I'm an old punk (and old guy). Did the whole 70's NYC CBGB Maxes scene. I knew and still do some of the bands. Great music but we were all junkies and drunks and nothing close to Straight Edge. I was sober by the time that scene hit. I do love some of the bands like Minor Threat. I saw Bad Brains at CBGB drunk and sober. Damn, now I feel old :D

Funny thing this sobriery - I sat in meetings with some of the musicians I saw play just a few years earlier. Some of us got it. More didn't.

-allan

I'm checking out more straightedge stuff now. i used to be so against it because that's because they were 'criticising' my lifestyle choice. but i didn't have a choice, mine was an addiction not a lifestyle!
Thanks for posting these, i'll check them out. I don't think i'll get involved in the sXe scene, I can find some people a bit 'preachy' (although that's my opinion, and I respect theirs) but the music has such a powerful and valuable message.
As a fellow punk, I get so bored of drunkpunk generic 'we are cool, cos we drink' lyrics.

Not sure if you've checked out Anti-Flag, they're straight edge too.
I'm getting more and more into hardcore since I got sober, because I need my PMA topping up on a daily basis! Thanks for the recommendations.

Crazy. I did some work for genesis p orridge at one point. We met in ny. What a character.

But definitely not straight edge. Love minor threat back in the day. Cro mags anyone?

I'm sure it's already been mentioned but be sure to pick up Dharma Punx and Hardcore Zen. Both books you might be interested in. As for straight edge, I spent my entire teens and twenties in the punk scene, played in a few bands, toured with a few good ones. I was a big Minor Threat guy myself, but was way too into drugs to consider straight edge back then. I always considered myself a punk rocker though, since my very first punk show, seeing Exploited in 1986 and joining in my first mosh pit. It was all down hill from there!

Anyway, I still enjoy a good punk album on my turntable here and there and though I wasn't straight-edge, I can dig me some Minor Threat and Agnostic Front. Not sure how that scene is holding up now, but back in the late 80's, early 90's the scene was pretty strong but unfortunately most SE guys were so self-righteous and arrogant it became a turn off to anyone who just wanted to get sober and find a way out. I mean there was no "getting well" process, it was really militant and some of those dudes took it to crazy extremes. Anyway, if it works for you, that's awesome! You could find a lot worse movements to get involved in for sobriety.

Good luck to you!