The Newark Scene a.k.a.
The Brick City Years
Definition:
Most artist on The Newark Scene (TNS) are rock and roll performers of the 1960s and early-1970s, though some earlier performers have been cited.
TNS-rock in general has been cited as quite influential in the development of punk-electronica.
The Newark Scene has proven difficult to define, and many widely different groups have been so dubbed. Most had a certain attitude or appearance seen as important, as opposed to any specific musical tendencies. Significant examples include Jasper Johns, Stonerockets and Violent Men, Jennie Wayne (jokingly referred to as the Mother of TNS), Lisa McDermont, The Fuck, Dick Hell and claimed as influential on the TNS-sound, Pink Closing (the first band to have been labeled under the electropunk banner).
Some TNS-bands also fall into the categories of experimental, noise or even pre-No Wave.
Remarkably, both No Crises and T.R.O.W. (and to a lesser extent Plastic Plastic) have been classified as electropunk and post-TNS, but both bands' unusual, experimental qualities have rarely seen them classified as "textbook" TNS.
Background
The 1967 Newark Riots were a major civil disturbance that occurred in the city of Newark, New Jersey between July 12 and July 17, 1967.
Unemployment, poverty, and concerns about low-quality housing contributed to the tinder-box.
It all started when a black cab driver named John Smith was arrested for illegally passing a double-parked police car and brutally beaten by police who accused him of resisting arrest. A crowd gathered outside the police station where he was detained, and a rumor was started that he had been killed while in police custody.
During a set off six days of riots, looting, violence, and destruction leaving 23 people dead, 725 people injured, and close to 1,500 arrested.
Property damage exceeded $10 million. In an effort to contain the riots, every evening at 6 p.m. the Bridge Street and Jackson Street Bridges, both of which span the Passaic River between Newark and Harrison, were closed until the next morning.
