"Youthful idealism is beautiful. No matter how silly or misguided they may end up being, the urgency and power that a group of humans with the same beliefs and ideas can harness, is intoxicating and infectious. I think that´s what does it; that´s what makes people invest their lives and take ownership of a scene, sub-culture or identity, even though they mature and inevitably change. It´s about the ability to participate and build, rather than just plainly observe and accept, without question; it´s about being in a place so intimate that just showing up makes you an integral part of the whole: knowing that without you it couldn´t be the same, knowing you are connected. This book captures the very beginning of that process."—from the Introduction

The punk movement has permanently altered youth culture. Today´s art, politics, and aesthetics wouldn´t be the same without the hundreds of thousands of young people who have embraced punk over the last 30-odd years. What does each of these recruits have in common? They all remember their first time. Hear what it was like straight from the fanatics.

Whether it was Jawbreaker in Berkeley; Sick of it All in DC; The Dead Kennedys in Berkeley; The Dickies at CBGBs; Gang Green in Boston; the Ramones in Milwaukee; The Circle Jerks in the West Village-or Baltimore; Neurosis at Gilman Street; The Decline of Western Civilization in Venice; Fugazi in Chapel Hill; 7 Seconds in Sparks, NV; or their goofy friends at a party, these fans recount the inspiration, the embarrassment, and the redemption of their first time.

Contributors include: George Hurchalla, Harrison Haynes, Jack Rabid, Rob Fish, Joe Queer, Shawna Kenney, Chris Rest, Al Quint, Ben Sizemore, Boff Whalley, Shannon Stewart, Pete Slovenly, Paul Curran, Darren Walters, Scott Kelly, Jillian Lauren, Scott Bourne, and many, many more.