Punk Rock Bowling Scene Report
Dispatches from the gutters of Las Vegas
I have a love/hate relationship with Punk Rock Bowling—the annual three-day music festival and bowling tournament in Las Vegas. Before I got sober, I treated PRB as the excess olympics. The depravity and debauchery of that weekend was usually enough to put me off it for the following year and then once the pain receded I came crawling back for more. My twenties and thirties in a nutshell.
In 2004, Razorcake participated in the bowling tournament and our team, The Blatant Stereotypes, came in second place. I chronicled the whole thing for Maisonneuve, which I’m delighted to have discovered has put the article online.
I attended PRB as a sober person in 2017 and while I initially felt a bit disconnected, every time I ran into an old friend it rekindled some of the old magic. I was looking forward to returning to PRB this year for the Circle Jerks reunion, but then life happened.
So I thought I’d reach out to some punk rock lifers and ask them about their experience in the desert. Sometimes roadie, manager, security, and full time zine creator Pete Markowicz puts out Suburban Rebels. Megan Razzetti is an LA-based cat mom and lover of all things music. Kevin Wilcox is the singer for the Las Vegas band Suburban Resistance. (You might remember Kevin from this profile I did of punk rock mom and dads back in 2017. Scroll to the bottom for a photo of his son.) And Keith Morris is the vocalist of Circle Jerks and OFF! These interviews were edited for length and clarity. (Well, one participant’s was…)
Did you feel safe?
PETE: Yes. Everyone was vaccinated or had a negative test result so I was at ease. Unless you had that fake Covid card! Fuck you Delta Variant!
MEGAN: In terms of COVID safety I did feel safe. I knew going into this trip that I could only be in control of myself. I wore my mask and tried to avoid being in the dense parts of the crowds. I know that there is still a risk but it was somewhat reassuring that PRB asked for proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test result before entry to any of the events. Now as a general female festival goer, I did feel safe. Safer than usual at a festival. Usually I see a lot of abnormally aggressive men in crowds but I didn’t experience that at all. Maybe because I wasn’t in any pits or anything. I noticed too at the club shows everyone seemed to have this good energy about them. Maybe everyone was just genuinely happy to be able to come out to this.
KEVIN: Yes, totally. The only thing I had to fear was the ever-lurking menace of hangovers! I live out here so I am used to that area of Vegas and to dealing with the hot temperatures. Good times.
KEITH: You gotta wear your mask and we're vaxxed. They were pretty uptight and sticking to the rules. It wasn't like you could just show up and walk right in. You needed to give them your vax card. We have all of these "Don't fuck with my freedom" people who don't get it. They don't get that years and years ago when we were kids we all got vaccinated for polio and measles and chickenpox. People are still to this day over at the Rite Aid getting a flu shot. Why is this any different? Why is it that something has killed 650,000 people here in the US and we're not through with it? Now, there is a good part to this. And that is the unvaccinated and all of those that occupy these red states. They're the ones that are getting sick and they're the ones that are dying. Normally, we want to say good things about our fellow man. We want to wish and hope that these people don't become ill and don't die. But they're also Republicans. They think God, or Jesus, or whoever is part of that clubhouse will save then. Maybe that being, or that character, or whoever is overseeing all of this is sending them a message: "Get fuckin real!" Normally you don't want to say bad things about these people but you know if you're an idiot you're going to get treated like an idiot. It's the same thing when you're the guy that shows up at the gig and thinks you're going to just fuck shit up and wreck things and get in the pit and punch people. “I'm the big tough guy and I'm bulletproof!” Well wait till somebody starts shooting at you, Mr. Bulletproof and we'll find out how bulletproof you are.
Did you cross anything off your bucket list?
PETE: Yes. The Circle Jerks!!!!! It was amazing.
MEGAN: I really didn’t have a set bucket list going into this experience but many PRB veterans had mentioned how you can meet people from bands in the Gold Nugget or wandering around Fremont Street. I didn’t stay at the Gold Nugget but when I got into town on Thursday I went to see FEAR. I noticed a guy with black-rimmed glasses and salt and pepper hair. Although it was a common look of the fest, this guy looked so familiar and it turned out to be Milo Aukerman of the Descendents! I was actually a little star struck, which doesn’t happen often. For me, meeting a member of such a legendary band was a bucket list moment for sure. I also tried the Midwest specialty of Malört for the first time which was one of my goals of the trip since I knew someone would have some on hand. I will say it’s an acquired taste.
