“We had to dig pretty deep to find a lot of this stuff, because when people were doing this they didn’t document it, they didn’t think anyone necessarily cared about it… we had a handful of fliers, a couple of records, and we just had to talk to people and pick their memories. It’s been wonderful because I’ve gotten to reflect on something that was really big in my life here in high school. A lot of people have said punk rock really changed their lives - it’s really empowering, they met some of their longest friends - but also because they had to do it themselves, it taught them that it’s kind of a life skill and a philosophy. If you want something to be a different way in the world you have to do it yourself, you can’t just sit around waiting for it.” - Dawson Barrett, co-author of ‘Punks in Peoria: Making a Scene in the American Heartland’

Sunday I attended the “Punks in Peoria Fest’ at Casa de Arte. With little background knowledge going in, I anticipated a day of 14 punk bands ripping through fast-paced riffs with mosh pits in front of the stage, maybe like a local Vans Warped Tour. But instead of being thrust into a mosh pit, I was told about a book called ‘Punks in Peoria: Making a Scene in the American Heartland’, the release of which coincided with the festival. This was the first time I had ever attended a show and immediately been told about a book. I was pleased to learn that there was more going on here than meets the eye.

“I think it’s amazing because there have been hundreds of really good bands in this town over the course of the last three decades or so… if you look around there are kids here, there are old timers here, to me that’s really exciting that all these people have this thing in common” - Dawson Barrett

Co-authors Dawson Barrett and Jonathan Wright met in the 90s when Jonathan was putting on DIY shows in Peoria under his promoting company Naked Bums. Over the years the history of the punk scene in Peoria was something they both continued to mention as something that somebody should write a book about. When the University of Illinois Press publishing company began doing a local scene history series, Dawson and Jonathan saw fit to seize the opportunity.

Originally planning to start with the 90s, they realized they'd have to go back into the 80s to uncover the whole story. Over six years, 80 interviews, countless public surveys, and hours mining Facebook comments for information went into digging up the history of the underground DIY scene in Peoria.

When asked what made Peoria a hotbed for Punk DIY over other smaller cities and relative to larger ones, Jonathan says the storied history in Punk is not necessarily something unique to Peoria. They just put the effort in to compile stories and info about it. Jonathan tells me “Traditionally, many of the large cities are the ones that typically get books written about them in regards to the history of their respective punk scene, such as New York, LA, Chicago. All of the ink goes to those large cities, but it was also bubbling under the surface in every town across the country.”

All that effort brought the history of the Punk scene in Peoria to life on September 5th at the Punks in Peoria Fest. The lineup spanned generations, ranging from Electric Cool-Aid, who was the first band to play a punk show ever in Peoria, all the way to young bands active in Peoria today, like Terribly Happy and The Golden Fleece. The bands also spanned genres - including old school Rock n’ Roll from Super 88, blood pumping Post-Hardcore from Rings, and catchy garage-punk from Tina Sparkle.

Jonathan explains that “It’s Punks in Peoria, but we use the term ‘Punk’ very loosely - it’s more of a mindset than a particular genre.”

One of the groups that played Sunday was Scouts Honor. Active from 2002 - 2009, they toured nationally as well as in Europe. Jared, lead singer of the band, has long been an active participant in the punk scene in Peoria. He became a major contributor to the book, submitting photos, art, and stories to Jonathan and Dawson, including a story that ended up in the book where he went to his first show at a bar called Crazy’s in Bartonville.

Jared viewed the fest as “just a fun thing to do, to be with a bunch of friends and play a show”. Jared’s focus remains on his solo music, which he has been performing since 2001. His band Jared Grabb Among Thieves released a record in June 2020, and he will be releasing a solo record in early 2022.

“Tom (of Scouts Honor) plays in Jared Grabb Among Thieves as the drummer, so I’m still playing with my friends making music - it’s just that I don’t scream anymore, and today I’m going to be screaming” - Jared Grabb

There was more than music at the festival - various pieces of relevant art were displayed inside Casa de Arte. The Punks in Peoria art exhibition will be on display until September 29, and includes an epic poster depicting the scope of the exhibition, an interactive ‘Punk Rock Flyer Machine’, and a collage of five dozen punk show flyers from the 1980s to the 2010s.

Jonathan was grateful to proceed with the event, despite some COVID-19 worries. “We were able to make people feel safe… there was enough room that people could keep a little distance, wear masks, and enjoy live music again… and also see friends that people hadn’t seen in years in some cases. It was kind of like an old school family reunion.”

As the final event associated with the book and its release, Dawson described the festival as a kind of “exclamation point” to the project. After spending over six years compiling fliers, anecdotes, and photographs associated with the development of the punk scene in Peoria, it has no doubt been a long process for Jonathan and Dawson.

“Peoria is not really much different from any other town of its size, this type of scene is happening all over the country in every city, it just takes someone who’s crazy enough to spend six years of their life doing research and interviews and putting together a book about it...” - Jonathan Wright

‘Punks in Peoria: Making a Scene in the American Heartland’ by Jonathan Wright and Dawson Barrett available now:

https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/88nee7mw9780252043802.html