In The Pit – Punk Rock Photos 1981 – 1991, Alison Braun
www.alisonbraun.com/ europe via goodwillrecords.net
Some of you might remember her from her writings in Flipside and Maximumrocknroll under her pseudonym „Mouse“. Alison started taking photos in Los Angeles in the early 80s, documenting the local punk and hardcore scene. Her first published punk photo was taken in the summer of 1981 and it was Wasted Youth, it appeared in Flipside.
After a very short „foreword“ where it is explained „why“ this book, the rest is all b/w photos of local heroes, smaller local bands and a few out of town or international bands that came to town. Here you go: Bl‘ast, Ramones, The Stains, Battalion of Saints, Stalag 13, Circle Jerks, Dead Kennedys, Wasted Youth, Alice in Chains, SSD, DRI, GBH, Soundgarden, Black Flag, The Exploited, Nina Hagen, DOA, The Descendents, Social Distortion, Shattered Faith, The Dickies, Slayer, TSOL, Bad Brains, Nip Drivers, Decry, Necros, Legal Weapon, The Abandoned, Red Scare, Fear, 45 Grave, Misfits, Suicidal Tendencies, The Mentors, UK Subs, Channel 3, Youth Brigade, Bad Religion, Circle One, The Dammned, The Adicts, Motorhead, America‘s Hardcore, The Replacements, China White, Pearl Jam, Seditonaries, Sin 34, Discharge, 7 Seconds and a bunch of crowd/stage diving shots. Over 70 photos, each one has the Bandname, venue name, town and exact date, some even have the original flyer come along with the photo. The whole book is in black/white and gives enough room (28.5 x 22 cm) for the photos. Of course this was before digital photography, but one can tell that Alison was right up there in front to capture the energy of the bands and the event. This is not „snapshots“ this is live photography on a high level of someone who was part of the scene and not just a pro photographer. The best of tens year of her work. Looking back, it is interesting to see how few women where up on stage (or in the pit), but some who where, are in here too. If you like photobooks this is a must have for your collection. 86 pages, hardcover with dustjacket, 30,00 Euro (dolf)
[Trust # 213 April 2022]
