The Story of Waco's Punk Rock Past Part 1

Hello everyone, my name is Kris. I fancy myself as some kind of historian. I grew up in Waco's punk scene, first introduced to it in 1996. That night behind Pappa Rollos a guy named Ravi got a couple of my friends and I into the show for free because we had money.

That was the night that started it all. Ravi was the singer of a band called the Aloha Fridays, still one of my favorite local acts. Another band I was introduced to that night was The Hypocritz, fronted by a man named Jud. As life went on I would come to see Jud as a mentor, a close friend. He taught me that punk was really just a word, it meant nothing unless there was passion behind it. In 1998, some friends got together and we formed our first band. Korc74 was influenced by the times. We were teenagers in the 90's, so grunge, pop punk, alternative, and even rap rock were the foundation that we built out music on.

In 1999 we decided to put on the biggest show we could, and Flamefest was born. It was going to be the biggest local punk show we had ever seen, and to this day, it still is. It doesn't sound like a big deal now but in 1999 getting over 1000 people to a punk show was quite a feat. The lineup, for me at least, was historic. The Paperclip Pirates opened, this was their first show and they left an impression that would last for years to come. Scattered Souls, a local alternative band who Korc74 had played with multiple times. On the flyers, The Hypocritz were advertised but when they took the stage Jud announced a new era and a new name, The American Dream Dropouts (ADD). Then my band Korc74, who blew a breaker and delayed the show 20 minutes. After us was Mark Needs A Chick, a band from Houston who were Baylor students. Last but not least was Jessie and the Rockers, a melodic punk band from Alabama.

This show would open the doors to a new era in Waco music. Things were about to get bigger, louder, and faster.

Soon the Paperclip Pirates and Korc74 would be seen by a new generation, and soon all of Waco would know that punk was here to stay.