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A punk house is a dwelling occupied by members of the punk subculture. Punk houses are similar to the hippie crash pads of the 1960s and the slan shacks of science fiction fandom. The Factory, an alternative living space founded by Andy Warhol as the home base of The Velvet Underground, is directly linked to the formation of punk rock in New York City. In the early 1980s, a few punk gangs developed around allegiance to certain punk houses.

Punk houses are often centered around certain political or personal ideologies. It is common for a punk house to be strictly straight-edge or vegan. A clique of punks may start a punk house by squatting an abandoned building, or by renting or owning property. Punk houses often become overcrowded, in an attempt to minimize the individual expense of rent or property tax. The low cost of living in a punk house allows residents to avoid full-time employment and to spend their time on pursuits such as arts or activism.

Punk houses serve as backdrops for local scenes; punk houses often provide overnight shelter to touring punk rock bands, and sometimes serve as a venue for shows. Bands or record labels sometimes form in a particular punk house. Many punk houses have associated punk zines that sometimes share the name of the house. Groups of anarcho-punks run their houses as communes. Inhabitants sometimes identify their houses with unique names and symbols so they can represent their residence on clothing and with graffiti.

Punk houses can take on many different forms; most inhabitants, with a few exceptions, do not refer to themselves as punk. Often, these houses revolve around reclusive-exclusives, who more or less form an urban island oasis for weary travelers or those who are hiding from the law.

[edit] Media representations

Examples of punk rock songs that mention punk houses include: "Punkhouse" and "Ashtray" by Screeching Weasel, "Homeo-Apathy" by Leftöver Crack, "Party at 174" by the Bouncing Souls, "Kids of the Black Hole" by The Adolescents,^[1] "LOUIS" by Stupid Party, "Echo Beach" by Eviction Party, and "Landlords" by Pinhead Gunpowder. Aaron Cometbus, editor of a long-running punk fanzine, chronicled his experiences in a punk house called "Double Duce" in a novel of the same name.^[2]

Punk houses serve as settings for a number of punk films, such as Suburbia and SLC Punk!.

Photographer Abby Banks released a book of punk house photography that catalogs many such places in the continental United States in October 2007, titled Punkhouse: Interiors in Anarchy. Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore edited the book.^[3]

[edit] Notable punk houses

• ABC No Rio, New York City
• C-Squat, New York City – Residence and music venue; occupied by members of Leftöver Crack and other punk bands.
• Dial House, Essex, England – home of Crass
• Die Slaughterhaus, Atlanta, GA – residence, venue and record label; occupied by members of Black Lips, Deerhunter and other bands.
• The Black Hole, Fullerton, CA^[1]
• Lost Cross, Carbondale, IL^[4]
• Positive Force House Arlington, Virginia – former residence of Positive Force D.C.

[edit] See also

• Homelessness
• Housing cooperative
• Battle of Ryesgade
• Social center
• Squatting

[edit] Footnotes