Punk rockers display their talents

Green-tinted, spiked hair creeping up the back of a pierced teenager's head might be shocking to some, but it is a staple of the punk rock look -- and part of the youth scene in Sisters.

Ear-rupturing punk music with screeching lyrics filled the small Domino Room venue in Bend on Friday, February 7.

Local hard-core and punk rock bands from Sisters and Bend displayed their musical creations to a gathering of eager fans.

The scene offered everything from tattooed youngsters with multi-colored hair and gleaming silver rings protruding from various facial positions to middle-aged folks sporting North Face jackets and the latest Eddie Bauer fashions.

The spectacle presented an almost humorous mélange of rebellious youth and their conservative elders.

Sisters High School senior Gray Bushnell produced the show along with his partner Matt Feffer. Bushnell and Feffer have created a service called Fire-Side productions, dedicated to putting on local shows.

Bushnell didn't perform during Friday's show, but he is a part of another band called The Suspenders.

Bushnell characterizes his involvement in punk rock as "positive and productive. Something to do with my time."

One band featured was a crew from Sisters High School. Sisters students Everett Dahl, Ryder Hornbeck, Corey Rood, Ryan Buck and Shane Connor make up the band called The Forensics.

Junior Everett Dahl enjoys the punk rock scene not for its popularity, but for the music.

"When you listen to punk rock, it's not a music that soothes you," Dahl said. "It irritates you to a certain degree. It's not the type of music that you can just sit and listen to."

Other bands that performed were The Confede Rats, No Cash Value, The Ginas, 42, and To Each His Own.

A punk show is unlike a concert where the audience sits contentedly in their assigned seats, moving ever so slightly to light and soft melodies.

There is no dancing at a punk show. Instead, agitated listeners slam into one another in a chaotically choreographed mix of flailing extremities.

The action takes place in a "mosh-pit." A mosh-pit is basically a glorified group brawl where participants willingly thrash into each other to the beat of the music.

The show was a success. The fans were happy, the bands played well, and all managed to escape without any major damage.

Future shows produced by Fire-Side Productions are posted on their website, www.fire-side.net.