Brian Polk has been a fixture of Denver’s local music and literature scene since the 90s. From early punk bands to current projects like the politically-charged art punk bands Joy Subtraction and Elegant Everyone to the deeply personal and sharply humorous, long-running ‘zine The Yellow Rake, the defunct but culturally significant magazine Suspect Press and his fiction (including novels Turning Failure Into Ideology (2007) and Placement of Character (2017)) , Polk has brought a level of craft and intellect to the local scene that frankly we could stand to see more of around the Mile High City. In 2023 Polk released his latest book a bit of a memoir of his time going to see music and becoming involved in the punk subculture called A Lifetime of Ephemera: 25 Years in Punk Told Through Ticket Stubs, Flyers & Memorabilia. It’s an engaging document of Polk’s becoming immersed in punk as related through anecdotes about live show’s he has attended with ticket stubs as they were available, flyers and other memorabilia linking the shared memories to a physical link to the event itself. It was an inherently great idea for a memoir and Polk simply put the work in and present it in a highly accessible manner with insightful commentary about the significance of punk in his life even beyond the music and a subculture in which he could become involved at young age. Perhaps especially significant is Polk’s documentation of the local music scene and venues and the experience of being in a place like Denver and of a time that isn’t otherwise well covered in any other source in one place. In some ways it picks up where Bob Rob Medina’s important 2019 book Colorado Crew: Denvoid Part 2 – A Collection of Tales & Images from The Colorado Punk Scene 1988-1996, his sequel to the also crucial 2015 book Denvoid and the Cowtown Punks: A Collection of Stories From the ’80s Denver Punk Scene. Polk connects the line from that era of the local punk scene to the current era, filling in a critical gap in the narrative of Denver’s underground music scene in a form and style that’s accessible and illuminating.
Listen to our interview with Brian Polk on Bandcamp and follow Polk’s work at the links below. Catch Elegant Everyone at The Skylark Lounge on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 with Cheap Perfume and Dead Pioneers. Doors 8, show 9, $10 advanced, $13 at door.
Buy A Lifetime of Ephemera at Mutiny Info Café
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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