**This is an ethnography (a study of the culture of a group of people in a particular place and time). An ethnography is supposed to be like taking a snapshot of a culture and examining it in detail. It is not meant to explain how they got there or where it looks like they're going. I wrote this for an anthropology class (beginning of 2000). Anthropology (the study of people) is my major and I think I did a pretty good analysis even though I am not completely an outsider. It is rather technical because if I were really studying a group of people I knew nothing about, I'd have to explain as much as I possibly could.

"The Backyard Party"

by Leann

There is one event that dominates punk culture: Going to shows. There probably isn’t a need to get technical, but a show consists of any gathering where a punk band is going to play. They range from informal backyard parties to weekend festivals to professionally organized venues. I’m not going to go into great detail about the counterculture of punk, it’s history or functionality but I do want to take a look at a small sub-culture within it that I will call "the Backyard Party".

Punk in the U.S. and Europe has had a white-majority since it began in the early 1970s. I have only encountered a majority of non-white punks in the Los Angeles County area, particularly in San Gabriel Valley and East Los Angeles (S.G.V. to the locals) and some parts of the surrounding counties. For lack of a better term, I will use Hispanic to refer to the majority of non-white people in this area, even though they are mostly of Mexican descent. It comes as no surprise that the ethnicity of punks from these areas reflect the whole population. However in other parts of the country where there are large non-white populations, such as African-Americans in Philadelphia, the punks are still mostly white.

I have noticed that shows around this area are different from all the places I’ve been to see punk bands at. For one thing, the neighborhood is a barren desert when it comes to legal, affordable, all ages nightlife. Most of the younger people don’t have jobs or cars so traveling to see bands and paying the club price isn’t always an option. The public transportation is decent in the daytime and non-existent at night, which adds to the need for local entertainment. Backyard parties happen (more often) when there aren’t good bands playing at clubs in other cities. All attempts to have punk bands play at local venues fail because the places get trashed and fights break out.

This punk subculture can only be distinguished from other punk groups when in their own setting, the backyard party. This consists of as many people who find out about it from flyers or word of mouth coming together to drink, watch local punk bands play and attempt to have a good time. The atmosphere can vary because of weather conditions, how many people show up, how long it takes the bands to start playing, etc. Parents and other forms of authority are almost never present for any length of time. Parents may be at home, but they usually stay inside. In the summer, backyard parties are planned as often as possible, but in the winter they usually only happen on Friday and Saturday nights.

It is interesting that punk started out as a D.I.Y. (do it yourself) mentality where kids try to not be completely dependant on the system to survive. All the kids in this neighborhood think that is what they are doing. They feel a sense of independence from mainstream society because they are the ones in control of what bands they see and how much they pay. They organize their society in a way that doesn’t need official leaders. The irony is, of course, that 90% of them depend on their parents, who are a part of the system, which they claim to avoid.

There is a vast communication network set up which is difficult to trace but it serves several functions. This quasi-kinship relationship’s main function to the group is protection and sharing information. Social-alliance groups can and do change suddenly, sometimes within a short period, which is why these parties are important for reestablishing new ties within the group.

To better understand what I mean, I’ll explain the basic format of a backyard party. During the summer, there will be at least one or several to choose from. Most of the party information is on the flyer and subject to false advertisement, especially if it says there will be a keg. Getting a keg by collecting a few dollars from everyone who walks through the gate seems like a simple enough task. Usually though, the person who is collecting money lets all their friends in free, and then when fifty people are inside asking wear the keg is, they have nothing to show for it. Sometimes a few people of age leave to get beer. It is the norm to buy what you drink on the way to the party.

It should be noted that a majority of the people who go to these parties are not legally old enough to drink, some of them are barely old enough to drive. The fact that a person has the ability to purchase alcohol gives them some status in the group, even though it is superficial. I don’t want to make this group sound like a bunch of alcoholics, but beer particularly is important. The type of beer depends on price more than anything else.

Punks from everywhere have a similar drinking custom when seeing bands play. I don’t think anyone can explain this. It is just the way things are done. They drink before and during the band and usually sober up by the time they get home. Sometimes the drinking continues after bands stop playing, or the party is moved to a smaller, more intimate gathering at some other location called a kickback.

There is a conflicting attitude at backyard parties, which leads to much of the conflict. People share the responsibilities of organizing the show. Everyone wants it to be successful and have a good time. The purpose isn’t normally to make an individual profit. When there is a cost to get in, it is almost always negotiable and usually goes to purchasing beer, paying bands, or maybe going to a cause in the case of a benefit. There is also a tendency to let just about anyone inside. People from different parts of town are all drinking together and for the most part getting along. When people who don’t know each other well come to a misunderstanding, it can lead instantly to a fight. When conflict isn’t resolved, social alliances and family ties separate groups against each other. Alliances can change instantly based on hearsay.

