The formative years of the Austin punk and new wave scene were creative and impactful times. From the beginning of 1978 through the spring of 1981, a small club called Raul's served as the cornerstone of this innovative movement. Raul's was situated along a section of Guadalupe Street known as "the Drag" on the western edge of the University of Texas. Its proximity to campus and the club's willingness to give any new band a stage on which to perform helped solidify the foundation of a unified, alternative network of fansand musicians.

With a large share of its audience consisting of University of Texas students, the Raul's scene expanded with each new semester as more young people became aware of the excitement within walking distance of student housing. At its peak, Raul's hosted punk shows six nights a week. Many of the dedicated fans that frequented Raul's eventually formed their own bands, even though a large portion of them had no prior musical training. They used their limitations and creative senses to develop some of the most diverse music and stage shows of the punk rock era. 1

Disco music dominated the national airwaves, and many local teens sought something different that could more accurately reflect their changing musical tastes. 2 The rallying cry finally came on January 8, 1978, when one of punk rock's pioneer bands, the Sex Pistols, played a concert in San Antonio. Carloads of music-starved, impressionable adolescents from Austin made the journey to the Alamo City to witness an event that would ultimately change the direction of music in Central Texas forever. 3

The Sex Pistols' legacy was wrought with controversy from the band's inception in 1975. Band members wore outrageous clothing that was torn and held together with safety pins. They wrote songs such as "Anarchy In The UK" and "God Save The Queen," which openly denounced the royal family. Reports of violence at Sex Pistols shows resulted in the group being banned from clubs across England.

Virgin Records released the Sex Pistols' debut album, Never Mind the Bollocks, on October 28, 1977' A full UiSi tour was slated to follow, but delays in obtaining work visas resulted in the bands playing only seven dates, two of which were in Texas. Manager Malcolm McLaren booked the band at country music venues across the southern United States in hopes of provoking violent reactions and increased media attention, a tactic that worked". 4

Although there was no more than a one-line mention of the Sex Pistols' upcoming appearance in the Austin entertainment papers, word quickly spread to those who had acquired import copies of Sex Pistols records or read about the group in papers such as the Village Voice, New York Rocker, or Britain's New Musical Express (also known as NME). 5

The show sold out with a reported 2,200 people in attendance. The majority of the crowd consisted of curious spectators from San Antonio. With their unique attire, the punk rockers that came from as far as Austin and Houston were easy to discern among the crowd. There was even a small booth set up in the club that sold safety pins with the centers removed so fans could put them in their noses without the pins actually piercing flesh. 6

From the moment the Sex Pistols took the stage, some audience members tossed beer cans, plates of pizza, and homemade cream pies at the band. 7 Within minutes the stage was covered with trash. Some people with cardboard boxes climbed onstage in what appeared to be an effort to clean up the mess, but they ran back into the crowd to redistribute the cans so others could continue their attack. 8 The audience also cursed and made obscene gestures at the band. Irritated by the crowd's behavior, singer Johnny Rotten lashed back following the third number, a song called "Seventeen," by declaring, "You cowboys are all faggots. 9

Rotten's remarks further antagonized the crowd, prompting a man near the front of the stage to yell at the singer during the next song, "New York". Rotten ignored the man, who then began taunting bass player, Sid Vicious. As the song ended, Vicious took off his bass, swung it in the air, and struck the man on his shoulder. The man was removed from the building and later stated that he did, in fact, intend to cause physical harm to the band. 10 The evening continued without further incident, but the excitement and energy of the performance left a lasting impression on audience members Among those in the crowd were several young Austinites who would form some of the city's very first punk bands.11