Punkhouse: Anarchist Interiors

Screeching Weasel summed up punk houses perfectly in the aptly titled song “Punk House”: “Don’t mind all the filth and grime and muck…Young and dirt poor and having fun / And we’re never growing up.” The tune is an ode to the types of places Abby Banks traveled to for Punkhouse: Anarchist Interiors. The book is a coast-to-coast photographic look at punk habitats, which usually start as living space for friends who live in close quarters in order to lower the rent and provide more time for art, music and activism. The houses are a staple in the genre’s community, and every punk rocker has been to, lived at, partied at, passed out in and maybe even gotten lucky in one.

Punkhouse is filled with photographs from these places as well as anarchist warehouses, feminist collectives, tree houses, basement bike shops, speak-easies, hobo squats and much more. The book also features commentary from notable punks such as Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill, Le Tigre), Ian Mackaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) and Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), who also edited the book. Banks will drop into Domy today as part of her nationwide tour to discuss her voyage to these punk rock outposts. The night will also include a screening of her short film, which she describes on her MySpace page as a “silent slapstick film where Charlie Chaplin and I learn how to huff glue with some Boston punks in the future.” If this isn’t reason enough to go, the acoustic musical stylings of Tim Findlen and Pat the Bunny should definitely make the event worth the ticket price: free. 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Domy, 1709 Westheimer. For information, call 713-523-3669 of visit www.domystore.com.
Sat., Nov. 3, 7-9 p.m., 2007