No Punk?

This was intended to be in response to a post on masslive.com. that talked about punk music in Western Mass...
Wow. What Western Mass have you been in? I wouldn't know music if it wasn't for Western Mass' long standing and fertile hardcore/punk scene. "Punk" as a Wal-Mart inventory tag is completely sterile and empty of anything other than image. "Punk" as a term applied to bands who are infuriated, isolated and completely independent of traditional morality and sheepherder cataloging was (and is) rampant in this area. Larry named many, many great bands. Some that helped shape my entire life. I get pigeonholed sometimes as the quiet guy, or the sensitive pop guy...nothing could be further from the truth. I have so much more in common with fans of this style of music than I do with any quiet pop songwriter. Somehow (maybe just through not being around here too long) people don't remember that I grew up neck deep in punk. Was in my first hardcore band in '87. As a matter of fact, I didn't settle into anything even remotely slow and melodic until 1994. Up until that point it was nothing but one hundred miles an hour and brutal political discourse. I loved it. I STILL love it. You'll be more apt to catch me driving down the road listening to MDC or Bad Brains any day of the week then you will find me listening to Nick Drake. It's all because of Western Mass' scene that I am who I am today. Wishful Thinking, G-Man, Rumble Puppy, Bloodbath/Pushbutton Warfare, 4C Club, The Gutters, Sugar Plum Dandy, Deep Wound, early Outpatients, PSD, The Hutus...man, those were the days. As I recall, there were hundreds of kids at all of these shows. Pulaski Hall, every VFW this side of Worcester, Pearl St., Katinas etc. And I'll tell you...no other time has been even REMOTELY as intense, frenetic, crazy and wonderful as those times. Some of you need to do some homework.