Atlanta's Burning rekindles punk spirit

Guitarist Jesse Lipper has a straightforward DIY philosophy when it comes to booking shows: "If you want to see something happen, set it up."

His words could be the credo for the first Atlanta's Burning festival, a three-day, five-show gathering that brings together 27 hardcore acts from East Coast and Midwestern cities, including hardcore hotbeds Richmond, Va., and Cleveland.

Since January, Lipper has built the festival with the intention of rekindling Atlanta's DIY spirit, and to spark a bit of the same comrade that was on display at the Prank Fest, hosted at the C-11 Warehouse in the West End in 1997 and 1998 by San Francisco-based hardcore label Prank Records. "It's a good time to do it, because it might encourage people to start new bands and see how they can get involved here," Lipper says.

Pair that with the age range of most of the city's current hardcore scene — mid-20s to late 30s — and there may be some of the rowdiness of the '90s oi! and street punk crowds' once legendary Beer Olympics.

The festival comes at a time when the Atlanta hardcore scene is on the upswing, due in part to record labels such as Scavenger of Death and State Laughter exposing the sounds of local bands to record buyers far and wide, and an influx of transplants from elsewhere in the South. The 13 Atlanta-based acts playing were culled from the same group of friends, but no two bands are alike: Strategic Warheads' grindcore attack, the crust-meets-metal approach of Paradox, and Lipper's own band, Mercenary, which plays its final set of riff-driven American hardcore, can all claim different influences.

Touring bands bring even more variety, with each band sounding different while fitting the festival's DIY ethos.

Veteran acts Wetbrain (ex-members of Darvocets, 9 Shocks Terror, and Annihilation Time) and Party Plates (Inmates, Lucha Eterna) represent Cleveland's rich history of outsider punk. "I wanted as many Cleveland bands to come as possible, because I love Cleveland hardcore," Lipper says. "They're always wacky and crazy, but they are great musicians."

Others making a tour stop include Grave Mistake Records labelmates, Richmond, Va., hardcore purists Barge and Raleigh-based d-beat punks Skemäta.

There is also a regional flair to the out-of-towners, thanks to the oi!-influenced style of Gainesville, Fla.'s Rubbish and Athens-based American Cheeseburger offshoot Bathrooms.

Bathrooms' vocalist Jason Griffin is among the Georgia-based hardcore musicians who deserve credit for upping Atlanta's and Athens' profiles as international punk destinations. As do current and former members of Atlanta acts such as G.G. King and one of Lipper's former bands, Bukkake Boys. "Bukkake Boys might have had a lot to do with it, because we toured and had records put out by outside labels," Lipper says. "But it's the same group of people. Carbonas made a name for it, and Predator is from the same group of friends. It's one big mashup."

The core group of Atlanta punks has helped Lipper beyond just playing the festival. Fellow booker Seth Hulsey designed the website, while local musician Mark Bonner (Slugga, Nurse) is responsible for the event poster.

Lipper's goals for this first-time event were somewhat meager, with no bands having to be flown in and the largest venue used being the 300-capacity Mammal Gallery — a large space for a hardcore show, but small enough that it will be one-third full if all members of the bands attend each show.

Those goals may change, even though Lipper is moving to New York later this summer. "I am going to try to shoot for the same time every year, and maybe expand it," he says. "I don't want to get too crazy with it, but I'd like to get some bands in that normally don't play the South. But if I'm going to do this from a different state, I should try to keep it relatively simple."

Despite the bands on the bill all sounding slightly different, and many acts coming from different cities, they all celebrate the freedom and fun of DIY hardcore. With Atlanta exemplifying that sense of creativity in hardcore scenes, there's few places more ideal for such a gathering.