In 1976 rock 'n roll seemed like a dead thing.
The avenues of expression were being shut down. Rock 'n roll, which most of
all belongs to the youth, was closed off to them and was delivered to them as
a commodity by the corporate record companies. The established music business
decided what people could listen to, what records people could buy, which bands
people could pay to see. New ideas were seldom encouraged. People like Bill
Graham controlled the San Francisco music scene. They worked for/with the major
record companies to promote the latest "hot thing." Punk was a rebellion
against this situation. Punk wasn't concerned with being the next big thing,
it wanted to destroy the next big thing. Punk was about people expressing themselves,
being in control of their lives, and not having some corporation deciding what
they needed.
"If you were in a band in 1975 or 1976, you had to be in what
the "local scene" was at that time or there was nowhere to play. That's
why we started the Mabuhay. There was nowhere for anybody to go. We had to create
our own place to hang out, so that's what we did. Before Mabuhay I never hung
out in clubs because there wasn't a club scene. With the Mabuhay, you just went
there. You didn't care who was playing because you went to hang out."
Jeff Rafael, Nuns
"There was no music scene going on in San Francisco when me
and my friend, Steve, moved out here from St. Louis. We moved into this little
apartment by Cala Foods on Hyde Street. We couldn't play in the apartment because
of complaints, so we would go down to Polk St. and play for tips. That's where
I met Kowalsky and one of the guys from Crime, and other people who later became
part of the Mabuhay scene."
Jimmy Wilsey, Avengers
"In the lat
e Seventies before Punk, it was easier
for record companies to put out Donna Summer-type canned music, disco, "Love
to Love You Baby" kind of stuff. Club owners felt that as long as they
could get people to pay a door charge to dance, then why should they have to
deal with the expense of presenting live entertainment?
"The places that had live bands were booking hippie bands,
more or less. When the Mabuhay opened its doors to people like the Ramones,
Dammed, Blondie and Wayne County, people who started out in New York, it was
exciting for everybody. There had to be more than just a handful of people who
didn't want to go to discos. They had no other place to go, so this was an opportunity.
It help prove to the city that not everything had to be canned music. Bands
like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols came through with a kind of rebellious
sound. It was something new. It wasn't the same old Savoy Brown, Sixties kind
of bar band. It was a relief not having to hear, 'Love to Love You Baby'."
Ginger Coyote
"There was no music scene going on in San Francisco when me
and my friend, Steve, moved out here from St. Louis. We moved into this little
apartment by Cala Foods on Hyde Street. We couldn't play in the apartment because
of complaints, so we would go down to Polk St. and play for tips. That's where
I met Kowalsky and one of the guys from Crime, and other people who later became
part of the Mabuhay scene."
Jimmy Wilsey, Avengers
