Cisco Villanueva of SCARBORO
Residing comfortably at the intersection of fear and madness. Fueled by punk rock. SCARBORO
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Why I play punk
Punk has certainly evolved over the decades. Now I’m not gonna get into one of those punker than thou discussions. People that go around shitting on Green Day for instance need to realize that they were doing the same shit the Descendents were doing a decade earlier. The only difference was that the punks of the older generation grew up and then hated on Green Day for “shitting” on something that was “theirs”. Maybe some of them were in unsuccessful bands and resented GD’s success. Whoever thinks punk shunned wanting to join the mainstream need to look no further than the Ramones or any of the godfather’s of punk, but I digress.
Regardless of what genre of punk you listen to there’s something about it that makes you wake up everyday and hit the play button on your music listening device of choice. I play guitar and sing for SCARBORO, we’re not reinventing the wheel —it’s just plain old in your face three or four chord songs most of which clock in at a minute thirty seconds.
Every generation needs its anti-heros and rebels and angry music. But no other genre out there, at least in my view, has captured all of that in one rubric. I’m fucking 30 years old in a new punk band. It’s a fucking uphill struggle. Yeah we’re old. We all played in bands that you probably never heard of. So why bother?
Because it’s my life. When I was a fucked up kid, feeling alienated etc., all it took was a few grinding chords and snotty lyrics to make me realize I’m a whiny little shit. There’s an entire community out there that feels like me, and when we’re at a show, none of that bullshit matters. You lose yourself in that moment. Some of my favorite memories are from the floor of some show or another about to get my face accidentally stepped on after slipping on sweat, beer or God help me, probably some drunk’s piss.
Maybe I’ll never get to play a show for a crowd that big and share that experience with someone else who may need it, but fuck it I’m going to try. I’m going to write songs and music inspired by fun and fucking and loss and hope and despair, probably not heartbreak because this isn’t a post titled why I play emo, and hope someone likes it. That’s why I play. Even if just one person really digs what we do, then we succeeded. I love browsing forums and seeing one no name band reaching out to other no name bands somewhere in the country and getting a show going or finding a place to crash. Maybe it doesn’t always work and their are some assholes out there, but it’s like a big fat fucking dysfunctional family.
When I was in college a good buddy of mine was killed by a drunk driver. For his funeral Bro Hymn was played non-stop, and he was a huge Anti-Flag fan. When Pennywise came to town they invited us on stage and let us dedicate Bro Hymn to our fallen friend, and Anti-Flag played one of his favorite tunes when they swung by. Good luck getting Brittany Spears or some one of that magnitude to do that. Those guys didn’t have to do anything, but they did and I know none of us that were there will ever forget that. There really was no divide.
So whatever I’m rambling and I apologize. All I’m trying to say is I love punk rock. I’ll probably be 70 years old and still trying to get a band off the ground and even if at that point I never played a stage bigger than a small bar, I’ll be happy because I do what I love.
Born Again Non-Believer
Divided Heaven video for Born Again Non-Believer
Treat your ears right. Listen to this album.
(via juliasegal)
(Source: scarboropunks)
