Now I know what some of you must be thinking, “Hey there hold on a second Mark, aren’t skinheads racist white guys who promote segregation and hate?” My answer is a definitive “No.” Sure, there may be some that are. But, just like everything else in Nazi culture, the term and look of a skinhead was used long before it was associated with neo-Nazism.
Skinheads have always been working class. The term stems from the mods, peanuts, spy kids and other groups of 1960’s London. Their neighborhoods and the music they listened to formed some into skinheads. There have always been black and white skinheads. There’s no question that Jamaican music shaped the look and identity of skinhead youth. And skinheads have always fought. Between getting into turf wars, brawling over a favorite team and struggling with identity in an ever-changing social climate, gang violence was definitely part of skinhead life.
Obviously these roots grew into a vast array of what is now the modern skinhead. Oi! music grew out of punk rock in the late 1970’s, taking a more working-class approach to the loud, simplistic sound. Combining British hard rock, sports calls and drinking songs, Oi! appealed to the working youth of England, the United States and many other countries throughout the world.
The Industry keeps the Oi! sound alive and very much kicking. Bo is an unabashed, straight to the point kind of guy and his music shows it. Forming about a year ago, the Industry opened for Arizona’s own Fatskins at their reunion show on May 28th. Since then, the line up of musicians backing Bo has changed slightly, but don’t let that worry you. Their current line-up is a regular all-star cast of Valley punk rockers.
Roy, the bassist and most long standing member, is seriously in something like seven bands. I’m sure you must have seen him play in either Bro-Loaf, Casket Life, Johnny Blood and the Transfusions or one of his other “projects.” Dave the drummer delivers tightly-filled punk beats for Grave Danger. Mike crunches out distorted bar chords for The Jitters. They come together in The Industry to form a bare-knuckled street sound that pounds down doors and rings through alleyways.
Songs like “Tried and True,” “Working Class,” and “Unite” identify the core elements of the band. While “Byrds and Beer” and “Betrayal (Fuck You Dick)” alternately showcase the happier and darker times of being a skin. In “Don’t Tread On Me” Bo chants at the beginning, “Racism and politics are to blame, for a lot of our countries’ pain. Pride, honor, unity will shine through, then you’ll see the true red, white, and blue!” This statement best sums up this hard-working band to a T. Go out and see these boot boys play on September 24th, when they open for the legendary Business at the Yucca Tap Room.
