Images

Flipside Video Fanzine No. 1 (1984)

Established in August 1977, FLIPSIDE fanzine covered the early L.A. punk scene. The first issue featured an interview with Eulogy and performance reviews for The Quick and Devo.

One of the more successful publications to emerge from the first wave in the U.S., FLIPSIDE evolved from a small-run, photocopied zine to a glossy newsprint with worldwide distribution. After a 23-year run, the publication folded in 2000.

Since debuting his zine in April 1979, Henry “Wild Dog” Weissborn exchanged news about the Houston and L.A. scenes with founding editor Al “Flipside” Kowalewski.

In 1984, FLIPSIDE began releasing video fanzines featuring live punk performances and interviews with both local and touring bands. The first of the series featured live shows and recordings from Social Distortion, the Vandals, Black Flag, and the Circle Jerks and an interview with M.D.C., an original Austin punk band that relocated to San Francisco.

flipside-video-no-1
(Media courtesy of Wild Dog Archives.)

Dead Kennedys Shut Down the Island (1983)

The Dead Kennedys headlined the last show at the Island in Houston on May 14, 1983.

According to “A History of Houston Punk Rock Fanzines” by Henry “Wild Dog” Weissborn, which was published in PUNX, the Island officially closed in April 1983.

dk

(Flyer designed by Tom Bunch; courtesy of Wild Dog Archives.)

Josefus and An End to LSD-Laced Oranges at Milby Park (1970)

Prior to Houston’s first wave punk scene, the city held its own during the psychedelic underground of the late 1960s, with legendary venues such as Love Street Light Circus downtown and its own version of Woodstock in Milby Park every Saturday and Sunday.

Local psych and garage rock bands performed for free on the rolling hill where nearby trees concealed coolers full of LSD-laced oranges. The venue at Milby Park ended abruptly, once again under the boot of an antagonistic HPD.

Formed in Houston in 1969, Josefus was a latecomer to the Houston psychedelic circuit, which included 13th Floor Elevators and Red Krayola, two of the most notable Texas acts from this era. Playing at Milby Park and other local venues, Josefus’ darker experimental sound bridged acid rock and blues-infused Southern rock; however, the sound was not harmonious with Summer of Love psychedelia.

Dead Man, the band’s first full length album, was released in 1970. While the band dissolved shortly after this debut, it was revived again in 1978 with a new lineup, and Josefus released several singles on its own Hookah label. Josefus continues to perform sporadically as of 2013.

Simultaneous to Houston’s earliest punk bands, WILD DOG zine acknowledged the garage and psych rock music that influenced — yet created a rift within — the newest wave.

josefus-1
(Media courtesy of Wild Dog Archives.)

Christian Oppression at Paradise Island (1979)

Christian Oppression, the second iteration of Hates frontman Christian Arnheiter’s band, perform at Houston’s Paradise Island club in 1979.

christian-oppression

(Photo by Glen Brooks; contributed by Christian Kidd.)

Wild Dog Zine: The Hates on Destruction at the Island (1981)

“In the past there have been alot [sic] of situations where people were up and pogoing, but there has never been fist fighting and destruction as went on at my last two shows. There were things being thrown at us, and I liked it.” — Christian Arnheiter on performing at the Island, WILD DOG #5 (1981)

Christian Arnheiter formed Guyana Boys Choir with bassist Robert Kainer and drummer Mike McWilliams in 1978. The band’s first live performance took place December that same year as an opening act for Louisiana Zydeco performer Clifton Chenier, at the downtown Masonic Temple.

Guyana Boys Choir was short lived, and Arnheiter regrouped as Christian Oppression with drummer Glenn Sorvisto and bassist Ed Felch. The band was renamed The Hates after Kainer rejoined Arnheiter. The Hates’ first two EPs were recorded at Wells Sound in Houston in 1979 on the band’s private label, Faceless Records.

