Original post here and below the editorial essay.
What a brilliant time for this documentary. The waxing moon is growing strong with the full moon arriving this Friday June 13th, 2014. Check it out and support friends Paul Bishow & James Schneider!! And check out their Kickstarter site… Punk the Capital, straight from Washington D.C. Documentary by Paul Bishow & James Schneider
A documentary exploring how Punk took hold in Washington D.C., from 1976 through the hardcore explosion of the early 1980s. Look below and click on it…!!!!! Being a backer makes a pledge. It is like the good old days when supporting the wildfire of a scene …no questions asked…it was just done. FIVE DAYS LEFT!!!!!
Essay editorial of what happened.
Erased from Punk History: My Experience with Punk the Capital
Flipside T-Shirt for sale. Support the Flipside memory.
Just click on image.
In 2019, I was interviewed for Punk the Capital: The DC Punk Scene. The filmmakers presented it as a definitive story of a cultural moment that shaped us all. I was excited to be included—because I lived it, contributed to it, and carried it forward.
Flipside Fanzine, where I worked and wrote, didn’t just cover the Los Angeles punk scene—we reached across the country. We connected DC bands with readers who cared. We helped document their scene, gave them space, and built the bridge between coasts.
The early punk scene was loaded with women.
But on the day of the Los Angeles premiere, I was told I was excluded. My interview was cut. Instead of my own words, a band member was given the stage to read a letter from Flipside—my home, my work, my history.
As if my voice, my presence, my lived experience didn’t matter.
A Panel Without Me
That night, I watched as the panel unfolded: Henry Rollins ignored me. Ian from Minor Threat patronized me. The filmmaker himself patronized me. And yet, some of my ideas appeared in the film anyway—stripped of context, stripped of credit.
I was erased, not once but twice.
Alec Mackay the only DC punk that matters.
The Gendered Silence of Punk
Punk claimed to be about smashing old hierarchies, giving voice to the voiceless. But too often, the same patriarchal patterns replayed themselves under a new name. Women who built the scene—who published, promoted, archived, and lived punk—were dismissed or cut out.
Flipside supported DC punk when few others did. And yet, when the “official” history was packaged, my presence was replaced by a man reading a letter. That choice says everything about how women’s contributions are handled in punk history.
What It Cost
It broke my heart. Punk was my family. My contribution was real. To have it dismissed in front of my peers was devastating.
But I also know this: I was there. I worked for Flipside. I carried Los Angeles punk alongside others who gave everything to it. My work supported theirs. My words documented theirs.
Hudley doing a record review on Media Blitz 1980s
Why I’m Speaking Now
I’m writing this because silence equals erasure. Henry Rollins ignored me. Ian patronized me. The filmmaker patronized me. They used my insights, but not my name. That’s not just coincidence—it’s systemic.
When the “official” story of punk is told, it matters who gets included and who gets left out. Every time a woman’s contribution is erased, the story becomes less true, less radical, less punk.
Click on image to order Los Angeles Ten Year Anniversary Issue. Focus on Alec Mackay
KFJC Hosted by Hudley Flipside on Flipside Radio 1984.
Tape Two 05/28/84
Interview Minor Threat.
This is the first 60-minute recording from 1984. Right out of punk rock. Enjoy, because you just never knew who would come a knocking on our door? An interesting article in the Los Angeles times today 11/17/2012…in the Business section. “Hostess to go out of business” and how it synchronizes with the above tape, which contains an interview with Ian MacKaye about straight edge virus eating of sweets… and Al mentions the “Twinkle defense” in so many words…. impressive.
Dan White killed San Francisco city supervisor Milk and Mayor Moscone due to the eating of Twinkies, and that he was depressed (hypoglycemia). Also, one of the reasons Hostess is going out of business is because consumers are getting smart about their diets and just don’t eat Twinkies anymore. Some 30 years ago and I win the argument today… how good is that…ahead of me time …. ahhahah life is strange…nasty sweet.
