Misplaced Pages

Punk blues (or blues punk) is a music genre that mixes elements of punk rock and blues. Punk blues musicians and bands usually incorporate elements of related styles, such as protopunk and blues rock. Its origins lie strongly within the garage rock sound of the 1960s and 1970s.

Punk blues can be said to favor the common rawness, simplicity and emotion shared between the punk and blues genres. Chet Weise, singer/guitarist of the Immortal Lee County Killers stated, "Punk and blues are both honest reactions to life. It's blues, it's our blues. It's just a bit turned up and a bit faster."

Origins

Before the beginning of the punk movement of the late 1970s, several important forerunners such as the MC5, the Stooges, the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Sonics, Captain Beefheart, and the New York Dolls displayed a fascination with American blues.

AllMusic states that punk blues draws on the influence of the "garage rock sound of the mid-'60s, the primal howl of early Captain Beefheart, and especially in the raw and desperate sound of the Gun Club's landmark Fire of Love LP from 1981." Also according to Allmusic.com, "...punk blues really came to life in the early '90s with bands like the seminal Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, the Oblivians, the Gories and the Gibson Brothers", and "continued into the 2000s with even more visibility thanks to the popularity of the White Stripes". John Doe of L.A. punk band X claims that frontman Jeffrey Lee Pierce and the Gun Club invented a completely new style of music by mixing punk and blues.

Related bands

Beginning with their 1988 album Prison Bound, the punk band Social Distortion began incorporating rockabilly, country, and blues influences into their music. In the same time period, Rollins Band performed punk-inflected blues jams. In the early 1990s, British musician PJ Harvey also explored an avant-garde variant of the style.

The Detroit garage rock scene that bore bands such as the White Stripes, inspired by Flat Duo Jets, continues to thrive with punk blues musicians and bands that can be tied to the style, such as the Detroit Cobras, Geraldine, Mystery Girls, Soledad Brothers, the Von Bondies, and many others. The Memphis–Asheville band the Reigning Sound and the Boston band Mr. Airplane Man also plays in this style.

The indie rock bands the Kills and Deadboy & the Elephantmen have been associated by the media with a punk/blues sound.

See also

• List of punk blues musicians and bands
• Biker punk
• Cowpunk
• Noise rock
• Psychobilly

References

1. ^ Punk Blues Genre AMG Allmusic.com, Retrieved on May 21, 2008
2. British Rhythm and Blues – The Convulsions: High-Energy Original British RnB and Punk Blues, Retrieved on May 21, 2008
3. Punk and Blues Evolution: Immortal Lee County Killers Archived July 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved on May 21, 2008
4. "Punk and the Blues Evolution: Immortal Lee County Killers". www.furious.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
5. Ghost on the Highway – The "Cast" Archived February 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
6. "ROLLINS BAND FORGES HOT PUNK-BLUES HYBRID AT MISSISSIPPI NIGHTS.(Everyday Magazine)(Review – Music – Rock\Rollins Band\Apartment 26)(Review)". Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.
7. Hermes, Will (June 2004). "Queen of Hearts". Spin. Vol. 20. p. 101. Retrieved November 23, 2012. By her usual avant-punk-blues standards, it was polished and tuneful.
8. allmusic ((( Mr. Airplane Man > Overview )))
9. "... scuzz-loving blues-punk duo ..." – J.D., Rolling Stone, issue 1125, March 3, 2011, p. 72.
10. allmusic ((( Deadboy & the Elephantmen > Overview )))

• Punk blues
• Blues music genres
• Blues rock
• Punk rock genres
• Fusion music genres