From its first angry snarls to the changes it keeps bringing today, the history of punk music and the many cultural changes its made on the world are being presented at Bowling Green State University.

Fresh from teaching classes on the subject in the BGSU Popular Culture Department, Matthew Donahue, Ph.D., is scheduled to deliver his talk “Punk…History…Reality…” highlighting the history of punk music and its pioneers, which is in conjunction with a library display on punk and it’s cultural impact.

The library display, curated by the Ray & Pat Browne Library for Popular Culture Studies opened this month and will stay up through June. The three displays are near the circulation desk on the first floor and features a large display cases that Manuscript Archivist Tyne Lowe describes as Punk 101, Underrepresented Communities within Punk and the Ohio Punk Scenes.

The display cases highlight different eras and artists in the punk field and their sound recordings, books, zines, flyers and other artifacts. See collection pieces illustrating punk history from the MC5, the Necros, zines highlighting The Minutemen, and albums from the Dead Boys and Tackhead.

“Punk refers to more than just music,” Lowe said. “It’s often political, and not only just left political, anarchy is not the most left political branch, especially early punk liked shouting ‘Anarchy!’ but fashion and art are also things that developed alongside the music scene.”

Donahue, aside from teaching pop culture classes, played in Northwest Ohio punk bands starting in the early 1980s and still records and produces on his own MD45 record label, as well as the On-U Sound label in England. The most recent release of his material is on the On-U Sound “Pay It All Back Vol. 8” release in 2022, and the forthcoming Tackhead album.

An award-winning documentary filmmaker, artist, writer and musician Donahue takes the punk do-it-yourself ethos to heart. Lowe incorporated pieces from Donahue’s personal collection in the displays, including his guitar, a pair of classic black Converse Chuck Taylor’s and a photo of him on stage in one of his early high school bands.

“My red Electra Phoenix electric guitar will be on display. This guitar has been with me since the beginning of my guitar playing days. I had a paper route as a kid and was very into rock and roll music,” Donahue said. “I fell in love with the electric guitar, loved guitar players, saved up my money and bought my first guitar at Valley Music in Maumee … took a few lessons and have been playing ever since…..all the while with the same guitar.”

He lived in the punk music world in Northwest Ohio playing in unknown opening acts through getting signed with Universe Crew to the On-U Sound label.

“We were playing with a lot of punk bands who were being booked by Jon Stainbrook, he was booking bands at the Club Cyprus which was in Toledo, we did play with some bigger name bands DRI, COC, The Adolescents…..all original material,” Donahue said. “Then I started playing with the most well known band that I was in during that time called the Great Barbeque Gods. We were a punk, funk, metal, rap band.”

Some of those members also found success in other bands, like bass player Scott Shriner, is now in Weezer. They played at clubs in Toledo, Bowling Green, Ann Arbor, Kent and a few other locations, with all original material.

Punk…History…Reality…

The presentation is free and open to the public Tuesday from 1-2:15 p.m. at the Bowling Green State University Jerome Library, in the Pallister Conference Room on the first floor.