THE NEW SOUND OF YOUNG AMERICA
During the 1960's Motown Records came up with the slogan 'The Sound of Young America' to describe their roster of artist. In many ways it was a completely factual statement, Detroit's Motown and the Memphis based Stax record label reflected everything new in the US at that time. Radical changes were afoot from ongoing civil rights protests to a windchange in support of the war in Vietnam, the Black domination of the music charts told the old guard that a change was coming.
Our Fall17 collection reflects this period of revolution in which key individuals and groups would change the face of America forever. Oakland's Black Panther Party created a mandate that would not only start to resist the ongoing oppression from the US Gov and law agencies but also help the impoverished African American people in their area and eventually nationwide with food drives, legal assistance and a free breakfast project for all children. Jerry Garcia's Grateful Dead would help to create an entirely new cultural language for decades to come, defining a new generation of youth devoid of racism and imperialist attitudes. Detroit's Creem Magazine would coin the term 'Punk Rock' and become an important vehicle for information and subcultural directives with iconic critic Lester Bangs shaping an entirely new vision for American music. It was also the era in which a Kentucky born journalist named Hunter S Thompson would redefine cultural theory writing and invent an entirely new genre known as Gonzo Journalism. The true voice of HST was revealed to be that of American moralist, one who often made himself ugly to expose the ugliness he saw around him.
To borrow a line from his 1971 classic 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'
“Every now and then when your life gets complicated and the weasels start closing in, the only cure is to load up on heinous chemicals and then drive like a bastard from Hollywood to Las Vegas ... with the music at top volume and at least a pint of ether.”