THE AKRON SOUND
David Giffels is a columnist for the Akron Beacon-Journal and the co-author of
Are We Not Men? We Are Devo!, the first book about Devo.
By David Giffels
In the late 1970s, Akron, Ohio lived a double life. To the world at large, it was the "rubber city," with tire factory smokestacks piercing the sky and the Goodyear blimp droning above. But in the underground, a different product was being manufactured by a bunch of punk scientists hell-bent on making noise. The "Akron Sound" was a lynchpin of rock's New Wave. The first exports were Chrissie Hynde, who moved to England and formed the Pretenders, and Devo.
In 1978, Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo told a British journalist that Akron reminded him of Liverpool. He meant that both were gray, industrial towns. But the reporter took it to mean that the Ohio city was another musical hotbed. Strangely, he was right. As record company talent scouts began to probe the scene, they discovered a stew of bands playing fresh, infectious rock 'n' roll. The Waitresses, Tin Huey, the Rubber City Rebels, the Bizarros, Rachel Sweet and Chi-Pig blended punk, pop and art rock, each in their own way, to form that Akron sound. Most of them scored record deals, some made a mainstream splash, and a lasting and unlikely legacy took root.
Even after the international attention faded, Akron's rock scene thrived into the 1980s. Among the players was guitarist/singer Mike Purkhiser, whose brother Erick (aka Lux Interior) fronted the Cramps. Purkhiser's power-pop trio the Action was a mainstay on the local scene, and his later band, the Walking Clampetts, packed clubs with its rockabilly/surf/roots sound.
In the early 21st century, the New Wave's tide rose again. Chrissie Hynde and Devo's deep influence continued to hold sway, and most of the bands from that first era got back together in middle age to release new records. Like the tires that made the other half of Akron's reputation, the rock continued to roll.