Upside Down Punks

This cover of this zine features the classic Fugazi picture and the subtitle “The strange but true story of that Fugazi Basketball Hoop Show”. You know the one. I picked it up on the counter at a record store in Hamburg while my bandmates were blowing up my phone talking about a soundcheck I was late for. In the split second that it took me to notice the zine I got so excited that I didn’t bother to look at the price tag or who put it out. I was just glad I found some cool reading material about a subject I love: FUGAZI lore. And that’s exactly what this zine is packed with, recollecting the events that happened on what I understand was their first Philadelphia show ever; a rather underattended and underwhelming show it seems, if it wasn’t for that spontaneous stunt performed by a shirtless Guy Picciotto contorting his body into a basketball hoops while singing. A moment that became such a classic depiction of the band, a legendary photo and a legendary clip on video. The zine retrace the path of the promoter leading to booking his first and last show ever; you can read his correspondence with Ian McKaye through the years leading up to him booking that show, the flyer, photos of the venue, of the bands playing, and comments from several of the people involved that night. A cool comprehensive view of a moment that became truly iconic.

UPSIDE DOWN PUNKS by J. Hunter Bennett
(Microcosm Publishing)
https://halfletterpress.com/upside-down-punks/