Barred For Life is a photo-driven documentary highlighted and counterpointed with a compelling narrative which addresses the facts and fantasies associated with growing up a Punk Rocker in the early 1980's, and how Black Flag pervaded the scene's rumor mill like a mysterious specter all across the country and around the world. Revealing quotations supplement the austere black-and-white photography of Jared Castaldi and Stewart Dean Ebersole, Barred For Life's photographic team. Rounding out the crew, Matt Smith's DIY fanzine-style layout and typography are tied together tightly by dogmatic adherence to both irony and sarcasm in telling the tale of growing up a punk rocker at a time when being a Punk Rocker was anything but cool, and at times was extremely dangerous.
Every tattoo tells a story, and in instances such as these, every tattoo has a story as told by its wearer. Stories range from the intensely personal to the absurd. From those who went under the professional tattooer's needle to those that were violated by a sewing needle and pen ink, from those who have become college professors, doctors and lawyers, to those still struggling to make a living, and a even few homeless punks, every person that graces Ebersole and Castaldi's cameras seems larger than life, and at time even vulnerable. Every soul captured for this book adds to a collective idea of the mixed messages behind this one iconic tattoo, and every deeply personal quotation is highlighted by a small name-check and bio, and a Black Flag favorites list (which some commented, were the most difficult questions of the entire interview to answer).
For those of you who don't know by now, besides gracing the usual suspects, The Bars can be found on actors Johnny Depp and Edward Norton, singer-songwriters Bryan Adams and Frank Turner, and Foo Fighters frontman David Grohl. As the phenomenon continues to grow you can be sure that The Bars, the lasting legacy of the band Black Flag and their contribution to Punk Rock culture, will find their way into many more curious aspects of popular culture.
And the story could have ended right there, but it did not…
Former Black Flag players also signed on to tell their stories. Interviews with Dez Cadena, Ron Reyes, Chuck Dukowski, Kira Roessler, Keith Morris and numerous people who were both close to the band and had seen Black Flag play throughout their many manifestations, bring a myth busting element to an over-glamorized legend of Black Flag. And if you think that reading these interviews is at all amazing, then don't even ask how it felt to be invited into these people's homes to get the interviews. In the process of trying to fully document a worldwide subcultural phenomenon, Barred For Life goes beyond documenting the history and legacy of Black Flag to depict them as an allegory for American punk in general, examining all its flaws as well as its accomplishments and idealism, and allowing the fans to determine the degree to which Black Flag, and Hardcore in general, effected their lives and gave them a voice and deeper meaning.
As mentioned previously, Barred For Life will be released in October of 2012 on PM Press. This massive photodocumentary effort, weighing in at 325 pages, will list heavily to the side of the photographic images, quotations, and interviews accumulated over the past five years of researching this book. A limited edition hardcover version will be available on a first come first serve basis, and their availability will be announced both here, and on our social media communities. The price of the Barred For Life will be determined in the near future, so please be aware of that if you choose to preorder through this website we won't know the actual price until it is determined by PM Press. Be aware that the hardcover editions will be slightly more expensive than the softcover editions..! We will let you know everything as soon as possible via email if you are into it..? If you are not a part of our mailing list, please contact me and I will put you on it so that you get important updates about the release of Barred For Life, and the accompanying release events that we are currently planning.
More info on the book over here and interview with Frank Turner about his Bars tattoo below..