VANDALISM PUSHING PUNK ROCK INTO UNDERGROUND STATUS?

VANDALISM PUSHING PUNK ROCK INTO UNDERGROUND STATUS?

NEW YORK (Wireless Flash) -- Punk bands like Blink-182 may be topping the charts right now, but outbursts of concert vandalism threaten to push punk back to its 1980s-era underground. It seems an increase in violence at punk rock clubs is convincing some promoters to stop booking punk bands entirely. Punk rock record executive Eric Rosen of Radical Records says the mind-set is already affecting his company: An upcoming show in Cleveland was recently canceled after punk rockers at an earlier show splattered blood all over the bathrooms. Some promoters are now prohibiting anyone under the age of 21 from attending punk shows, which hurts ticket sales because the average punk fan is under 20. Rosen doubts the "no punk rock" trend will affect established bands like Green Day or Blink-182, but it could slam the lid on rising punk bands who are lucky if they sell 50 tickets a night. There is some good news. Rosen claims some underage punk rockers are so sick of vandalism ruining their scene, that they're promising to use peer pressure to nip it in the bud.