These are several photographs taken by Chris Mellides during his coverage of the March of the Dead in East Setauket. The march and corresponding vigil were held in remembrance of those soldiers and civilians who lost their lives in the Iraq War and marked the eight years that passed since the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003. The event took place on March 19, 2011 and was reported on for the Three Village Patch.
The live music circuit on Long Island is an odd one. You can’t walk into a seedy pub or large venue nowadays without hearing people spin yarn about the “old days.” When suburban towns resonated with raw energy and the independent music scene thrived with bands of varying genres playing on the same bill, sharing beers and chasing girls. The current scene lacks that sense of camaraderie among local acts that are now scattered and part of a very segmented community.
“There’s a lot more segmentation now than there was then,” said Brian White, a 22-year-old show promoter from Medford. “I used to see and book shows that were extremely diverse, but if I tried to book those shows these days, no way could I do it without there being problems and fistfights.”
Punk rock existed back then, as it does now, and is still regarded as the bastard stepchild of rock ‘n’ roll. The punk rock scene on Long Island first began to gain prominence during the late 1970s. Local bands like the Nihilistics, Dead Virgins and Sea Monster spearheaded the suburban punk movement, while bigger acts like the New York Dolls and the Ramones killed the ears of audiences in New York City.
“There’s no question that the punk scene has changed, in both its message and direction,” said Howie Powe a 38-year-old show booker from Shirley. “You can’t talk about some of the newer stuff coming out now without acknowledging those older bands. Some may call today’s scene ‘watered down’ but its vitality tends to be very cyclical, I think.”
While there’s no doubt that the punk scene on Long Island has transformed from what it was some 30 years ago, it’s still a haven for young people who feel different and have no other means to channel their frustrations.
“People always said, that I suck or that what I do and say is stupid,” said Derek Eppers a 20-year-old showgoer from Centereach. “But that’s what I like about punk rock is that you can listen to the music and go to shows with people that think like you do, it’s like family.”
The direction that the Long Island music community might take in the future and what it might mean for showgoers is uncertain. As for the punk scene, it’s a bit of a fickle thing, as White puts it.
“When it’s good, it’s good, but when it’s bad—people either bitch about it when it was good, or complain that those people don’t know what they’re talking about and that it’s still good,” said White. “So really, I think we’re at a point where we can really take it to a new level for this current generation of bands and showgoers, if everyone does their part.”