Book Description

The decaying industrial rust-belt city of Buffalo, NY had a vibrant punk/new-wave art & music scene that started in the late '70's and continued into the 2000's. The Goo Goo Dolls and 10,000 Maniacs were two Western New York bands that went on to international fame while others had to settle for status as local legends. In August of 2018, Robby Takac, of the Goo Goo Dolls, presented a show at his GCR Audio Studio Gallery in Buffalo that renewed interest in the vintage rock posters and flyers from that era. The show was organized and curated by Don Keller a local illustrator, artist and former nightclub owner. Keller asked fellow artist, Karl Kotas, a former Buffalo native now living in New York City, to contribute his work from that era, and Karl came up with the idea to document and archive the collection into a large-format paperback. This book is the result of that collaboration. Collected from band members and the poster artists themselves, these flyers, handbills and posters seen together create a comprehensive time-capsule of a wild and crazy history of Buffalo's pop culture. The wit, wisdom, humor and satire of these printed peices of throwaway art make a compelling case that Buffalo might have had a rock scene that was just as good, and certainly as much fun, as Seattle, Austin, Chicago or even San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City. Included are works by well-known Western New York artists like David Kane, Mark Freeland, Don Keller, Karl Kotas, Mark Wisz, Ed Besch, Bud Redding, candio, as well as other anonymous artists and band members. Groups included are: Goo Goo Dolls, The Fems,10,000 Maniacs, Electroman, Erectronics, Paper Faces, Green Jelly, Famous Blue Raincoat, Funk Monsters & Woman, Trek With Quintronic, The Headhunters, Splatcats, Factor, Full Of Grace, Consorting Angels, The Tails, Jacklords, Homeboy Sacred, ELK, Pluto Gang, David Watts, Dolly Dew & The Weiner, Crawlspace, Asleep In Church, Blaze of Glory, Tension, The Pinheads, Nullstadt, and many more. Clubs and venues featured include: The Continental, Crash, Icon, Adventure Club, Scrapyard, Uncle Sam's, The Tralfamadore, Nietzches, Goodbar, Schooners, McVans, Jingles, Cabaret 650, Hat Trick, Artist's and Models Affair and others.