Punk Music In Toronto: Low-Income Earners

Full name Student number, Professor’s name Punk Music in Toronto The punk music is one of the subcultures of the much larger Rock music genre. It is a subculture that is largely associated with the adolescents or basically the youths. However, there is always a larger group of enthusiasts that love the music for the historical significance it carries. There is an element of rebellion that comes with sub culture. All the same, it goes much further than that as it carries with it the themes of fashion, ideologies, expression of art, literature and dance among others. While the music is not associated with just the immigrants, it is one that provides a rich culture for the people that live in Toronto. That is both the current generation and even the older generation that had the first-hand experience of the music when it first came to town in the 1970s (Moran, 2010). Given the amount of time that has passed between the 1970s and today, one would be hard pressed to find out how the music subculture that is this old has survived the current and digital age. This can be attributed to the do it yourself approaches. The DIY aspect is the most important factor and one that has brought out the best of the past to the present. Much of the activities of the bands that are involved in this subculture use independent record labels, using DIY press and organizing and performing in DYI venues (Moran, 2010). These are the basic pillars that have kept this culture alive for so long since the 70s. It has been a platform for those that seek an alternative lifestyle. It is through the DYI systems that have been put in place that allow the culture to be propagated (Moran, 2010). The people that support this kind of music are able to create connections and maintain them. Through this connections, the punk bands are able to move around the country planning events in different venues for the fans. Though it a genre that is not largely involved in the mainstream industry, it is quite interesting to note that, this is a sub culture that has an avid following across Toronto and even beyond. It is also interesting to note that, while there aren’t many people that know about the punk subculture or more importantly some of the performing bands, the latter still get to perform internationally even with their dismal status in the main stream sector (Baron, 1989). Punk lovers This is a subculture that is largely associated with the low income earners in the society. This would explain why the DIY approach became so popular when it was introduced. Largely most of the people that are associated with the music did so, as it was the genre that is associated with their situations (Turrini, 2013). At the same time, given that there is not much money to be made in this category of music, most of the artiste would appreciate the ability to do it themselves. There is a common bond that comes with the feeling of being alienated and as such, for most of the fans and artists, it presents a platform to express themselves. Compared to Vancouver where the performances back in the 1980s were in halls, in Toronto the performances were largely in the bars. There are references to the fact that, some of the most prominent populations that were into punk music in the 80s and the 90s lived around the Kensington Market (O'Connor, 2002). However, they would later on be pushed out relative to the gentrification of the region and the fact that the rents were raised beyond what they could afford. This meant that, there were fewer run down areas where the punk lovers could have their events. For a population that was pushed to the edge, the punk music presented a way to critic the society and some of the ways that they formed norms. For example, for the people that had been pushed out of the Kensington Market, the punk music made their lives better by giving them the platform through which they could bring out their feelings. This is a common denominator in the punk subculture where the themes are generally associated with artists pointing out some of the elements in the society that most other genres are trying to avoid as they want to play it safe for the punk music lovers, they want the raw review of the society with a hint of anger and critical review of the norms in society that everyone is faithfully following. ‘By the 1990s, the scene in Toronto was fragmented. Venues for shows sprung up only to close months later. Some punks continued to live in Kensington Market until gentrification and rising rents in the late 1990s squeezed them out. Toronto's urban geography is quite different from many cities in the United States. There are few rundown areas that might provide venues for punk shows or low-cost housing for punks. A small straight edge scene began to emerge, mainly in the suburbs, but avoided the extremism of straight edge in the United States. It is difficult to describe a scene in Toronto because it seems more a matter of small groups of bands in relation to music and trends f...