Hardcore Crust And Greasy Anarchism

A chaotic crash course in the contemporary twin cities punk sub cultures

By Winks

Contrary to popular belief, “punk” isn’t merely some aggressive aesthetic—it’s a political ideology, or (more importantly) a means of staying alive. At the very least, punks are anti-establishment. Within this, sentiments such as environmental advocacy, anti-racism, anti-capitalism, and anarchism run quite deep.

Also, due to a lack of resources (poverty, marginalization, etc.) and a resulting need for craftiness, the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) emphasis is inherent in most punks too, applied to not only physical possessions, but also to art, organizing, and cultural movements.

To recap, punk is not hegemonic—there are infinite subcultures and variations within each subculture and each city. Minneapolis is one of these cities, hosting both a historical and contemporary wealth of punk subcultures. Summarized below is a handful of some of my favorites, nearly all of which overlap:

HARDCORE PUNKS (musical)

Enjoyers of loud, thrash-y, blistering music, the archetype of which is a dude in a white wife-beater who has no regard for his own safety nor your soon-to-be-broken nose. These pits are not your typical bounce-around pits, but more akin to street brawls or bull fights. From experience, I would consider this a higher-risk, more-aggressive crowd—usually with more illicit substance use and potentially radical politics (learn to ID skinheads from SHARPs). Usually very nice folks though, especially when within the Southside punk scene. Examples: Hüsker Dü, killusonline, Giallo, Texture Freq, Buio Omega, Rubberman, etc.***

CRUST / GUTTERPUNKS (lifestyle)

Although “crust” has become somewhat of a genre itself (near hardcore, grindcore, etc.), “crust” was defined to me as a “dirty fucking punk,” often scruffy, disheveled, unwashed, and “crusted” in dirt (usually not by choice, but can be by self-neglect). However, gutterpunks are far more crusty / dispossessed, often living in extreme poverty and houselessness, squatting, train-hopping, or scavenging just to get by. Though some say these terms are interchangeable, I have met some self-described gutterpunks who consider things like taxidermy and urban exploration as being integral parts of the subculture. There’s a huge overlap with folkpunk, hardcore, and damn near anywhere you can smell the clothes with more patches than original material

GREASE PUNKS (hobby)

Combine a love for the environment with a hate for car-centric infrastructure, and what do you get? Grease punks, assumed to be named after The Grease Pit Bike Shop in Seward. There’s a running joke that if you leave your bike with a grease punk, you’ll pick it up to find it standing four feet taller, having ‘‘‘three extra sets of handlebars, and shooting flames (such necessary modifications as often seen in Minneapolis). However, the Grease Pit provides cheap and informative bike servicing, often instructing the customer to replace parts themselves to understand their bike better. This unique bicycle subculture is on full display at the annual May Day Battletrain or at the recently-resurrected Critical Mass, a mass bike protest that meets at the Quarry at the end of each month and disrupts every nearby street it can.

ANARCHO-PUNKS (political)

Yeah, they’re right here in the Cities. To clarify, punk is inherently anarchic; however, “anarcho-punk” here refers to those taking direct actions. Although these punks are less visible than they have been in previous years (leadership retirement, fatigue, etc.), they have only been pushed underground, not dissolved. One can find anarcho-punks distributing zines, building black blocs, “altering” infrastructure, dropping graffiti, defending encampments, walking their dogs, doing jumping jacks, etc. If you see them, no you didn’t—and learn security culture.

MUTUAL AID / SOUTHSIDE PUNKS (community)

There’s a reason South Minneapolis is historically the cultural / artistic / underground heart of the city. The community here is so extraordinarily tight due to the radical support they offer one another in every endeavor—not to mention support and services from Southside Harm Reduction, Sanctuary Supply Depot, Seward Cafe, the Landing Strip, Sisters Camelot, the Aliveness Project, Avivo, etc. Community gardens, guerrilla gardening, food distro, encampment defense—these punks create a culture of resistance and actual grassroots change because they have to.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Folk punk, Riot Grrrl, Straight Edge punks, Circus punks, Oogles, Ska punk, Hyperpop, “the Gay Furries,” etc.

CONCLUSION

Yes, punk is alive. And as long as there is continued systemic oppression or conventions to subvert, punk won’t go anywhere—hell, punks’ll likely outlive everything else—most could survive weeks off of only fistfuls of safety pins, Marlboros, and black walnuts.

P.S.

It is worth mentioning that “punk” is often perceived as a very white, very male-dominated subculture. Additionally, just because someone is a punk does not mean they cannot be a bigot. If you decide to integrate into punk subculture, do your best to understand the histories, oppressions, philosophies, and influences inside punk and within the dominant culture—be a good punk: Keep others safe, and don’t be a bigot.