Punk Rock Museum Turns Two: Reflections, Rants & Ed Colver

Two years in, The Punk Rock Museum is still standing—and somehow, so am I. I sat at a roundtable with some wild and wonderful folks this past weekend to celebrate the museum’s second anniversary. It felt more like a punk family reunion than anything official—minus the fights and some killer stories. We talked about the early days, the middle days, the “should we even still be doing this” days, and everything in between. I couldn’t stop thinking how surreal it is to watch punk get canonized without losing its bite.

One of the weekend highlights for me was sitting down to interview the legendary Ed Colver. If you don’t know Ed, just Google any iconic punk photo from the ’80s and odds are, he took it. Black Flag? Circle Jerks? Dead Kennedys? Ed was there, camera in hand, catching chaos before we even knew we were making history. Talking to him was like opening a time capsule, except the guy is still sharp, still shooting, and still calling out bullshit like a true original.

We talked about how he got started, his DIY approach to photography, and the ethics of shooting subcultures without exploiting them. He said some things that really hit me—like how photographing punk wasn’t just about the bands but the fans, the movement, the sweat, the walls, and the moments in between. Ed wasn’t chasing fame. He was documenting a revolution from the inside. His work hangs in this museum because it’s raw and visceral, and you feel it in your bones.

I can’t leave out the people who were a big part of this weekend, too. Fat Mike, Vincent Fiorello, Jack Grisham, and Kevin Lyman were a pleasure to speak with at Saturday’s roundtable discussion, and George Strombolous did a stand-up job keeping us on point. My dear friend Lisa Johnson went above and beyond in organizing Ed’s interview, and Melanie Kaye crushed it by getting the word out about all the events. All the bands that day were great to watch, like The Dollheads, Knuckleheadz, Playboy Manbaby, Voodoo Glow Skulls, and TSOL. Iris Berry put on a great event for the following Sunday with TSOL’s Ron Emory and Jack Grisham taking turns reading and talking about their brother from another mother, Mike Roche, for his I Play With Giants book launch in Vegas. You reminded me that punk isn’t just alive—it’s still weird, loud, and one big dysfunctional family. The Punk Rock Museum is growing but hasn’t lost its heart—and I’m proud to be a part of it.

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