Punk and Heavy Metal Club Spaces in 1970s and 1980s Southern California

In her infamous The Decline of Western Civilization documentary series, director Penelope Spheeris chronicled the Southern California rock and roll music scene during the 1970s and 1980s. Highlighting both punk and heavy metal bands, Spheeris’ interviews revealed the deep emotional ties predominantly young performers and fans alike developed with the music genres and their corresponding communities of followers. Music clubs catering to punk and heavy metal audiences became epicenters for youthful gatherings. More than mere friend groups, these gatherings of young people symbolized the growth of insulated, peer subcultures. These physical and cultural youth spaces allowed teenagers and young adults to create a sense of identity, group loyalty, and community separate from mainstream society. For many California youth, these subcultures served a key role in their adolescent experiences and buffered them against the political, economic, and social uncertainties of the period.

This poster focuses on these youth subcultures and their appropriation of club spaces in Southern California during the 1970s and 1980s. Geographically, I focus on the massively popular clubs of the Los Angeles Sunset Strip and the more genre-specific clubs of Orange County, California. Both home to youth subcultures, these areas differed in the initial motivations that attracted young people and the cultural values ultimately expressed within the clubs. Located near Hollywood and large record label headquarters, the Sunset Strip attracted young people seeking fame and fortune. Bands like Van Halen and Motley Crue made “getting discovered” seem like a realistic possibility for hundreds of wannabe rock musicians. In contrast, Orange County’s traditionally conservative neighborhoods birthed a plethora of loud and provocatively dressed punk rockers, young people who became associated with violence and community disruption. Unlike their heavy metal peers, punks valued a “Do-It-Yourself” mentality and rejected the perceived commercialism of the mainstream rock industry.

Although differing in intentions and goals, the heavy metal and punk rock subcultures both emerged within club spaces. In each case, young people established their own subcultural values as a pivotal part of the clubs they inhabited. Youth reinforced expectations regarding dress, appearance, dance style, gender norms, and behavior that, in many cases, became identified with the subcultures on a broader level. This process often caused tension and resulted in clashes between youth and authority figures. Particularly, punks gained a problematic reputation that resulted in expulsion from clubs and the negative attention of police.

A visual presentation in poster format best encapsulates and represents these youth subcultures for a scholarly audience. Images that reflect young people and the club spaces they frequented tell a compelling story of youth subcultures and their clashes with mainstream society. A poster also details the variation between these subcultures and the purposes they played in young people’s lives. Ultimately, this presentation emphasizes how Los Angeles and Orange County club spaces allowed youth to create safe havens based on a shared sense of subcultural identity, group loyalty, and community.