As I mentioned before, the communication network is very tight with this group in order to pass information about parties but it also serves as the witness, judge and jury when there is a feud. Even if the quarrel is between two people, the alliances of each get involved escalating the excitement. It is common for a group to fight one person, an influence of the gang mentality so prevalent in the community. This leads to a ganging up of alliances on each side. The effectiveness of this behavior is perpetuated by retaliation and at the same time criticized for being cowardly.

Many of the people who go to the same parties regularly are stereotypical punks with spiked hair and clothing, but a large amount of them dress "normal" or like a typical person in a gang with baggy pants and shaved heads. The majority of fights are between males and the fact that there are many different sub-cultural groups coming together to one event increases the need to watch out for oneself. One possible reason this happens is people coming from large families who have some members into punk and some not. The siblings or cousins of punks often party together. Another thing that happens is individual change of interests. A person may have been a punk for years and knows everyone from this group but then changes their style to be a skinhead, cholo, raver, etc. but still goes to the parties to drink and see bands. The person’s change in style brings a new range of outside friends with it to the group.

After the drinking begins, everyone mingles. People stick to their own group of friends, but one’s friend network can include the entire group. There is much anticipation for a band to start playing. When a good band plays people crowd around in a sort of semi-circle and a mosh pit starts. It is hard to explain why or how it works, but most people know what it is from the influence of punk on mainstream music. It is a ritualized behavior, a type of aggressive dance, where people do a fast walk around a circle and move their arms in a swinging punch style while bumping into each other and the crowd. When a large number of people are pitting, it can get hectic and people can get injured. Injury is hardly ever serious at backyard parties but the fact that people can take out their aggression on each other without any one person being a victim seems functional enough.

Males dominate the pit but over the past few years there has been an increase in riotgrrls (feminist punks) who kick some major butt. At one time, there was a punk crew (a lenient type of gang really) which required a person to be "slammed in" by mosh pit to join. This pit is a way for people to show how tough they are, how much pain they can take and how fearless they are of being swirled up in the crazy whirlpool of aggression without having to actually hurt someone or prove something individually. I think this serves the function of helping people who go in the pit feel more confident about themselves when it comes to actual confrontation. Fighting happens often enough in all of their lives, whether it be oneself, a friend, or family member, that being able to take care of the situation is important. Sometimes there are no fights at these parties, sometimes there are serious and fatal injuries incurred but usually there are several outbreaks, which are resolved quickly, and the party keeps moving.

Females don’t have as much power and influence over the group as males do.  The parties are set up around the bands, which are mostly male. I’ve noticed that males are much more unified with other males of the group and females are often seen as an extension of the male she is with. Of course, some females make themselves seen and heard but it isn’t the norm. Males shake hands more often when meeting for the first time and assert themselves in conversation. These are all reflections of the gender roles in mainstream society.

Punk is and always has been a youth culture. It is often something that people get into as an adolescent and leave by the time they enter college. There are also a good number of people who get into punk because of a deeper felt purpose and never actually leave it, even though they may change their way of dress or have a family to support. Even though a lot of the values present may not be positive in the opinion of most people, they are passed down from the older generation to the younger. Over five years I have watched the people slightly older than myself pass on this ritualized activity to the people slightly younger without much change to the structure.

The final act, which breaks up about 50% of backyard parties, is the arrival of police. Even though, this is common and even expected, nothing is done to prevent them from coming. Usually, a neighborhood complaint brings several officers to the house and they give a warning about the noise level. Sometimes they come back a second time and "force" everyone to leave. Even though I say force, there is never physical force used on the people. It usually takes a half-hour or more for everyone to make their way out. In that time, beer is finished, plans for a kickback are made, or drivers try to sober up. After the initial crowd leaves the backyard, there is a sea of empty bottles and cans left behind to mark the event. An outsider would think they are being inconsiderate of the host’s lawn, but they usually don’t put out trashcans.

Flyer distribution, which is crucial to the survival of this group’s main social activity, has evolved with computers and e-mail. More of the young punks in the area are getting computer access than ever before and it increases the contact with other punk groups. I think one of interesting things about this group is how little it has changed, even though people and their style of dress may change. Perhaps the lack of change is from little contact with outside punk groups or a lack of ability to leave the area. It’s as if everyone feels stuck and just accepts this way of life.