Pope of Punk

I was too young.
When the Mabuhay Gardens helped spawn the San Francisco PUNK EXPLOSION, I was a sniveling little sh!t in SUBURBAN WASTELAND CONTRA COSTA COUNTY (Concord, to be exact).
I had HEARD of the "Fab Mab," of course, and I had a vague concept of punk rock, but I was born too soon to fully enjoy the Nuns, Avengers, Crime, et al that made SF one of the most exciting places in music from 1976-82.
Dirk Dirksen recently died, age 69. He owned and operated the Mabuhay Gardens and called himself the "Pope of Punk."
He was not far wrong, as they say.
Dirksen gave all of these emerging bands a place to play. He verbally abused the crowd, whipping them into a frenzy, then he unleashed the bands.
Thanks to him, kids could pick up guitars and live a dream.
I was going to high school in Phoenix, Ariz., by the time I truly discovered punk rock (Jodie Foster's Army will *NEVER* leave my iPod), but I appreciate what Dirksen meant to the Bay Area music scene.