Remembering Hardcore Punk and the Straightedge Movement
When I first heard of the straightedge thing, it was somewhere in the mid-to-late 1980s. I lived in the East Bay but frequently hung out in San Francisco. I was part of the punk scene at the Center Shattuck Bart station and spent time with Berkeley High students. This was a fertile ground for the beginnings of the Gilman Street Project scene.
At first, I made fun of it. As a 15-year-old white girl from the suburbs with some credibility in the punk scene, I viewed it as rather ridiculous. I spent every weekend at the pit—an abandoned construction site near the punk clubs on Broadway—and went to all the shows. This was my bubblegum-colored hair, San Francisco big city scene. The Berkeley punks were, in my opinion, scruffy and a little lame.
Early Impressions and the Influence of Gilman Street
I wrote a column for a Berkeley fanzine, a hobby that was as uneven as I was. My friend, Real Name, who was a big deal in the Gilman scene, would later remain one of my all-time favorite people. He was known for his adventures in boring places and caring little about his public image. Jolt Cola was a big thing in Berkeley back then—“All the sugar twice the caffeine.” I scoffed at Jolt Cola, preferring wine and pills for my nights out in the punk scene.
Exploring the Straightedge Movement
At this time, straightedge punks, known for drawing an X on their hands and drinking Jolt Cola, were engaging in activities such as hedge-diving—jumping into bushes. My friend, on the other hand, found solace in scoping out weird, cheap places to spend his time. He even slept during the day and spent his nights at all-night copy shops, eventually attending an all-night party at the first Albany laundromat. The party was small that year, with a few guests and the usual suspects like Spider and a couple of guitar players. We brought quarters for the laundry machines, ate doughnuts, and stayed up all night. Despite being fully sober, it was fun.
The next year, the party grew to about 30 to 40 people. We brought laundering quarters, sandwiches, and guitars, and the party itself was less enjoyable. Aaron Cometbus captured many of these scenes in his work, like 978-086719561-3.
The Decline of the San Francisco Scene
The straightedge movement started to become annoying when everyone became preachy. While there were always sanctimonious people, they knew better than to preach at me. As for sex, it wasn't much of an issue. The straightedge kids were not sexy—they were purposefully not. They hooked up with each other, making it all very sober, dramatic, and righteous.
I didn't want to overdose on caffeine, jump into bushes, or preach to people. I wanted to wear pretty tatters, posture, and snark. The Gilman scene seemed like a dour cult that ruined everything. I had a terrible attitude, and by 1987, the San Francisco scene was dead to me.
Late-Nineties Reflections
As a conscientious objector, I never went to Gilman. I have no idea how the movement progressed, only that it was still ongoing when I briefly moved to Albany in the late 1990s. The experience was mixed; there was fun to be had, though not of the kind I was interested in.
The original text was written with a personal, nostalgic perspective. For more detailed information on the straightedge movement and Gilman Street Project, _Street_Project