THE GREAT ESCAPE!

My father’s upcoming Art Exhibition my hometown!

A drawing by my father, Carl Holmstrom, depicting the Death March he was forced to endure during World War Two.

I’ll be updating all the PUNK Magazine news soon (with videos from the Tompkins Square event), but I have to mention that my next public appearance will take place on October 18 in my hometown: Cheshire, Connecticut. It’s the opening of an exhibition of my father’s artwork (Carl Holmstrom), which will be displayed at a new art space in town: Ball & Socket (which used to be a large factory near the town center but is being transformed into a huge cultural center).

This will be followed by another event on Veteran’s Day, which will be highlighted by a video interview with me, created and produced by Grady Hearn (the son of Tom Hearn, who contributed to PUNK Magazine’s Mutant Monster Brach Party issue, took rare photos of the Punk Dump in 1976  and even handled production on PUNK #12, #14, #16 and #17 at the printing company that produced them!).

Needless to say I’m very honored that my father’s artwork is being displayed in my hometown, and very excited that Cheshire, Connecticut is hosting it in an art space that has future plans to become a huge center to promote art and culture.

If you’ve ever watched an episode of Hogan’s Heroes, you know how U.S. P.O.W.s had to line-up every day for a head count: My father loved that 1960s TV sitcom.

Carl Holmstrom attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn but couldn’t find employment after graduation. He joined the Army Air Force. He soon became a part of Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa (the first effort by American forces against Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). His plane crash-landed in a desert in Tunisia after their first mission, and spent the rest of World War Two behind barbed wire.

Operation Torch:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Torch

My father was allowed to sketch details about the prison camps he stayed at, but the Nazis censored any imagery of the barbed wire and machine guns that enforced their captivity. Yes, authoritarian governments censor information. It’s what they do. Fight against censorship in any form!

Carl Holmstrom spent time in several prison camps, staying at Stalag Luft III for most of the war, which housed allied airmen. My father lived in the same bunker for a while with Paul Brickhill, the author of The Great Escape, the book that the famous film was based on. Because of my father’s art skills he was one of the team of forgers who created documents and money to assist in the many escape efforts. His art skills and abilities were such that was he was in charge of distributing the art materials that arrived at the camp from Red Cross parcels to other POWs.

This portrait was displayed in my living room throughout my childhood. Despite many efforts to find out who this guy was? We have no idea who he was. The original artwork will be on display at the Ball & Socket show.

The Great Escape movie, released in 1963, was one of those films that created stars of many of the actors: Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Coburn, and Donald Pleasance (who portrayed “The Forger,” who resembled my father but was based on a different Great Escape forger). Although some of the details about the post-escape events were invented (such as Steve McQueens motorcycle rides, etc.), the details about the construction of the underground tunnels and the many other escape efforts make it one of the most historically-accurate World War Two films.

If you’ve never seen it? I highly recommend it. Cool movie. They don’t make movies like this anymore. Seeing it at age 10 with my father and family is one of those memories you never forget.

A photo of my father taken at the Moosberg prison camp after General Patton liberated Stalag Luft III. The military wanted him to remain in the camp to be processed, but instead he escaped from US government detention and hitchhiked around Europe before returning to the states,

As the Russians advanced on Germany, Stalag Luft III was evacuated and American prisoners were forced to march in a horrific blizzard to Moosberg, which ended up housing over 75,000 allied POWs. The details of this Death March (sadly, not the only Death March in military history) are too horrific to detail here. The Stalag Luft POWs began to arrive on February 2nd, 1945 and were liberated by General Patton on April 29, 1945.

The cover of my father’s first edition of Kriegie Life, which was a commercial failure but now sells for a lot of money… Kind of like PUNK Magazine, which failed on its first release but now sells for ridiculous prices.

After the war, Carl Holmstrom self-published a book of his P.O.W. artwork, because he couldn’t find a publisher in New York who was interested in publishing a book of his sketches and art from his war experiences. So I grew up with a bunch of boxes of unsold books… That now sell for a lot of money. As a result I became comfortable with the idea of self-publishing stuff that’s outside of mainstream culture at an early age.

The History of Self-Publishing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-publishing

cI am more than surprised by the response to the new issue of PUNK! It has been overwhelming. As a result, I am planning another new issue soon. Stay tuned!

In other news, I am organizing “The Rematch of The PUNK Magazine Battle of the Bands,” but there are many scheduling conflicts, so the winner probably won’t appear on the cover of PUNK #24 (which I hope to publish in time for the 49th anniversary of PUNK Magazine in early January). The four bands that were able to perform in the rain all kicked ass, but I need to give the other two bands who were rained out and unable to perform need to get a shot at the title of the Winner! Let me know if you think there’s the best venue for The Rematch. I’m thinking of TV Eye near the L Train in Queens. Any other ideas you got?

Also, if you want to get involved with our next issue, let me know. I don’t need band suggestions (I know, everyone thinks their band is the best), but I am looking for writers with bad taste who love punk rock ‘n’ roll.

I’ve also been busy distributing the new issue of PUNK all over the place. People like it! And it’s selling well. If you’re in the New York City area, you can find it at our advertisers locations,

I hope you can spend a couple of bucks and support these businesses. If we are starting a new scene, free from digital platforms and dedicated to rebuilding a scene that’s free from social media bullshit, start by checking out our sales locations:

Trash and Vaudeville, 96 East 7th Street, NYC @trashandvaudeville

Village Works, 12 St Marks Place, NYC @villageworksnyc

Academy Records,, 415 East 12th Street, NYC

242 Banker Street, Brooklyn, NYC

Limited To One, 221 East 10th Street, NYC

East Village Collective, 545 East 12th Street (near Avenue B), NYC

Metropolis, 803 Broadway, NYC

And you can  pick up a free copy at the Lucky bar:

168 Avenue B, between 10th and 11th Street

Buy a drink while you’re there and hang out for a little while if you can. Good people.

I’m not just trying to relaunch PUNK Magazine, I’m trying to relaunch the punk rock movement. People might think I’m crazy (and I am), and I am sure the CIA will try to destroy my efforts (like they did in the 1970s), but we have to fight the good fight against the machine and the robots. Otherwise our culture will continue to be dominated by the Puff Diddys and the Artificial Intelligence that is threatening human culture.

Meanwhile, you can support my efforts by supporting one of my advertisers: