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Left-leaning students, initially fueled by albums like "Reinventing Axl Rose" were introduced to many groups from the Plan-it X label. To this day, groups like the politically-charged Ghost Mice and Defiance, Ohio remain largely influential to local artists. If it was not for the previously stated festivals, then a majority of long island would of never heard of such bands until they appeared in hot topic.
 
Left-leaning students, initially fueled by albums like "Reinventing Axl Rose" were introduced to many groups from the Plan-it X label. To this day, groups like the politically-charged Ghost Mice and Defiance, Ohio remain largely influential to local artists. If it was not for the previously stated festivals, then a majority of long island would of never heard of such bands until they appeared in hot topic.
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== People ==
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There were many people that contributed to the long island scene, among these people were:
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Jeremy Polit - A major promoter, and venue starter. Booked over 30 shows with notable bands like 1905, Allergic To Whores, A Life Once Lost, The Banner, Daughters, Leftover Crack, MDC, Mischief Brew, Toxic Narcotic, Two Man Advantage and Witchhunt. He was the front band for Fornicate, a local thrash band that always brought a room full of people to their shows. He was always seen with a short haired girl named Crisse, who sadly passed away in 2008. Although he was never loved by the majority of the punk scene, He was what brought the scene together.
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Will Puntarich - A frequent attendee and major icon in the Long Island Punk Scene. He was a key leader in the Sandlot first scene unity fest, as well as a major help in the second and third Scene Unity fest which both brought a record amount of people.
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John Vanek - Was another staple in the Long Island Punk Scene, most notable for his band "The Oblivious". He also was a guest singer for Endangered Feces at CBGB's.
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Joe Francese - Drummer of the Oblivious and founder of the website LIPUNX.
   
 
== The Movement Fractures ==
 
== The Movement Fractures ==

Revision as of 00:03, 24 January 2009

Anarcho-punk had a strong and very active base on Long Island from around 2001 to 2005. These four years gave rise to venues like Freespace and networks such as Food Not Bombs.


Influences

Although not all punks supported anarchism directly, many held sympathetic beliefs such as Libertarianism, Socialism, Unionism or were part of a normally outcast member of suburban society such as the LGBT community.

Post-911 Long Island saw many people losing work and class antagonisms growing.

Neighborhoods included historic Ronkonkoma Station, which housed the local Freespace down adjacent Union Avenue. Many other neighborhoods in the surrounding area were slowly regentrifying.

It was (and frighteningly, still is) normal for many to harbor Xenophobia toward the emerging immigrant population. This faction of Anarcho-punk was sympathetic to all people and naturally displayed internationalist tendencies. "Fuck the border" was a popular phrase among these young punks. The music scene which followed became quite strong.

The Freespace would hold shows and a variety of different radical seminars. Vegan meals would be served and radical literature could be easily accessed and cheaply purchased.

Artists

Many different subgenres of punk rock were associated and supported within the counterculture. Venues like the "sandlot" - literally, an empty lot of sand complete with electricity and a makeshift stage - would house local talent regardless of their sound or influences. The Sandlot saw its end when the first "Scene unity" fest's booker Jeremy Polit ran away with 15 million dollars of the money made, and spent it on a new computer.

This venue saw artists from as far as New Jersey, and was home for names like the (grindcore/noise) Fornicate and the Dropdeads - two largely influential bands that never gained large commercial success. But these big influential bands never actually played at the sandlot until 2 of Long Islands most sucessful promoters Jeremy Polit and Will Puntarich decided to help out.

'Scene Unity' fests would bill crust bands like Treason with such diverse bands as 1905. It was also normal for many Riotfolk artists to attend.

Left-leaning students, initially fueled by albums like "Reinventing Axl Rose" were introduced to many groups from the Plan-it X label. To this day, groups like the politically-charged Ghost Mice and Defiance, Ohio remain largely influential to local artists. If it was not for the previously stated festivals, then a majority of long island would of never heard of such bands until they appeared in hot topic.

People

There were many people that contributed to the long island scene, among these people were:

Jeremy Polit - A major promoter, and venue starter. Booked over 30 shows with notable bands like 1905, Allergic To Whores, A Life Once Lost, The Banner, Daughters, Leftover Crack, MDC, Mischief Brew, Toxic Narcotic, Two Man Advantage and Witchhunt. He was the front band for Fornicate, a local thrash band that always brought a room full of people to their shows. He was always seen with a short haired girl named Crisse, who sadly passed away in 2008. Although he was never loved by the majority of the punk scene, He was what brought the scene together.

Will Puntarich - A frequent attendee and major icon in the Long Island Punk Scene. He was a key leader in the Sandlot first scene unity fest, as well as a major help in the second and third Scene Unity fest which both brought a record amount of people.

John Vanek - Was another staple in the Long Island Punk Scene, most notable for his band "The Oblivious". He also was a guest singer for Endangered Feces at CBGB's.

Joe Francese - Drummer of the Oblivious and founder of the website LIPUNX.

The Movement Fractures

As typical for a group committed to Anarchism, the decline of this particular movement was largely attributed to landlord and property issues.

Even at festivals dedicated to "unity", there were endless physical confrontations and factional differences. Many venues were lost to fights.

Subsequently, the Ronkonkoma Freespace became increasingly hard to finance. The location of the venue was also quite inconvenient during the rise of police presence at the LIRR after 9-11.

Though the venues may not be around, many local artists appear to continue to support radical politics in one way or another. Though the anarcho-punk movement had fallen, it has given rise to several different, unique and undefinable countercultures still seen on Long Island to this day.