Punks Rule

Feature: “Shauntay Speaks,” January 24

Poor Shauntay Henderson. Vicious rumors were spread about her being (gasp!) a rapper and a lesbian. She’s only getting older and fatter while awaiting trial, and her chances of making a baby are slipping by. At least she still gets to set the record straight. DeAndre Parker doesn’t have such a privilege. There are all sorts of wonderful people in this city who are far more deserving of the space you gave this person. If Shauntay wants to speak of her personal woes, she can save it for someone who cares. I know I don’t.

William J. Haddix, Kansas City, Missouri

Music, “Punks Among Us,” February 7

DIY Press

Jason Harper said we closed El Torreon to DIY Punk? We were huge supporters of the punk scene. We did many punk shows in the time we ran the place, and our label did two punk albums, one by the Skate O Maso­chists and one by the Rippers (they broke up prior to release). We also recorded Under the Black Sails and many others. We averaged at least one punk show a week, and the turnouts averaged about 10-15 people at best. There needs to be a crowd to support a scene, and the reality is, this scene goes to house parties. The main reason these house parties do so well is simple: Teenagers can get drunk! That’s the reason no “all ages” venues will ever be able to compete with a big house party: You can’t drink.

The same thing used to go on in the West Bottoms back in the day, with bands like Mortal Reign and Banshee in the metal scene and Cretin 66 et al in the punk scene. Huge underground parties. No public place will ever be able to compete … unless they drop the drinking age back to 18.

We just released another new punk album two weeks ago at the Mission Theatre: the Incoherents’ Can’t Get Anywhere.

Drew Burasco, BeatOven Records, Kansas City, Missouri

We of Attack On Uranus concur that there is an extremely vital punk scene brewing. Although we have had many opportunities to play various venues around town, we agree the scene lacks a home. That hasn’t stopped the DIY bands from thriving and we believe it’s only a matter of time before they find one. A good example of this was the recent Rock Down Drag Out at Davey’s Uptown Ramblers Club, featuring eight of Kansas Cities gnarliest punk bands! 2008 should be a relevant year for punk rock and music in general. We hope Kansas City will be relevant in this movement as well.

Neill Smith and Thom Rose,

Kansas City, Missouri