Savannah’s punk scene makes it to public radio (no joke)

On Wednesday morning, I struggled out of my hotel bed in Atlanta at some ungodly hour, and then decided to walk the deserted streets of midtown Atlanta (so many residents, so few pedestrians!) to Georgia Public Broadcasting‘s offices on 14th Street (right next to The Silver Skillet). I had seen The Rolling Stones the night before at Bobby Dodd Stadium (click here for photos and a review) and sat with friends for a couple hours at Publik Draft House after the show.

That morning, I did not feel very punk.

But I tried to perk up once I saw all the other waiting guests — properly dressed and everything — for the Celeste Headlee-hosted On Second Thought. Celeste and her team had pre-recorded an interview with Zak Barnum and Daniel Derek Lynch from Crazy Bag Lady, and they played brief clips of their band and of Trophy Wives

Here’s how OST described the segment: “Savannah has become a hub for punk bands, both with local groups seeing success and with national acts making the city a part of their tour. Why Savannah, and why now?” Check it out:

We could have covered so much more ground — I could have gone on all day — but nothing over 9 minutes could possibly be punk. I tried to tie today’s punk scene’s roots to the broader alternative/underground/DIY scene in Savannah in recent decades, but I’m not sure I did a very good job of that. I also hoped to mention the upcoming show by Fucked Up, although I’m not sure how one bleeps oneself on live radio, and I wanted to mention Crazy Bag Lady’s label Retro Futurist (founded by core members of Kylesa), and talk a little bit about other young punk bands like The Anxiety Junkies, and say something too about the young garage rock acts like Wet Socks. COEDS fits in there somewhere too, right? Anyway …

We also touched on a couple of the issues involving Savannah’s lame sound ordinance and complaints by residents who seem to want vibrant scenes right next door but only if they’re quiet. I have a lot more to say about the issues involved — 5 Savannah clubs or venues are embroiled in battles over sound, and all the issues are different — but I’ll save those thoughts for another day.