As with the start of any new year or decade, you spend quite a lot of time looking back at the things you've enjoyed. I think it's now time to look at things in the future and think about what you'd like to see in the next decade. That's what this top ten is – ten things that I would like to see happen in the next decade.
Continued Growth In Diversity Of Bands
Something that has been great to see in the last couple of years of the last decade is the growing amount of diversity on line-ups at punk gigs throughout the country. There's still a lot more work to be done and I'm hoping by the end of 2029 we won't be talking about making sure line-ups are diverse but instead they just will be.
The Punk Scene Continues To Thrive
The DIY punk scene seems to be bigger than ever at the moment, it really appears to be on an upwards trajectory and I really hope this can continue as the decade goes on. There are so many fantastic bands popping up in all corners of the scene, in all the different sub-genres, that it's such an exciting time to be a fan of new punk rock music. Long may this movement continue!
More Venues Built Rather Than Destroyed
A very worrying trend in the past decade was the amount of music venues that were closed down. I'd love to see this trend changed and for more venues to begin to open up. Without venues we don't have places for bands to play, they can't make money to continue being bands, we don't have new bands anymore. This is a something I don't want to be a part of. Luckily there are organisations like the Music Venue Trust helping out the small venues that are in danger. Check them out.
DIY Festivals Continue To Grow
So many of my favourite memories of the last decade have been attending DIY punk rock festivals, seeing great bands and making great friends. It seems as if more and more of these festivals are starting all over the place, so much so it's hard to keep up with them and to go to them all is pretty much impossible. Putting on these festivals takes a great deal of work and I'm forever thankful for everyone who puts so much effort into them. We must continue to support these events, not just by buying tickets but also by spending money on merch, sharing news on the festivals and saying thanks to the fine folk who put them on.
CPRW Keeps On Going
Without a doubt, Colin's Punk Rock World is the best thing I've ever done. From where we started in June 2014 to where we are in January 2020 blows my mind. We currently have a team of ten people helping on the site which is ridiculous. People actually want to give up their time to contribute to this little project that started as a way to focus my mind during some heavy poor mental health times. I'd also like people to continue to read CPRW and sometimes even take stock in our opinions. That's a wonderful feeling that I want to continue for as long as humanly possible. We continue to expand with the formation CPRW Records. It's early days but I'm so excited to see where that's going to go in the next decade.
More Attention On Many Of The Punk Bands We Love
Something that frustrates me a lot is the lack of attention a lot of bands I love get from the mainstream music world. I know music is all subjective and based on opinions but I just don't get how some very good bands from our punk scene get absolutely no attention. The influencers who seem to decide what's good and what isn't just ignore punk rock and there's so much incredible talent being completely overlooked. I'd love to see this change and see more of our bands get some love from areas that aren't just the DIY punk rock scene.
Travel To More Places For Gigs
I love my home scene of the New Cross Inn but it's always so nice to visit different places and experience their scenes. It's always quite eye opening, just to see so many other people in a place that I don't get to go to very often enjoying something I love in their own unique way. You also get to discover a load of new local bands whenever you go to different places for DIY gigs and festivals. A great example of this is when we made the trip up to Dundee in November for Book-Yer-Ane-Fest. We got to see so many brilliant acts we had never heard of.
Complete My Must See Bucket List
I've been very lucky to see a lot of bands that I really love over the years. Many that I never thought I'd get the chance to see. However there are plenty that still remain and I hope to cross more off of my list in the next decade. The trouble I have is that I keep discovering more must see bands from all over the world so the list keeps getting bigger and bigger!
Go On Tour
It's always been a bit of a dream of mine to go on tour. I have no musical or singing ability to speak of, so could never do it as a member of a band. I also can't drive, so doing it as a driver is not possible. There's something about the camaraderie of a tour that fascinates me. I, one day, would like to experience life in the van, going to different shows everyday, perhaps not knowing what is awaiting you. To experience the mental highs and lows, to see why bands put themselves through these things when they could just sleep in their comfortable beds every night. It's something I'd really like to do before the decade finishes.
Mental Health
I've always been honest about my struggles with mental health on CPRW. I'm very lucky to have found myself a scene that understands my struggles and there is always somebody to talk to if I am struggling. More and more bands are making big efforts to talk openly and honestly about mental health and it's really helping a lot of people. Seeing the stigma of "you're a man, you can't show emotions" slowly but surely get broken down is such a wonderful thing to witness and I expect the next decade to continue this important movement. The DIY punk scene has a great network of people who you can talk to and will go out of your way to help you whether you know them or not.
This top ten was written by Colin Clark.
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