A new book by Nate Jackson and Daniel Kohn chronicles some of the untold stories of Orange County’s pivotal role in punk rock history.
“Tearing Down The Orange Curtain: How Punk Rock Brought Orange County To The World” was released on Tuesday, May 20, via Da Capo Press, and explores the trajectory of Orange County’s punk and ska groups who asserted their place in punk rock’s grander story.
The book features interviews from some of the country’s most prominent acts, including Social Distortion, The Offspring, Adolescents, T.S.O.L., No Doubt, Sublime, Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris, and other groups who have been underreported. It also provides a deep dive into how Orange County impacted the punk rock scene around the country, thanks to festivals like Warped Tour.
Readers also get a peek behind the very human stories of these musicians, including how some were impacted by substance abuse and how many were just kids searching for meaning in a cookie-cutter suburban life that ultimately set off their teenage punk rock rebellion.
Jackson and Kohn will be hosting a live panel with some of these stars including at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21 at Fingerprints Records in Long Beach where they’ll speak with Jim Ruland, author of “Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records.” Ruland’s book details the fall of the record label that brought the world Black Flag, Hüsker Dü, Sonic Youth and Soundgarden, so the discussion is expected to focus on punk rock’s impact and how Orange County fits in.
Kat Corbett will moderate another book event in California, which will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 28. The event will be stacked with some of the scenes’ driving forces, including No Doubt’s Adrian Young, The Vandals‘ Joe Escalante and Jim Guerinot, the former manager of Social Distortion, No Doubt, The Offspring, and Gwen Stefani. Tickets for the event are $30.59 at universe.com.