If you’re reading this blog while ironing out your mohawk or struggling to button up your girl jeans, you might want to check out PunkStop. They’ve made a name for themselves on the East Coast through appearances at Warped Tour (as the only record store there, no less), Hell Fest and Knife Or Death Fest. Rumors of their sponsoring the Snuggling With Down Pillows And Telling People You Love Them Fest are unsubstantiated. These days, they’re backing SideOneDummy’s College Tour, which explains their presence at the Flogging Molly show I attended last Sunday. The guy working the merch table told me their involvement was arranged through a friend of a friend, which makes sense. The PunkStop crew are mostly guys who run record labels and play in bands, and given their recent legwork, you’d think they’d have a few contacts by now. Anyway, PunkStop is a good alternative to Interpunk, whose wider selection can’t keep it from seeming a little corporate. And if there’s one thing punks can’t stand, it’s corporate influence in their music.
—Posted by David Kiefaber
