Hey Punk - Experience Music Project event in Seattle, Washington - Brief Article

Thrasher Magazine, Dec, 2001 by Wez Lundry

EXPERIENCE MUSIC PROJECT

Seattle's Experience Music Project threw down their second annual "Hey Punk" skate rock event in August, and pulled off a seriously legendary show. This year's event was scaled down from last year's in that it didn't feature the panel discussions or seminars, but instead focused mainly on the music and skating. Once again they brought in a bunch of old dogs (Salba, Steve Olson, Wally lnouye, Duane Peters) to come up and slash around the mediocre Seattle Park for an afternoon while tons of killer bands played for free in the parking lot. The lineup included The Faction, Los Olvidados, Free Beer, The Drunk Injuns, JFA, and the US Bombs. It was like listening to the old skate rock tapes all over again, at full blast. One of the day's heroes had to be Ray Stevens, who played in three of the bands and played four sets over the course of the day--46 songs. The Bay Area was definitely well-represented and it seemed as though there were more people from there than Seattle at the event. After the sun went down the sho w headed indoors, and music history was made. The Faction played again, followed by the Supersuckers, and then the band everyone was waiting for, X. The original lineup was back together (Exene, John Doe, Billy Zoom, and DJ Bonebreak) and seriously threw down one of the best shows I have ever seen. X has always been one of my favorite bands, and I have seen a few "reunion" shows of old punk bands that I used to love that turned out to be kind of disappointing. This was not one of them. Billy Zoom is one of the coolest guys on the planet. He hit every note with a smile on his face, looking at the crowd the whole time and playing as though his guitar was an extension of his arm. John Doe and Exene harmonized perfectly and DJ Bonebreak pounded away relentlessly. They played all of their best songs as though it was 1982, and nobody left disappointed. X are punk rock stars in their own right--if there is such a thing--and they seemed like kids at a candy store.