Bands will recapture Cedar's early rock scene
Bands used a variety of instruments to form the
new rock sound.
THE VINDICATOR
YOUNGSTOWN — Cedar’s Lounge will host an Old Fashioned Punk Rock X Mas this weekend, featuring two days of musical acts not seen in this town for 25 years.
Scheduled acts include Nancy Bizzarri, 8 Balls, Infidels, Illuminatus, Bangorillas, Factors, Johnny Clampet and the Walkers, all of whom got their start at Cedar’s in the early ’80s. A slide show with photos of the bands and the fans from those heady days at Cedar’s will be shown to tie it all together.
“These are bands that started a tradition of original music in Youngstown that remains to this day,” said Timber Gilliland, who along with Pete Drivere and Jeff Hall, is helping to organize the event. “It’s like a live history lesson.”
The idea stemmed from a casual conversation at Cedar’s and quickly blossomed. Gilliland explained how the idea for the event took hold.
“[Drivere] was starting the Homegrown Radio Show on CD-93 and we were talking about the old local bands,” said Gilliland. “We made some calls and everyone wanted to be part of the live Christmas show. It’s unbelievable that we even found these people at all.”
For those who weren’t there, here’s a little background on how the Cedar’s scene got started.
Inspired by the New York art rock and London punk rock scenes, a group of Youngstown’s creative types began to gather at Cedar’s. Musicians, artists, poets, fashion designers and hairdressers mingled with out-of-work steel workers to establish a scene that brought people from Cleveland, Pittsburgh and beyond.
Soft rock and disco had taken hold of radio, and the restless young people were searching for something with more energy and outrageousness, something raw and fun.
“It was labeled punk rock or new wave, and anyone could do it,” said Gilliland. “Two guitar lessons and you could start a band. It just so happened that Youngstown also had many very talented musicians involved, playing whatever they wanted to play.”
Bands blended all types of rock and a variety of instruments to create their sound, each with their own original bent. “Everyone had a style, and everyone had fun,” said Gilliland.
The movement even came with its own fashion sense — which in retrospect, really had no sense at all. “I think we’d prefer to forget about that part, but it was something new at the time,” said Gilliland. “We all shopped at the Salvation Army then. Now they refer to that style as ‘vintage clothing,’ and you pay extra for it. But the music still holds up amazingly well. Come out and hear for yourself.”