San Antonio, August 21, 2025
News Summary
Chris Blashill, a photographer and author, returns to Texas to celebrate the release of his book, ‘Someday All The Adults Will Die! The Birth of Texas Punk.’ The event will be held at Embarrassing Shoes in San Antonio and will feature storytelling from notable figures in the Texas punk scene. The book chronicles the emergence of punk music across Texas during the Reagan era, capturing the energy and diversity of the movement through photography and narrative.
San Antonio
Photographer Chris Blashill to mark Texas punk history with book release and storytelling event
Chris Blashill, a photographer and author who began documenting the Texas punk scene while living in Austin, will return from Vienna, Austria, to mark the release of his new book and host a live storytelling hour on Sunday, August 24, at 3 p.m. The event will be held at the Southtown art bookstore Embarrassing Shoes in San Antonio and will feature several notable figures from the Texas punk community.
What is being released and celebrated
The book, titled Someday All The Adults Will Die! The Birth of Texas Punk, is published by the University of Texas Press. It chronicles the rapid emergence of punk music across Texas amid the conservative political and cultural climate of the Reagan era. The book combines photography and narrative to document the energy, theatricality, and regional differences of the movement.
Key bands and regional scene
The book covers a range of influential Texas punk acts, with particular emphasis on groups from multiple cities across the state. Among the bands highlighted are:
- Stick Men With Ray Guns (Dallas)
- Big Boys (Austin)
- Mydolls (Houston)
- The Offenders (Killeen)
- Hickoids (San Antonio)
- Fearless Iranians From Hell (San Antonio)
- Butthole Surfers (San Antonio)
- Heather Leather (San Antonio)
Event details and expected participants
The San Antonio event will combine a formal celebration of the book with a punk storytelling hour featuring participants who were active in or connected to the scene. Expected guests include musicians and scene figures from San Antonio and elsewhere: Ty Gavin from The Next, and Brad Perkins and Scott Stevens from Marching Plague. Scott Stevens is also identified as the founder and first bass player of the Butthole Surfers. The gathering is presented as a community-focused occasion to share memories and context for the material in the book.
Author background and approach
Blashill began exploring photography while living in Austin and encountered Raul’s, the city’s first punk club, which became a formative subject for his early work. His photographic practice developed in parallel with his immersion in the scene: he attended Raul’s in 1979 and began documenting the punk community more seriously by 1983. He documented a Butthole Surfers recording session in San Antonio in 1984, which provided behind-the-scenes access to their creative process.
Contacts made through a previous photo book project with the University of Texas Press led to the opportunity to produce this text-focused history. Blashill’s account emphasizes both the intimacy of punk club settings — allowing direct interaction between audience and performers — and the theatrical, often shocking elements performers used to engage their crowds.
Context: why the Texas punk scene mattered
The book situates the Texas punk movement as a cultural reaction to the pressures of a conservative social environment during the Reagan years. The music and performances are presented as extreme and inventive responses to perceived conformity and institutional authority. Regional humor, absurdist performance, and deliberate provocation are shown as central elements for many bands in cities such as San Antonio and Austin.
While some bands later achieved surprise mainstream recognition, the book treats that outcome as a later development distinct from the scene’s original underground identity. One example cited is a well-known mainstream hit by the Butthole Surfers; Blashill notes the song’s mainstream success while regarding it as less central to the band’s most interesting creative work.
Purpose of the event
The launch event is described as a celebration of both the book’s publication and the shared experiences of a subculture that developed under political and cultural pressure. The storytelling hour aims to bring together participants and audience members to recount memories, illustrate the social dynamics of the time, and present visual and narrative materials drawn from Blashill’s work.
Key features
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Book title | Someday All The Adults Will Die! The Birth of Texas Punk |
| Author | Chris Blashill |
| Publisher | University of Texas Press |
| Event | Launch and punk storytelling hour at Embarrassing Shoes, Southtown, San Antonio |
| Event date/time | Sunday, August 24, 3 p.m. |
| Primary focus | The rise of Texas punk during the Reagan-era conservative climate |
Timeline
| Date/Time | Event | Status / Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | First attendance at Raul’s (Austin), early exposure to Texas punk | Documented in author’s account |
| 1983 | Author began documenting punk scene more seriously | Documented in author’s account |
| 1984 | Recording session with Butthole Surfers in San Antonio photographed | Documented in author’s account |
| August 24 (Sunday), 3 p.m. | Book launch and punk storytelling hour at Embarrassing Shoes, San Antonio | Event scheduled |
Simple visual: bands by city (proportion of listed bands)
Distribution of bands featured in the book by city (based on bands explicitly listed in event materials):
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where is the book launch and storytelling event?
The event is scheduled for Sunday, August 24, at 3 p.m. at the Southtown art bookstore Embarrassing Shoes in San Antonio.
Who is Chris Blashill?
Chris Blashill is a photographer and author who began documenting the Texas punk scene while living in Austin. He currently resides in Vienna, Austria, and returned to Texas for the book launch.
What is the focus of the book?
The book, Someday All The Adults Will Die! The Birth of Texas Punk, documents the rise of punk music across Texas during the conservative Reagan-era climate, combining photography and narrative about bands, performances, and regional scenes.
Which bands are featured in the book?
Key bands mentioned include Stick Men With Ray Guns (Dallas), Big Boys (Austin), Mydolls (Houston), The Offenders (Killeen), Hickoids (San Antonio), Fearless Iranians From Hell (San Antonio), Butthole Surfers (San Antonio), and Heather Leather (San Antonio).
Who is expected to appear at the storytelling hour?
Expected participants include Ty Gavin from The Next, and Brad Perkins and Scott Stevens from Marching Plague. Scott Stevens is also noted as the founder and first bass player of the Butthole Surfers.
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Additional Resources
- San Antonio Current: Photographer Pat Blashill Coming to San Antonio
- Wikipedia: Texas Punk
- Dying Scene: Austin TX Pop Punks Released New Single
- Google Search: Texas Punk History
- Texas Highways: Punk Rock Icon John Doe Retiring to Austin
- Google Scholar: Texas Punk History
- Metal Planet Music: Gioviannie and the Hired Guns Release New Album
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Texas Punk
- Texas Monthly: Bowling for Soup Anniversary
- Google News: Texas Punk
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