Overpowered by folk
What happens when punks unplug?
Tim Barry: front porch=cred
To casual music listeners, punk is synonymous with stacks of overworked amplifiers and folk is what NPR plays during breaks in its pledge drives. But the two seemingly disparate genres have a lot in common: a love of simplicity, an embrace of activism, and, at its best, a direct line into the soul of the everyman. In fact, the history of popular music is teeming with punks who have toned down the attack and make the leap to folk without missing a beat. In honor of punk-folkster Tim Barry’s appearance Tuesday at 3 Kings Tavern, Decider takes a look at some of the most notable unplugged punks.
Folkie: Billy Bragg
Hometown: London, England
Punk past: After a short stint as a soldier following the implosion of his late-’70s punk act, Riff Raff, Billy Bragg recast himself in the early ’80s as a folk troubadour. But instead of folk’s standard-issue acoustic guitar, Bragg opted for an electric thick with reverb, which he used to build up a catalog that spans protest songs, pop anthems, and love ballads. His ability to straddle contemporary sounds as well as tradition brought him to the attention of Woody Guthrie’s daughter, Nora, who handpicked Bragg—along with Wilco—to put music to a trove of her father’s unpublished songs on two Mermaid Avenue albums.
Worth a folk? You can’t have a conversation about punk-folk unless you start it with Bragg.
Folkie: Phranc
Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.
Punk past: Susan Gottlieb lurked around the California punk scene in the late ’70s and early ’80s, kicking up a racket in Nervous Gender and Catholic Discipline as a flat-topped androgyne before going unplugged and forcing her gender-bending, frequently militant folk on the punk underground. Armed with a sense of humor to match her pro-gay agenda, Phranc juggles sexual politics and light humor, and is often cited as a springboard for the queercore explosion of the ’90s.
Worth a folk? Phranc’s activism almost always overshadows her talent.
Folkie: Jeff Ott
Hometown: Berkeley, Calif.
Punk past: Coming up in the same Easy Bay scene that birthed Green Day, Jeff Ott fronted the crusty pop-punk acts Crimpshrine and Fifteen—and slowly embraced acoustic arrangement along the way. When Fifteen unraveled in 2000, Ott made the logical jump and became a protest singer in the vein of Joan Baez or Pete Seeger—that is, if they’d grown up bashing out three-chord anthems and had a penchant for singing about post-9/11 jingoism and teenage AIDS victims.
Worth a folk? Only if you have fond memories of pre-Warped Tour pop-punk.
Folkie: Miighty Flashlight
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
Punk past: Onetime bassist of ’80s emo originator (and Fugazi predecessor) Rites Of Spring, Mike Fellows got in touch with his folk-rock roots working as a stand-in player behind various Drag City Records artists like Will Oldham and Silver Jews. Penning a handful of rootsy numbers, he recorded them directly to his laptop and dressed them up with all sorts of extras like flutes and canned percussion for Miighty Flashlight’s self-titled 2002 album. The result? An acid-eating, hippie take on punk-spawned folk.
Worth a folk? Stick with Devendra Banhart if you really need to get this freaky.
Folkie:Chuck Ragan
Hometown: Gainesville, Fla.
Punk past: Best known for helping lay the foundation for post-hardcore with Hot Water Music, singer-guitarist Chuck Ragan started dabbling in rootsy music back in 1998 with his side-project Rumbleseat. After his main band’s breakup in 2006, Ragan started flying the folk flag with gusto, making Bob Dylan comparisons easy with his guitar and harmonica setup. Ragan’s solo output—which he continues making despite Hot Water’s recent reunion—is right in tune with traditional, introspective American folk.
Worth a folk? Just another punk-rocker trying his hand at low-key acoustic music. And doing it exceedingly well.
Folkie: Tim Barry
Hometown: Richmond, Va.
