Dr. Strange Records' Bill Plaster talks Summer Bash and the chaos of booking a festival, punk history, record collecting, Live Strange, and how punk rock can genuinely change lives.
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Topics Include:
- Bill Plaster of Dr. Strange Records joins to discuss the upcoming Summer Bash.
- Punk Rock Bowling's cancellation — visa bans, politics, venue loss — created the opportunity.
- Bill connected with Gallo, who runs the Fox Theater and the Cathedral in Pomona.
- The Cathedral: a stunning, refurbished 1921 four-story YMCA venue hosting the event.
- A massive two-day lineup — 30-plus bands across punk, hardcore, and old-school SoCal.
- Notable acts include the Effigies, Channel 3, the Skulls, featuring Kevin from Green Day.
- Every band asked said yes — Bill takes no money, purely doing it for the community.
- Dealing with booking agents was the biggest headache of organising the festival.
- Planning started in November; Bill hopes Summer Bash becomes an annual event.
- The Punk in the Park cancellations discussed — Bill argues protest with your vote, not boycotts.
- Bill credits Rod for building Dr. Strange's social media profile and making the festival possible.
- Bill's mentorship philosophy: punk rock can genuinely change lives for the better.
- The Dr. Strange "family" ethos — making fun of people with love, never punching down.
- Bill's book discussed — early punk discoveries via Damned, Buzzcocks, and XTC seven-inches.
- The brutal gang violence at early 80s LA/SoCal punk shows — constantly watching your back.
- A close call at Spanky's: the guy next to Bill got stabbed during a Guttermouth gig.
- Biggest missed show regret: skipped Oingo Boingo due to peer pressure from girls in line.
- Never saw Black Flag — their reputation for brutality genuinely scared him off.
- Eight years of mail order before opening the store; Voodoo Glow Skulls his biggest-selling record.
- Live Strange runs Wednesdays and Fridays — the cowbell is Bill's money-back guarantee.
High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