“The punk scene in Houston is systematically suppressed,” Christian Arnheiter said in WILD DOG #1 (April 1979). Arnheiter commented in a 1981 interview (pictured) with WILD DOG that punk shows were becoming more violent at the Island — and that he enjoyed this response.

“There’s a punk crowd in Houston, and this is part of that hardcore crowd,” he said. “It’s building up; before you just had a few people going crazy in the crowd. There seems to be different factions, too…they really didn’t get along, and I thought it was great.”

hates (2)

(Original galley courtesy of Wild Dog Archives.)

Grass Roots Activism, Rock Against Racism (1979)

Before WILD DOG zine, Henry Weissborn, a sociology student at the University of Houston and President of the Direct Action Committee (Yippie Chapter), edited the organization’s underground zine, ULTRA (1978-1979), which covered civil disobedience, gay rights, feminism, marijuana reform, anti-nuclear campaigns, and the counterculture.

In 1979, Weissborn booked New York’s Joy Ryder and Avis Davis to headline a Rock Against Racism (RAR) outdoor concert/event at the University of Houston. The Yipster organized show was cancelled at the university campus, and the lineup was rescheduled at the Paradise Island club. Houston’s first RAR concert on April 1, 1979, featured first wave punk bands Really Red, Legionaire’s Disease, and Christian Oppression (The Hates). Vast Majority, a band Weissborn later joined as Henry “Bad Guitar” and helped to produce its only release on Wild Dog Records, made its first appearance at the venue, as did AK-47.

ULTRA #4, Weissborn’s last issue, covered Houston’s emerging punk scene in its last pages and notified readers about an April 1 “Be In.” Only weeks after the RAR showcase, WILD DOG #1 debuted in April ’79.

“We’ve only just begun,” Weissborn said in his inaugural Editor’s Note in WILD DOG. “The Houston punk scene is getting off the ground…the April 1 Rock Against Racism brought out virtually all the punk bands in town. Wild Dog hopes to keep the heat on!”

wilddogyearbook

(Students of the University of Houston. Houstonian 1977 – Seniors: Voigt – White. Houstonian Yearbook Collection. Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries.)

Caught on Tape: Legionnaire’s Disease, Ruse and Christian Oppression (1979)

Legionnaire’s Disease, Ruse, and Christian Oppression at Rock Island and Old Plantation — two of Houston’s earliest punk venues — in April and September 1979. This tape is from Dale Brooks (pictured) of Houston’s Video Boyz.

PHOTO CAPTION: “I’d throw up if I knew which way was up.”
Disease
(Media courtesy of Wild Dog Archives.)

Hymnal No. 1 and 2 (1981)

HYMNAL, a punk and hardcore fanzine originally headquartered in Houston, debuted in December 1981. The first three issues were based on the Houston scene, after which the publication relocated to Austin. Its fourth and final issue was published in 1982, with featured coverage of Houston and Austin bands.

The full run, Nos. 1-4, can be accessed in the private archives of Henry “Wild Dog” Weissborn.

hymnal

(Images courtesy of Wild Dog Archives.)

Wild Dog Zine: X on Chicano Punks, L.A. and Selling Out (1981)

“Obviously, the scene we come from is gone. But we still believe in the whole thing…All the bands in L.A. that started out three years ago are still doing what they believe in and they don’t do it for money.” — Exene (interview with WILD DOG zine)

Henry Wild Dog sat down with members from L.A. band X in 1981, four years after its debut 45, Adult Books, was recorded.

In this exclusive interview, Exene Cervenka (vocalist) — with a copy of WILD DOG #4 in hand — and John Doe (bassist) discuss an appearance in the Decline of Western Civilization, Mexican punk bands in L.A. and Houston, feeling “creepy” about being on the road, the death of The Germs‘ Darby Crash and the band’s unwavering resolve to stick it out with an indie label. x-interview-wd-5 (1)

(Official galley courtesy of Wild Dog Archives.)