Emergence and fall of the Hollywood punk scene in Los Angeles: Analysis of place-bound attributes vs translocal factors

Abstract

The article analyses the development and evolution of the punk music scene in Hollywood mostly composed of expatriates coming from different states in the U.S, from L.A.’s outer suburbs and from overseas. Methodologically, I used interviews with the scene's main participants to document the key bands' trajectories and to identify elements that facilitated the emergence of the scene. To study the influence of local factors vs translocal factors, I considered Crossley's (2009) approach in his analysis of scenes and his attention to participants' networks. The article makes a distinction between what is ‘local’ in music scenes and elements associated to the trans-local dimension of scenes in the pre-internet age. In conclusion, given the positioning of Los Angeles as a World City and not being one of the birthplaces of American music, the influence of translocal factors in shaping the Hollywood punk scene was high. However, local factors such as the availability of venues for punk shows and the inputs of Mexican American artists coming from East L.A. enabled this short-lived music cluster to develop a specific brand of punk characterised notably by musical hybridization between punk and American roots music.