Punk 101

Blanks 77 go back to the basics

by Don Fluckinger In the world of Blanks 77, Nirvana never happened. In their world, it's legal to intermingle punk rock with ska, pop hooks, and even speed metal riffs -- just not when they're playing on stage. This group play straight-ahead punk rock the old-school way: hit three chords hard and fast, sneer while spitting out the lyrics; and a show ain't a show without mass pogo-ing and slam-dancing. Although you've heard it all before, the group are a refreshing throwback in this era of genre-splitting when metal and punk carry so many different subsects and styles.

"There's pop-punk, there's hardcore punk, there's crusty-punk," says the band's guitarist, who on stage goes by her first name, Renee. She says her chief role models are the late Johnny Thunders (New York Dolls) and Joan Jett; as a band, Blanks 77 tip their hat to the late '70s early '80s groups the UK Subs and Social Distortion.

"We're punk rock like the Sex Pistols and the Ramones. Back then, there was really just one term for it. Nowadays, there's all different kinds of classifications, but to me it's all the same."

Their lyrics, like the old-school punkers', resonate with a younger audience: "Don't wanna be a part of your X generation/Ain't part of your new sensation/There's a fire burning in my eyes/Teenage aggression, no compromise," sings lead vocalist Mike Blank in "Void."

Their songs rage against authority, celebrate youth, and tell stories of an urban/suburban landscape littered with drugs, false prophets, and dashed aspirations. Just like the songs of the leather-and-spiked-hair set did 20 years ago.

Teenagers love the sound -- and why not? Blanks 77, who appear next Friday at the Espresso Bar, emulate groups who pretty much all came and went before most of today's teens were born, so it's new to them and beats the crap out of listening to Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, or anything else pop radio could possibly offer. And Blanks 77 capture the angst-powered chords and attitude that made punk great and turned the music world on its ear in the first place. Pop music served up mindless pap to teens back then, too. Comparatively, punk still sounds awesome.

"There's a cycle that you go through," Renee says. "If you really like music, you listen to the radio because that's what there is. And then every once in awhile the radio will play a Ramones song or a Sex Pistols song. It's actually a lot easier to get into nowadays because of the exposure it's had over the last five years. It's easier to fall into it. I think [teens] just get bored of everything else. Punk is honest. I think 15- or 16-year-olds can appreciate that, because they get lied to a lot."

Formed almost eight years ago in New Jersey, the land of the Misfits, the Blanks took the name when "blanks were all they could draw" while brainstorming for names. After one of their first gigs got some ink in a local magazine, another group called them and said they had already taken the name. So they added the "77" in commemoration of year that the first punk explosion occurred. They've picked up new fans along the way, touring with popular bands such as Rancid and Murphy's Law and younger up-and-comers like the Dropkick Murphys, the U.S. Bombs, and the Anti-Heros. They've also played with older bands like the Misfits, ska bands, and pop bands. So they're never sure exactly what kind of crowd will show up -- old and leathery Ramones types, wild-eyed new punk fans, or a curious mixture of the two.

"We played with the Misfits, so there are a lot of older people who liked the Misfits since '78-'79 that came to the show," Renee says, although that show was an anomaly: "Generally, the older people don't like the new punk bands because they feel that we're ripping them off, which we are."

It could be worse. They're not posers claiming the invention of punk, and they're not apologists for following so closely in the footsteps of the originals. The Blanks 77 know from whence they came, and harbor no illusions of their own grand innovation. Like the bands who are the most fun to watch, they have a great time playing their music. They enjoy it so much that they've outlived many other punk groups kicking around in the '90s who are capitalizing on the punk revival that's seen Green Day rise to prominence and the (ugh!) Sex Pistols reunion tour.

"Unlike a lot of other bands, we don't come out and say we're doing something completely new and `Look what we found out what to do!'" Renee says. "We know our influences. We know what the roots of punk music are, and we appreciate that."

The Blanks 77 play at 8 p.m. on May 8 at the Espresso Bar. Anti-Heros, Puking Toms, Bullyrag, and Dimwit also appear. Tickets are $8. Call 770-1455.