Another State of Mind

with Youth Brigade, Social Distortion, Minor Threat
Directed by Adam Small, Peter Stuart
(Rebel Waltz Films, 1983 – Video courtesy of Time Bomb Recordings)
by J. Lianna Ness

In August of 1982, eleven guys from Los Angeles boarded a rehabbed school bus and set off for a 4-week tour that would take them up into Canada, across the country, back into the US, down the East Coast and across America back to the West Coast. They got as far as Washington DC when the bus finally kicked the bucket, several of the guys jumped ship, and the rest had to give up and go home.

Even if you’re not into punk, Another State of Mind is mandatory viewing. It profiles not just three pioneer bands of early ’80s old-school punk rock and hardcore, but also the people and places they came across in their journey of self-discovery and loathing (it didn’t take long for them to get on each other’s nerves after being cooped up on a bus together for such an extended period of time). Some of the colorful characters interviewed are Manon from Montreal, a 16-year old homeless runaway, and her crippled sidekick Marcel; the kids of P.U.N.X. House, a NYC church and shelter for wayward punk rockers (a sign on the wall reads “Jesus Saved Us And We Were Real Bad Girls and Boys!”) who have seen the light; and Valerie, an abused, manic-depressive Washington DC death-rock chick trying to keep her life together after having been institutionalized for two years.

The video includes footage from performances, candid talks with band members, a lesson in how to slam dance (!), and comments from a myriad of kids about the scene in general. If you missed out on the experience because you were too young (or weren’t born yet), or if you’re a graduate of the old-school and just want to re-live the glory days and humble beginnings, this is definitely the way to go!