"If They Weren't Black"

I gotta admit that sometimes I only give a band the time of day because the color of thier skin. It's a principles thing to me. I have supported some bands just because society has tried to be restrictive of us being into different music, so I support their struggle, even though the music puts me to sleep. Living Colour falls in this category for me.

I listen to a lot of genres of music, have always been like that...but on an ongoing basis the only genres I go back to are usually hardcore punk, UK82 punk, street punk and crust punk. actually I do that with some punk bands too, I will support em on principle sometimes even after they're played out for me. Dead Kennedys puts me to sleep these days but I play em for people.

Going through my collection I just notice sometimes that after years of digging up Black bands, there are only a few in my regular rotation...& out of those, only a few that get me as exicted as this long list of old punk bands I have been looping for 15 years. Pure Hell is one, but then again they were punk rock...so guess it's just the Black punk shortage that's doing that to my collection.

I tend to blame myself but maybe it's just the society we live in. I have looked high and low, but my music taste is just kinda narrow, so I can't expect to find a million Black bands for my collection that I will really get into. Too bad...I'm gonna try and hit the stage again when I get back on my feet, because there really needs to be more of our presence in PUNK ROCK...it's a damn shame.

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Comment by Ghettopunkrocker on December 1, 2009 at 10:32am: I understand what you mean. There was a time that I wanted to get an all black band to prove a point. But, there two obstacles, finding black players who genuinely liked rock music and finding musicians that knew what I was looking for musically. Now, I'm just looking for talented individuals that I gel with.

Comment by Kaos Blac on November 30, 2009 at 6:15pm: I hear ya bro. I have tons of music from black bands but not much of it on heavy rotation in the ol' I-pod. You should make a new band damn it!!!!

Comment by Calvin Chaos on November 30, 2009 at 2:23pm: BTW when I say "a fair chance" I just mean if the playing field was the same for black punk musicians.

Comment by Calvin Chaos on November 30, 2009 at 2:20pm: exactly...I was feeling all depressed about it, but it's not us...it's the industry and the society. If more Black bands had gotten a fair chance for example more of them would have stuck around. there are just a lot more contacts for White guys who wanna play rock n roll to rely on. Death and Pure Hell had it pretty rough, otherwise both bands first records would have been in circulation my whole childhood. There might never be THAT many Black punk rock bands, but I take what I can get. I'm 31 now, and I been hunting since I was about 15...I just figured there would be more out there lol. I guess I'm gonna be kind of like those old blues and jazz guys who can only find White guys for thier band lineups.

I'm not for the whole separatist thing, I like diversity myself...I don't wanna sound racist. I just want more of us involved in MY shit, that I have been all about, more than half my life, lol.

Comment by kala on November 29, 2009 at 5:23pm: i get where your coming from. i always figured that was my way of thinking and that it was kinda messed up haha. sometimes i feel like i have to force myself to like a band, because theyre a rare black rock band or they have [like you said] really good principles, when in reality if they were anyone else i wouldnt give em a second listen.