anderson was an American punk rock singer in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. She was the lead singer of the band the Insaints and performed at the 924 Gilman Street project in Berkeley, where she was arrested for lewd and lascivious acts in 1993, claimed her acts were protected artistic speech, and was eventually acquitted. Anderson died of a heroin overdose in 2001.
The Fighters were an American pop-punk band from Chicago and part of the punk rock subculture of the Midwestern United States in the early 1990s. Formed in 1993, the band's style included guitar-driven, energetic punk with gang vocals and humorous lyrics. They embraced the DIY ethic in recording and releasing records on lead-singer Jason Mojica's Rocco Records label, booking their own tours, and organizing punk rock shows in non-traditional venues such as laundromats. Members of The Fighters were involved in creating the third edition of the Maximumrocknroll DIY resource guide, Book Your Own Fuckin' Life, and were active participants in the Underdog Records collective, which helped distribute Chicago-area punk music around the world.
Kamala Lyn Parks is an American drummer, songwriter, tour booker, and author from Berkeley, California. She played drums for Kamala & The Karnivores, Cringer, The Gr’ups, Naked Aggression, Hers Never Existed, and Plot 66.
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