Going Underground: American Punk, 1979-1992 [Paperback]

George Hurchalla (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2006

The product of six years of work, this book by Eighties punk scene veteran George Hurchalla is one of the most comprehensive looks at the nationwide punk underground of the era. Featuring over 100 photos and a great deal of flyers, the book is graphically rich as well as a great read. Rather than trot out the usual suspects from LA, NY, and DC that are typically written about, Hurchalla delves deeper into the underground's underbelly to root out stories from Chicago, Philadelphia, Austin, Lawrence, Annapolis, Iowa, Cincinnati, Florida, and elsewhere.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An exhaustive look at the American punk scene from the So-Cal days to NoMeansNo. Good stuff!" -- James Mann, Big Takeover, November 2005

"Going Underground is the way books about punk should be written...An excellent stab at a complicated and interesting subject." -- Jeff Fox, Barracuda, Dec 2005

"what makes Hurchalla's book so important is that it captures the spirit of the movement, its idealistic sense of purpose" -- Jimmy Alvarado, Razorcake, October 2005

Hurchalla's efforts are impressive, given the fragmented and regional nature of American hardcore in the Eighties -- Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle, June 2, 2006

Hurchalla’s book serves as a window into a time and place where punk meant something completely different -- Encore Weekly, February 2006

Peppered with original show flyers and rare photographs, this anthropological perfect storm might leave latter-day punks thirsty at the trough -- John James, Cincinnati CityBeat, April 26, 2006

From the Publisher

Second Edition

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Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Zuo Press (February 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974733512
• ISBN-13: 978-0974733517
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,463,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For The Punks, By A Punk-- A true DIY project, July 22, 2006

By 

Marie Kanger Born (Chicago area) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Going Underground: American Punk, 1979-1992 (Paperback)

One of the more notable things about this book, that I don't think many people realize, is that it is a 100% DIY product. I got to know the author, George Hurchalla a little bit after he contacted me, wanting to use some of my photos in the book. George spent six years of his life researching, interviewing, writing, re-writing, editing and designing this book. Then he put up his own money to have it published. He doesn't just talk the talk... He walks the walk.

George felt that too much history was being repeated by the same few "usual suspects." He felt that lesser known participants should have their say. He wanted to introduce his readers to the smaller, lessor known scenes of the U.S.. It didn't all happen in just L.A., N.Y., D.C. and Boston, ya know. As George says, "Since punk rock was meant to be an anti-hero movement, it's a tragedy to let the winners write the history of it, and to make counter-culture heroes of people who were never meant to be anything more than inspirational peers."

This book is an exhaustive history of the punk/hardcore scene from the period of 1979 - 1992. George chose the time-frame arbitrarily. He felt that there was already a tremendous amount of history recorded about the first wave of punk from 1976 - 1980 and his ending at 1992 marks when he dropped out of the scene. "Going Underground" chronicles the rise of the punk/hardcore movement from the perspective of George's discovery of the music via his older, college-aged, brother. George was in high school when his brother brought home a Sex Pistols record. Bored with the standard, classic rock fare that was common in 1980, this music lit a fire in him. There's a great quote by Karen Allman of the Tucson band, Conflict, regarding her own intro to the Pistols that kinda says it all, "That's horrible! Play it again!"

George's personal narrative, combined with quoted stories from band members and scenesters weaves a fascinating account of the era. There is a tremendous amount of detail dedicated to the accounts from lessor known areas, such as my own mid-western area. I finally feel like my own hometown scene in Chicago has been more accurately represented, exposing us as a city with much more going on than merely the infamous Effigies/AoF feud. As the book states, many of us locals felt that the "personality conflict" between the two bands got too much attention at the expense of everything else that went on in our scene. Finally, finally, the stories of the lessor known bands are told. Finally, the voices of the average participants are heard.

Especially poignant was an account by Austin photographer, Geoff Cordner, regarding the misfit status of which most of us felt we belonged to:

"We were gathered out back in the alley after some kind of punk/new wave performance art thing - this was back before anyone made a distinction between punk and new wave. Everyone was drinking beer and nobody was saying very much because we were all a profoundly uncomfortable bunch - that was our common ground, it seemed - punk as a gathering of angry losers and rejects who, without sufficient beer in our systems, remained too uncomfortable with ourselves to really be comfortable with each other. It was a powerful thing just knowing there were others as f*ck*d up as you."

We came together and built our fledgling punk scenes for many differing reasons, but the one thing we all had in common was our dissatisfaction with the status quo. If the mainstream society wouldn't accept us, no problem, we created our own underground society. We wanted to break away from the old tried and true norms of just about everything we encountered. Our motivation was powerful, as George says, "Knowing that no one would ever put out our records for us, no managers would set up tours for us, no clubs would open their doors to us, no radio stations would play our music, and that situation would only get worse, a generation of punks took the steps necessary to have our voices heard the best we could."

I highly recommend this book, it's truly a great read. If you were a punk back then-- every page turn will bring you back into some memory. If you are a current punk- this is an accurate account of the times, a highly informative piece on the genre. It's a chronicle of punk history written FOR THE PUNKS, BY A PUNK. A true DIY project, so be sure to support the effort and buy this wonderful book!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the post-punk histories, July 24, 2006

By 

Chris (Angeles, Baby) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Going Underground: American Punk, 1979-1992 (Paperback)

Music is inextricably linked with autobiography. There are albums you love, not for the songs per se, but for the fact that the minute that first note hits the speaker, you're for a moment 16 again.

In "Going Underground", Hurchalla doesn't shy away from placing his own life front and center. The book isn't a band history, ala "Our Band Could Be Your Life", though it's full of fantastic quotes, stories and interviews from dozens of incredibly bands. The Big Boys, Naked Raygun, Articles of Faith, the Dead Milkmen, Scrawl, Minus Man, and hundreds of others fill every page.
It's not a taste of the indie gossip-mill, ala "Hardcore: a Tribal History", either. In total, it's a history of scenes, often focusing on those scenes you never heard of, like Lawrence, Kansas or Des Moins, Iowa. It's a history of punk and hardcore based on the people who made these scenes possible: fans, zine writers, musicians, club owners.

Above all, though, it's about Hurchalla himself. His journey through the hardcore scene is so full of awe and wonder and joy that the whole book comes alive in his stories. He jumps from reportage and interviews to short personal stories, nervy and quick like a Wire tune, that never fail to electrify.

In the end, like Azzerand's book, "Going Underground" reveals that this scene which, from the outside often seemed just angry and violent, was built on and held together by the love that these people had.

Plus, there's no way to have a bad book with the Randy Biscuits on the cover.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Going Underground is awesome!, July 28, 2006

By 

brian gta (california) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Going Underground: American Punk, 1979-1992 (Paperback)

This is the first book I have ever read by author George Hurchalla but if it is any indication of his writing skills and knowledge of the topics he covers then he has a bright future ahead of him in publishing.Going Underground is the rarely told (and often inaccurately I might add) story of the early US underground
hardcore punk music scene. Author Hurchalla not only talks
about his own experiences within this time period but also includes those of numerous other people who had been involved,and Hurchalla makes it a point to not just interview the same old people who have been quoted a million times before.The book is also filled with many never before seen photos of the era as well.What really made Hurchalla's writing special is the way he knows and understands his subject yet never comes off as another stuffy know it all "expert".This book is for anyone interested
in this music scene and will appeal to both the scene veterans
and the complete novices.I cannot recommend this book enough.