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Punk in College Park

From Bad Brains and the Slickee Boys performing at the Varsity Grill Backroom on Route 1 to the Ramones performing at Stamp to Fugazi at Ritchie Coliseum, the University of Maryland and the city of College Park have been important sites for punks to perform, zines to be started, and for bands to take shape since the 1970s. Despite the city's ill-fated attempt to ban punk from its venues in 1979, the fliers and zines below document the persistence of the scene.

Fliers

Black and white handwritten flier for a music event titled "New Wave Bash" with varying text styles, creating a playful and chaotic aesthetic.
Bad Brains, Snitch, Penetrators, Kid Band members - Varsity Grill, College Park, Maryland 3/25/79
Yellow flier with black text and an illustration of a man with a microphone singing.
Billy Hancock and the Tennessee Rockets, Slickee Boys, Bad Brains - University of Maryland Colony Ballroom - College Park, Maryland, 4/11/1980
A concert poster that is black and white with a pink tint. It shows four men sitting against a brick wall at the top half of the page, and the bottom half of the flyer has more information.
Ramones, Slickee Boys - University of Maryland Grand Ballroom - College Park, Maryland, 6/8/1980
Yellow flier for a 999 concert. In the center is a large, bold '999' sign and to the right are all the event details in small text, oriented diagonally.
999 - University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland - October 13, 1981
A flier with a light-green background. The majority of the flier is taken up by their new album cover, with a list of songs, an image of a person's face looking out from the shadows, and stylized text that says 'Beat Noir'.
Fingerprintz - The Pub, College Park, Maryland, February 2, 1982
A simple text-only flier for an event called 'The Last Blast'.
Slickee Boys - University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, May 4, 1982
A benefit event flier. There is an illustration of a woman kneeling down to tie the boots of a soldier who is looking down at her condescendingly.
Necros, Meatmen, Iron Cross - The Mill, Adelphi, Maryland, August 11, 1982
A collage styled flier. The images in the background collage are mostly warfare images.
MDC, Exiled, Hate from Ignorance, Scream - The Mill, Adelphi, Maryland, September 2, 1982
A yellow flier with black text and illustrations for a Rock and Reggae concert at the University of Maryland. The illustrations are of the band members of the two performing bands.
Mighty Invaders and Slickee Boys - University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, September 17, 1982
Flier with a large image of their logo and the event details underneath.
The Slickee Boys - University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland - May 6th, 1983
Yellow flier with black text for Violent Femmes and Slickee Boys.
Violent Femmes and Slickee Boys concert flier, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland - October 14, 1983
Black and white Scream flier (the top half is black/gray and the bottom half is white) with bold text.
Scream concert flier, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, November 4, 1983 (Version 2)
Red-tinted flier with large, bold text in black in different fonts, and at the center is the Slickee Boys circular logo (illustrated character's face with a mask on, covering the nose and mouth).
The Obsessed and Slickee Boys - University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, February 24, 1984
Flier with a dark background image of a singer performing on stage, and there is stylized text at the top and bottom around the figure.
Government Issue - King Kong Restaurant, Adelphi, Maryland - July 16, 1984
Flier with a scribbled background, stylized text, and an illustration of a giant picture holding people with scared expressions.
Gray Matter - King Kong Restaurant, Adelphi, Maryland - August 21, 1984 (Front)
Hand-written list of names (seems to be either song or band names as Gray Matter is among them) that are numbered from 1 to 9.
Gray Matter - King Kong Restaurant, Adelphi, Maryland - August 21, 1984 (Reverse)
Bright green flier for an all-ages 'back to school' event with bold black text as well as handwritten text at the bottom.
Replacements - King Kong Club, Adelphi, Maryland, September 23, 1984
Black and white flier with a title at the top, two columns of text boxes at the center (with an illustration of a rat in between wearing a shirt that says 'We don't bite'), and then one text box at the bottom.
Autumn Music Festival, the Slickee Boys, the Lyres concert flier - Adele H. Stamp Student Union, College Park, Maryland, October 27, 1984
Black and yellow flier with a patterned background and content in the center with an illustration of an Asian woman in cultural clothing reading a small book.
Slickee Boys - University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, circa November 17, 1984
Black and white hand-drawn flier with a darkly shaded background, gothic text, and at the center is a skeleton figure with bat-like wings, holding a trident and standing on a cross with a skull.
Malefice - King Kong Restaurant, Adelphi, Maryland - November 21, 1984
Flier with a black background, cut-out styled text, and an illustration of a man singing into a microphone.
Government Issue - University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland - December 6, 1984
Slickee Boys and Black Markey Baby flyer with pink text and a line drawing of a person's eyes and hair.
The Slickee Boys and Black Market Baby concert poster - Adele H. Stamp Student Union, College Park, Maryland, April 19, 1985
Wanktones flyer printed in pink with a drawing of bandmembers.
The Wanktones and the Vibrato Brothers - Stamp Union Atrium, College Park, Maryland, November 21, 1985
Slickee Boys and Rhomboids flyer with an illustration of a man wearing a scarf that covers his mouth.
The Slickee Boys and the Rhomboids - Stamp Student Union Colony Ballroom, College Park, Maryland, November 22, 1985
Slickee Boys and Rhomboids flyer on yellow paper, with concentric circle patterns.
The Slickee Boys and the Rhomboids - Stamp Student Union, Colony Ballroom, College Park, Maryland, November 22, 1985
Marginal Man flyer on a pink paper with an illustration of a mother listening to the radio with her child.
Marginal Man - WMUC, College Park, Maryland, April 26, 1986
Barrence Whitfield flyer with a dark-skinned man in sunglasses with crosses on them and an orange headwrap.
Barrence Whitfield and the Savages - University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, May 8, 1986
Butthole Surfers flyer with photos of crowds overlaid with paper cutouts of the title, acts, and event details.
Butthole Surfers and Government Issue - University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, November 21, 1988
Red flier with black text and an illustration at the top of a woman with short hair leaning against a wall, looking to the side, and pointing a gun.
Black Tambourine concert flier, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, April 26, 1990 (Version 1)
Light blue flier with black text and a large outline drawing of a close-up of a woman's face (smiling).
Black Tambourine concert flier, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, April 26, 1990 (Version 2)
Fugazi flyer on orange paper with a caduceus surrounded by the text, 'Healthcare for the People'.
Fugazi, Hoover, Slant 6 concert flier – Ritchie Coliseum, College Park, Maryland, April 2, 1993
Jawbox flyer with simple print on beige paper.
Jawbox, Chisel, and Corm – University of Maryland Colony Ballroom, College Park, Maryland, September 28, 1996
Franklin flyer with a pixellated background overlaid with the title and event details.
Franklin, Jenhitt, The Elusive, and Atom & His Package concert flier - WMUC, College Park, Maryland, October 11, 1997

Zines

Unicorn Times article with a photo of band members and the headline, 'WMUC: Something in the Air'.
Unicorn Times article, "WMUC: Something In The Air," December 1981

About

Persistent Vision presents the University of Maryland's digitized special collections materials related to punk in the Washington, D.C. area. Most of these materials reside at Special Collections in Performing Arts (SCPA) in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library. These materials help to tell the story of a subculture and a community that has thrived since 1976.

Curators: John Davis, Ben Jackson
Design: Ben Jackson, Natalie Salive
Authors: Ben Jackson, John Davis, and Jessica Grimmer

With help from: Cindy Zhao, Jeremy Gottwig, Amanda Henderson, Gabby Cameron, Hayden Kramer

Contact Us

Special Collections in Performing Arts is located in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library on University of Maryland’s College Park campus.

For general information about the library and our collections, contact us