{"id":43455,"date":"2017-12-13T19:11:59","date_gmt":"2017-12-14T01:11:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=43455"},"modified":"2026-04-23T13:30:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T18:30:22","slug":"this-week-in-oxford-mississippi-music-history-the-very-first-punk-rock-show-december-19-1987","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/this-week-in-oxford-mississippi-music-history-the-very-first-punk-rock-show-december-19-1987\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in Oxford, Mississippi Music History: The Very First Punk Rock Show, December 19, 1987"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Thirty years ago this week, Oxford<\/strong>, Mississippi<\/strong>\u2019s very first punk rock show took place in a little shack near Faulkner\u2019s Woods<\/strong> on South 8th Street<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The show featured the local bands Dead Fish<\/strong> and Nightmare on Sesame Street<\/strong> and it was organized by the DIY fanzine collective, Assault With Intent to Free<\/em><\/strong>. Both bands were born out of Oxford\u2019s first punk rock band, 4 Dead Fish<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nightmare on Sesame Street\u2019s songs included hits such as \u201cA Better Way,\u201d \u201cDrinking is Your Way of Life,\u201d and \u201cSociety Sets the Stereotype,\u201d which was later covered by The Cooters<\/strong><\/a> on their 2004 album, Punk Metal<\/em><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dead Fish played songs including \u201cRight Now,\u201d \u201c50 Swastikas,\u201d and the crowd favorite, \u201cDead Fish.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nightmare on Sesame Street featured Gentry Webb<\/strong>, Tait Graves<\/strong>, Chris Robertson<\/strong>, and Mike Featherstone<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dead Fish featured the local musicians Tom Queyja<\/strong>, Josh Cooker<\/strong>, Skip King<\/strong>, and Mike Featherstone<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tom
Tom Queyja’s Oxford High School annual photograph in 1988.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Both bands went on to help propell Oxford\u2019s vibrant punk and metal scene of the 1990s. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gentry Webb co-founded Oxford RocknRoll legends The Cooters in 1993.  The Cooters have consistently been going strong for the last 24 years. Gentry aka RAW recorded a bunch of critically acclaimed albums. He toured all over the United States, and was featured on an hour long program on Mississippi Public Broadcasting<\/strong>.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tom Queyja also played in a slew of legendary Oxford bands including Wobitty<\/strong>, New Madrid Click<\/strong>, and Pithecanfunkus Erectus<\/strong>, who are playing Friday, December 15 at Proud Larry\u2019s<\/strong>. The New Madrid Click is reuniting Friday, December 29 at Yalobusha Brewery<\/strong> in Water Valley<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Queyja has produced dozens of albums at his studio The Lip<\/strong><\/a>, which is now based in downtown Los Angeles<\/strong>. His current band Fuzzy Crystals<\/strong><\/a> just released a new video which will show at the 2018 Oxford Film Festival<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Josh Cooker went on to form Cardinal Fluff<\/strong> in Oxford before launching a solo career as Captain Midnight<\/strong><\/a> in New Orleans<\/strong> and Nashville<\/strong>. Josh currently tours all over the United States, and has recorded quite a few incredible albums.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tait Graves went to the University of California at Berkeley<\/strong> and became an attorney in San Francisco. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris Robertson also eventually ended up in the Bay Area, where he currently works for CBS Interactive<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike Featherstone is rumored to be playing drums in the Chicago area. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skip King is a daddy who lives in the Jackson<\/strong>, Mississippi area. He sometimes plays shows with Robert King<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newt Rayburn<\/strong> was an honors scholar raking leaves in Dr. Murchison’s<\/strong> yard on Douglas Drive<\/strong> in Oxford, Mississippi on Saturday, December 19. 1987. He is currently writing about that day right now.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it all began thirty years ago this week\u2014December 19, 1987. \"The<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chris<\/a>
Chris Robertson at Oxford High School in 1988.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Tait<\/a>
Tait Graves, Chris Robertson, and Gentry Webb in San Francisco in 2008. This reunion of the original Nightmare on Sesame Street line up took place during The Cooters West Coast Tour.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n