The Secret History of Texas Punk

In the late 1970s, the punk movement—which had gained global attention in London and New York thanks to such groups as the Sex Pistols, the Clash, and the Ramones—put down roots in Texas. Austin, then much smaller than today’s booming metropolis, but already known for its outlaw country scene, was the center of this musical and cultural outburst. Austin punk had much in common with its British and Manhattan forebears, but it was also distinctive, if only because so many of its major figures were gay and into subverting traditional gender roles.Pat Blashill, a native Austinite, was a teenager when the scene exploded (and then imploded), and he was there, in the clubs, watching shows, talking to people, and taking photographs, even as he dragged…

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