Description:
Kill the Punks tells the story of some oddball teenagers in Florida who, during the early eighties, despite the restrictive attitudes of the larger culture, formed a hardcore band and made it work.
Brief description: JOHN OLIVER HODGES was born in Florida, and was guitarist for the American hardcore band Hated Youth (1981-1984). His published books include, The Love Box (Livingston Press); Luv Slaps (Broken Tribe Press); and Eating My Name (Wordrunner Press). As a photographer his work has appeared widely in journals and magazines. He currently lives in New Jersey and teaches writing at the Gotham Writers' Workshop in New York City.
Review Quotes: "Kill the Punks is an audacious, in-your-face history of the early-'80s Tallahassee hardcore scene, told by one of its original troublemakers and one of America's most feral, fearless writers, John Oliver Hodges. Often laugh-out-loud and always kinetic, it's James Joyce with a mohawk and a pawn-shop guitar-a portrait of the artist as a young punk. This book will make you want to crank the volume on your life or at least start a band."
-Ryan Ridge, author of New Bad News and bassist for the Snarlin' Yarns"It is the dream of all artists that their vision may improve the moral standing of humanity. Given my observation, it doesn't happen often, though after viewing John's photos in Kill the Punks, I feel stilled by life's realities and motivated to be good to my fellow travelers. John's photos tell stories of inward psychology and outward presentation.
"Look at who loves each other. Look at who poses. Look at who wants to be the subject. Look at who is scared to death. Our interpretation of all these seeming realities define who we are as people. The reason John's work is SO impressive is that he understood this and wanted to document this when we were too young to understand. When the rest of us were just getting wasted, John was chronicling a subculture few knew even existed."-Alex Eysselinck, Biohazard Remediation Technician"Mr. Hodges hyper-detailed writing is remarkably eloquent to where it is difficult to put the book down." -George Barker, violinist, Toxic Shock