The punk house has been a phenomenon for almost the past half a century. I’ve taken my kids to shows at my local a few times so they know what it’s like to wonder if a structure is going to withstand all the punks stomping through it and on it. In the early 80s, the punk house to be at in Austin was the OAF (One-Armed Farmers) House. Photographer David Sprague captured some amazing photos of it, and the Austin punks who braved Texan outrage to be a part of its outsider culture. Writer Michael Corcoran has an amazing story called “Great Party! Who Lives Here?” that you need to read (go here) if you enjoy your punk history. Here’s a small excerpt and some of Sprague’s awesome photos below that:
When I got to town in the ‘80s, there was the “House of Many Women” at 28th and San Gabriel, and of course there was the Colony at 2703 Rio Grande, where punk rockers would stay up all night every Saturday, so they could wake up the sorority girls with their racket in the parking lot Sunday morning. “Go ahead and complain. We’re legal,” read a banner facing the Contessa West next door. Colony “caretaker” David McDonald would get a sound permit for the bands every week. After the Colony closed the punk party scene moved to the OAF House, at 2800 San Pedro, which was also owned by John Pierratt.
The OAF (One-Armed Farmers) House would have a big barbecue in the back yard most Sundays, even inviting the hobos who lived in the bamboo forest out back. Bands would play, including Pez, Technicolor Yawns and Scratch Acid, whose singer David Yow was a resident, but here comes the fuzz to shut down the music. Back then, a party didn’t count unless the cops showed up.
There was a lot of acrimony in the late ‘70s between the Raul’s crowd and the Greeks, as exemplified by the meme, “I was punk rock when it was called ‘Hey, faggot!’” The Big Boys answered with the single “Frat Cars” (“Let’s tow them away!”) in 1980. Willie World didn’t like punks either, with Austin Opera House stagehands brawling with the Big Boys and their fans onstage at the 1984 Austin Music Awards.
– Michael Corcoran (read the full story here)