KEVIN: I did! My band Suburban Resistance got to play the festival this year which was a huge deal for us! I’ve been going to this fest for 11 years or so, so it was super cool to get to play at a fest I love with so many other cool bands. It was an awesome experience.
KEITH: My bucket list from here on out is just to live another day, and be able to go out there and do whatever is before me.
What was your highlight? (Top three at the most.)
PETE: Lenny Mental wearing no pants, Devo, and vegan food trucks.
MEGAN: Seeing Laura Jane Grace at rooftop pool deck was amazing. She played a combination of Against Me! songs with her newer solo tracks. Another of my highlights was being able to see a lot of bands I’d probably never get to see if I had not gone to the fest. DEVO and Circle Jerks really were amazing headliners and seeing them for the first time was really mind blowing. Also was just being able to spend time with new and old friends, we really spent a lot of time laughing and it felt really good to do that again.
KEVIN: Besides the obvious highlight of my band playing which we’ve already discussed, the top three bands for me were probably Descendents, Circle Jerks, and All. I’ve seen each of them multiple times before, but I just love them so much, they take me straight back to my crucial teenage years when I’d spin those albums over and over again and sing along to every word. I saw tons of other great bands that all deserve mention, but sticking with them for the top three.
KEITH: The steak dinner I ate at 7pm an hour before I was supposed to be over at the backstage area to start warming up.
Any negative experiences?
PETE: The only negative thing was my Covid test today.
MEGAN: My only negative was running out of steam by the end of the weekend. I really did a good job of pacing myself but by Sunday afternoon it was hard to function.
KEVIN: Eh, not really, just basic festival stuff. The sun is brutal until 5 or so, so there is never enough shade. There is also never enough seating. Four days in a row (if you include the Thursday night show, which I do!) on yer feet on concrete you need to sit down once in a while. Thirdly, in Vegas there is never enough water. They had a free water station but were struggling to keep up with the demand so lots of times you had to buy expensive bottles of water to stay hydrated which is a must at this fest.
KEITH: I was extremely fortunate in that I developed this thing where I need to eat before we play. And I need to stock up on the carbs and I need to stock up on the protein and I need to stock up on the starch and vegetables and fruit. And if I don't fill up. I have a difficult time vocalizing thirty-three songs.
Did you cry?
PETE: Yes....I dropped my ice cream.
MEGAN: Yes of course I did. I went to see the Menzingers on Friday evening when I was able to get a spot right up front. They were the last live show I went to in November 2019 before the pandemic started. I think for me I was emotional because so much impactful life changing things have happened in my life (as with everyone else I’m sure) from the last time I saw them. Their music reminds me of a lot memories of special moments I have shared with people I care about who are no longer here anymore. I think also my tears weren’t just me being a sad Emo girl but also just from feeling joy as well. It was cathartic, I felt like I was piecing together a part of my soul that kind of drifted off somewhere.
KEVIN: No, but I may have gotten close by Sunday. When you’ve got three hangovers piled up on each other, yer way short on sleep and yer feet are killing you and then All goes up there and starts singing all these sad, sentimental lyrics from yer youth, one could get emotional…c’mon, pull yerself together Kevin! I’m not crying, yer crying.
KEITH: Why would I cry?
Well, for a lot of people this was their first big show since the pandemic and they got very emotional.
KEITH: You have to understand that the Circle Jerks already played two other shows. We played Riot Fest, and that was pretty amazing. And we played in the rain. And now, your question is well, why didn't you stop playing? You could get electrocuted! Apparently, the production people have dealt with this before. And the only way they were really going to shut anything down was if there was any lightning, and the lightning apparently was earlier in the day. Now, the night before we played Guns N' Roses played like Wrigley Field or somewhere like that. I really don't care that much for Guns N' Roses but the same day that we played the Riot Fest. The Grateful Dead (Dead & Co.) we're playing their big show, and that got shut down. Once it started raining, they just shut the whole thing down. So, I guess the young people's punk rock, go for it, let's do this, let's get it on and make some shit happen applies to us and doesn't apply to the Grateful Dead.
There you have it. Do you have a favorite PRB experience? Sound off in the comments.
Want more Keith Morris? Check out My Damage: The Story of a Punk Rock Survivor. In case you missed it, here’s an epic new video from Keith’s other band OFF! performing Metallica’s “Holier Than Thou.”