On The Map is where we highlight famous, and not as well-known, musical sites that you can visit. This month, we drop down into Las Vegas, home of The Punk Rock Museum. Let’s explore!
THE SITE
Nothing in Vegas is quiet or stereotypical. It’s big lights, big shows, big noises and big attractions. So why would you even think that a museum housing punk rock’s history would be anything but over-the-top! 12,000 square feet of all things punk just engulf you when you walk in. There are guitars and jackets, photos and flyers, sneakers and vinyl, a jam room, and a tattoo parlor; you can even get married in the place! It’s a sensory overload of a genre of music that is still around today in its various forms, and you can see it all when you visit this one building in Las Vegas. Located at 422 Western Avenue, it’s off-strip, therefore getting you away from the glitzy showbiz trappings that punk rock usually hated.
WHAT IS PUNK ROCK ANYWAY?
According to some of it’s biggest performers, punk music always started with a feeling – how life wasn’t exactly a happy place to be because of troubles at home or with the economy – so they reached out musically with their anger and frustration. Debbie Harry wrote in the Foreward to Punk: The Whole Story: “In the UK, the punk movement was much more political, and we could see it as soon as we got there. Everybody was very outwardly driven and politically minded and it was all in the music. It was really all about their economy because their economy had turned to shit. A great percentage of people were on the dole, and there really was no future for these kids.”
Henry Rollins wrote in the foreward to Punk Rock: An Oral History: “Punk rock saved a lot of people’s sanity, emboldened the timid & gave countless youth all over the world a voice.” X’s John Doe wrote in his book Under The Big Black Sun: “We commented on a world that, to us, had become unbelievably crass and stupid, a world that was just recognizing the separation between rich and poor.” And Billy Idol wrote in his memoir, Dancing With Myself: “In mid-70’s England, you couldn’t get a shit job, let alone have a career. It didn’t matter if you were a garbage collector or a college graduate.” And X’s DJ Bonebrake told me in a 2012 interview with Glide: “It was just a lot of people who were creative but had no outlet, to say it succinctly. So yeah, we were mad and we were frustrated and in some ways we deserved to be and in other ways it was just the typical, youthful blame game: It’s always someone else’s fault. The youth are self-centered and I certainly was.”
BIRTH
“A Punk Rock Museum had been on my mind for a long, long time, but it became a reality for me with one random call from an unknown number during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Lead Curator Bryan Ray Turcotte explained to me recently about the origins of the museum that opened its doors in 2023. “Normally I wouldn’t pick up a number I didn’t recognize but for some reason I just answered the call.” And with that phone call, The Punk Rock Museum fast became concrete, a done deal.
“It was so amazing to find out that a museum of punk rock had been set in motion. I was 100% gonna jump at the opportunity to be involved. I’ve been gearing up for something like this for over twenty years.” Turcotte, who comes via punk rock naturally, via a band, a cool record label and as a longtime collector of the visual aspects of the music, was on board before Fat Mike Burkett even finished his spiel. Although it took several years to come to fruition, “The building was already in place at the time Mike called, but I wanna say within weeks of that we met up in person – Fat Mike, Fletcher Dragge, and Pat Smear – to make it official. We headed to Vegas to walk through the building and begin the basic plans, layout, and general design. The case systems, photo murals, tech and musical elements, and thousands of other details, along with tons of meetings, a million Zoom calls, and then a big push locating and securing archives from all over the world. I think all that took about two years from my start. That’s pretty fast, from a smashed-up building to a grand opening. Punk Rock!”
THE EXHIBITS
“The museum collection is largely built from within the scene itself, the bands, the photographers, artists and hundreds upon hundreds of punks from the scene loaning personal items to cement their stories through their artifacts,” continued Turcotte. “It’s all very personal.”
When you think of punk rock, the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, Black Flag and X immediately come to mind. But how do you determine whether an artist is punk enough to go in a punk rock museum? I mean, were The Police punk? Was Mudhoney? Elvis Costello? I’ve seen these artists listed, and not listed, among punk rock compilations. So what do you think, Mr Turcotte? Who is punk? “There are no lines drawn. We want everything punk represented. Punk is a lifestyle, an attitude and a feeling. The art, the photography, the people, etc, are continually moving, changing and evolving, so a very wide array including all the offshoots and variations that are born of the scene on a worldwide level belong here.”
Items belonging to and/or representing the Ramones, Sid Vicious, Sonic Youth, Joan Jett, Green Day, The Clash, Blondie, Social Distortion, Circle Jerks, Germs, NOFX, Billy Idol … the list just goes on and on, and that’s just the bigger names, are here. “The Joe Strummer showcase is one of my favorite displays so far and has tons of his personal items including his sticker covered Fender Telecaster, handwritten lyrics, clothing and more,” said Turcotte. “The Sid Vicious personal items are incredible – his personal Sex Pistols T-shirt and his tiny studded belt; the Johnny Thunders red leather jacket he wore on the back cover of the New York Dolls self-titled debut album. The original mold used to make the DEVO Flower Pot Energy Domes is a must see item. But I really love the small weird tiny things like Darby Crash’s little black phone book. Those types of items give a real feeling of lives being lived. There is a real energy about ALL the items on display.”
