Foustland

22 July 2009, Driving around Flint

Wow, driving around Flint with one of my musical influences is pretty cool, and in a Cadillac - how cool!  Well that was the setting for this interview with Dissonance bassist Tanya Narhi.  We met at Wyatt Earp Records, chatted a bit with Al, then hit the road.  We looped around Flint, on a route that took us to many of the early basement parties and hall shows that Tanya and Phill hosted and promoted.  A trip down memory lane for sure.  While I didn't attend any of the basement parties, I am sure they were wicked cool events (sorry, my Massachusetts is leaking).  The popularity of these early punk rock parties with mostly local bands is what really gave birth to the more organized Hall Shows that brought acts such as Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies, Slayer, MDC, 7 Seconds, and many others.

One thing that I find, as I talk to people about the Flint scene is that it was really a place where everyone was welcome, in many ways.  Whether you were in a band (whatever kind of music you played) a skate kid, an oldster, whatever race, the Flint scene welcomed you to be art of it.  If you just wanted to catch some bands, cool.  If you wanted to start a band and pay live shows, there was a venue for you to get your punk on.  The Hall Shows that Tanya and Phil put on emphasized this community openness.

I am so glad I had the chance to cruise around some of the spots of the old scene with Tanya.  The highlight of the afternoon for me was when we were wrapping things up at the Ukranian Hall, sitting in the parking lot - reflecting on many of the great shows that happened there.  A lady walked up and asked if we were needing anything.  We described that we were doing an interview for the Hall Show Documentary, she said she owned the hall.  I asked if we could possibly go into the hall to look around, she said sure!  The old Ukranian Hall still looks the same, with a fresh coat of paint.  The floor right in front of the stage is totally void of varnish, more than likely scraped off by mosh pit activity.