Punk past: With his long-running, much-loved punk outfit, Avail, essentially on the back burner since 2002, singer Tim Barry brings the same hard-boiled grit to the folk circle. Perfectly translating the heart and catharsis of his punk act into an acoustic setting, Barry matches the raw power of his band—without the aid of amplifiers—as he spins yarns about blue-collar life coming apart at the seams.
Worth a folk? You’ll stop worrying about Avail’s ongoing hiatus after seeing Barry play live.
Folkie: Billy Bragg
Hometown: London, England
Punk past: After a short stint as a soldier following the implosion of his late-’70s punk act, Riff Raff, Billy Bragg recast himself in the early ’80s as a folk troubadour. But instead of folk’s standard-issue acoustic guitar, Bragg opted for an electric thick with reverb, which he used to build up a catalog that spans protest songs, pop anthems, and love ballads. His ability to straddle contemporary sounds as well as tradition brought him to the attention of Woody Guthrie’s daughter, Nora, who handpicked Bragg—along with Wilco—to put music to a trove of her father’s unpublished songs on two Mermaid Avenue albums.
Worth a folk? You can’t have a conversation about punk-folk unless you start it with Bragg.
Folkie: Phranc
Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.
Punk past: Susan Gottlieb lurked around the California punk scene in the late ’70s and early ’80s, kicking up a racket in Nervous Gender and Catholic Discipline as a flat-topped androgyne before going unplugged and forcing her gender-bending, frequently militant folk on the punk underground. Armed with a sense of humor to match her pro-gay agenda, Phranc juggles sexual politics and light humor, and is often cited as a springboard for the queercore explosion of the ’90s.
Worth a folk? Phranc’s activism almost always overshadows her talent.
Folkie: Jeff Ott
Hometown: Berkeley, Calif.
Punk past: Coming up in the same Easy Bay scene that birthed Green Day, Jeff Ott fronted the crusty pop-punk acts Crimpshrine and Fifteen—and slowly embraced acoustic arrangement along the way. When Fifteen unraveled in 2000, Ott made the logical jump and became a protest singer in the vein of Joan Baez or Pete Seeger—that is, if they’d grown up bashing out three-chord anthems and had a penchant for singing about post-9/11 jingoism and teenage AIDS victims.
Worth a folk? Only if you have fond memories of pre-Warped Tour pop-punk.
Folkie: Miighty Flashlight
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
Punk past: Onetime bassist of ’80s emo originator (and Fugazi predecessor) Rites Of Spring, Mike Fellows got in touch with his folk-rock roots working as a stand-in player behind various Drag City Records artists like Will Oldham and Silver Jews. Penning a handful of rootsy numbers, he recorded them directly to his laptop and dressed them up with all sorts of extras like flutes and canned percussion for Miighty Flashlight’s self-titled 2002 album. The result? An acid-eating, hippie take on punk-spawned folk.
Worth a folk? Stick with Devendra Banhart if you really need to get this freaky.
Folkie:Chuck Ragan
Hometown: Gainesville, Fla.
Punk past: Best known for helping lay the foundation for post-hardcore with Hot Water Music, singer-guitarist Chuck Ragan started dabbling in rootsy music back in 1998 with his side-project Rumbleseat. After his main band’s breakup in 2006, Ragan started flying the folk flag with gusto, making Bob Dylan comparisons easy with his guitar and harmonica setup. Ragan’s solo output—which he continues making despite Hot Water’s recent reunion—is right in tune with traditional, introspective American folk.
Worth a folk? Just another punk-rocker trying his hand at low-key acoustic music. And doing it exceedingly well.
Folkie: Tim Barry
Hometown: Richmond, Va.
Punk past: With his long-running, much-loved punk outfit, Avail, essentially on the back burner since 2002, singer Tim Barry brings the same hard-boiled grit to the folk circle. Perfectly translating the heart and catharsis of his punk act into an acoustic setting, Barry matches the raw power of his band—without the aid of amplifiers—as he spins yarns about blue-collar life coming apart at the seams.
Worth a folk? You’ll stop worrying about Avail’s ongoing hiatus after seeing Barry play live.