VISITING
You can easily spend a couple of hours wandering around the museum but don’t worry about getting thirsty. You can pop into The Triple Down Bar inside the museum for a drink. You can get a tattoo. You can get married. You can jump into the Jam Room and play an instrument belonging to a variety of punk rock stars. And some of those musicians actually come by to lead a tour – Cheetah Chrome, CJ Ramone, Jennifer Finch, William DuVall, Greg Hetson, Dez Cadena, even Billy Gibbons! There is no way you can get bored in this place!
The museum is open seven days a week, generally opening at 12:00 noon during the week and 10:00 am on weekends. Special rates do apply for the musician-led tours but general admission is $39. If you’re under eighteen, you do have to be accompanied by a parent or guardian, and despite punk rock symbolizing anarchy in some cases, still don’t be uncool by trying to bring in knives, guns, weed, skateboards or even umbrellas.
FUTURE
Even with all these items to drool over, there are some things Turcotte would love to get his hands on for the museum: “Ian Mackaye’s ‘Black Sheep’ painted skateboard. You can see it on the Minor Threat – Salad Days single, propped up on the front porch of the Dischord House next to the band (photo by Glen E). I would love to have that on display here! I know he still has it. Outside of that, it’s a full-time hunt for items from the UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, and other far corners of the world. It’s all about first finding the people and then seeing if their personal archives have survived and then getting them involved.”
AUTHOR & MUSIC JOURNALIST GREG PRATO’S TOP 5 BEST PUNK ALBUMS
1 – Sex Pistols: Never Mind the Bollocks
Song for song probably my favorite punk rock LP of all-time. For the simple reason that there is not a single stinker track on it!
2 – The Ramones: The Ramones
I’d elect this as the first true punk rock album of all-time: musically, sonically, and especially, the way the chaps looked.
3 – Dead Kennedys: Give Me Convenience
Although I certainly enjoy all the guitarists on these five albums, my favorite was probably East Bay Ray, who had such an original and instantly identifiable sound: mixing surf, psychedelia, and early rock n’ roll. Jello Biafra remains one of my favorite punk frontmen (be sure to check out YouTube footage from the late ’70s/early ‘80s for the proof).
4 – Meat Puppets: II
One of Kurt Cobain’s favorite punk LP’s is also one of mine. However, I can say in all honesty that I am apparently one of the few human beings who had discovered the wonders of this punk meets country classic BEFORE Nirvana played 3 tunes from it on their ‘Unplugged’ release (as I had purchased it from Tower Records in the summer of ’92 and was instantly mesmerized).
5 – The Stooges: Funhouse
My pick for #1 proto-punk LP of all-time (although ‘Raw Power’ is also right up there too). Features another one of my favorite punk guitarists (the late/great Ron Asheton) and also most fearless frontman (Iggy Pop). I think Kerrang or Classic Rock Magazine used to have a column years ago in which they asked people their favorite albums and/or songs, and one was something like “album you’d most likely listen to while getting ready to go out on a Saturday night.” I’d select this one.
RECOMMENDED READING
There are hundreds of books and articles out there about the punk rock scene and the musicians who created it. A few of the artists who’ve written their own books include Viv Albertine, John Doe, Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde, Billy Idol, Steve Jones, John Lydon, Henry Rollins, Patti Smith and various Ramones.
You can also check out a few of my interviews with:
John Doe (X) = https://glidemagazine.com/184574/john-doe-x-talks-40th-anniversary-tour-la-punk-scene-interview/
Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads) = https://glidemagazine.com/280543/jerry-harrison-talks-talking-heads-history-making-performing-of-remain-in-light-interview/
Curt Kirkwood (Meat Puppets) = https://glidemagazine.com/23138/meat-puppets-at-the-rat-farm-with-curt-kirkwood/
Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols) = https://glidemagazine.com/254745/original-sex-pistol-glen-matlock-shares-stories-old-new-and-keeping-the-cool-in-rock-interview/
Richie Ramone (Ramones) = https://glidemagazine.com/39922/richie-ramone/
Marky Ramone (Ramones) = https://glidemagazine.com/130971/marky-ramone-talks-punk-rock-blitzkrieg-interview/
Chris Spedding = https://glidemagazine.com/182332/guitarist-chris-spedding-talks-bryan-ferry-tour-six-decades-rockin-interview/
James Williamson (The Stooges) = https://glidemagazine.com/115802/james-williamson-stooges-interview/
WEBSITE
https://www.thepunkrockmuseum.com
WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR US
If you have been to the Punk Rock Museum, go to Glide’s social media pages & in the comments to this article’s link, post a photo of yourself at or in front of the museum. Be sure to tag Glide and the museum. We want to see you!
Photographs courtesy of Lisa Johnson & the Punk Rock Museum unless otherwise noted
