By – Jackie Lo

The title of this book alone hooked me. Living in the South and having a love of counterculture, art, punk rock music, and having grown up in a small town searching for like-minded folks to share these interests then made me appreciate the contents within.

The book is about a punkhouse in Pensacola, Florida called 309. It became a punkhouse in the 90s and is arguably the oldest continuously inhabited punk house in the South. Deep rooted in a love for punk rock, activism, veganism, and queer culture this house has housed amazing photographers, painters, writers, musicians, and activists with an open-door policy for anyone needing a roof or a porch to sleep on. If you track the lineage, so many local businesses and nonprofits were created from the alumni of 309.

Each chapter is an interview with someone who was an important part of the house’s history. With 13 stories total, you’ll get to know each person, from their past, to what brought them to Pensacola and ultimately to 309. Each story is so unique and interesting that it hooks you in and you can picture yourself being a roommate of the house. Maybe sitting on the front porch with a guitar or pulling up a chair to family dinner, you understand the ups and downs of sharing a house with sometimes 11 people at a time from all walks of life.  You are rewarded halfway through the book with photos of the house and portraits of some of the people that are interviewed and lived there over the years so your mind’s eye can catch up with what has been described.

Going to a liberal arts college in a very small town in Alabama, I transported back to the late 90s, of porch hangs and bands forming and having practice in your dining room, of walking down the street to every house being inhabited by a friend that was an artist, musician, and poet. The sanctuary of being surrounded by like-minded misfits. I felt like I understood 309 in the smallest sense and understood the nostalgia that each person brought to their interview. I also winced at some of the craziness like looking through the floor of the bathroom from upstairs or no air conditioning in Florida, or some person you’ve never seen before sleeping on your sofa. Through it all the ups outweighed any down and the experience was integral to each person’s journey.  So, I understand why they’d want to document it and keep it going.

In 2016, the non-profit, 309 Punk Project was founded with the purpose of raising enough money to buy and renovate 309 and in 2019 they were able to buy it. By 2021 they were back open and welcoming an Artist in Residence Program, hosting events, and even housing people on the second floor. I know every friend in a touring band played Sluggo’s or The Handlebar at some point and made friends with someone affiliated with 309. I’m glad to know that a small town in the Florida panhandle created some amazing music, zines, art, and is still going after all these years.

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