Let's talk about "Rural Rock Punk"

I've kept pretty quiet about the whole issue ever since I read N.L. Belardes use the term in a review of my defunct band Flabbergasted. But lately there seems to be a bit of a debate between Heath Dobbler and Nick (when he's not having a tiff with the local rag) on the justification for such a label, spawned apparently by Nick stamping it upon one of Bakersfield's newest punk acts The 28s.

The funny thing about this is that it's the typical punker attitude to not want to be given any sort of label. Heck, even The Ramones were apprehensive when their particular brand of music was labeled "punk rock." So it's easy to dismiss some people's rejection for punker pride.

I find the name a little confusing. When I hear "rural rock punk" I can't help but imagine a bunch of guys in overralls jamming out after a day of milking cows and feeding hogs. I know Bakersfield is surrounded by rural areas, but punk in and of itself is urban, and so is the root of punk in Bakersfield. I always referred to punk as urban folk music.

Nick attributes The Filthies as the originators of this "rural rock punk" sound. Problem is there were other bands in Bakersfield who played very similar styles of music long before The Filthies. Another thing is The Filthies and The 28s hardly sound like each other at all. The biggest similarity between the two is they are both punk bands and that is their influence.

I understand what Nick is doing in trying to get the Bakersfield scene stand out in some sort of way. But I can't see giving something a new genre title unless there is something common about it that clearly distinguishes itself from all others. I don't see it, not in The Filthies, The 28s, or any other Bakersfield punk band before it. They are just punk bands, in the traditional and classic style.