Fenway Punk
How a Boston Indie Label Scored Big on Baseball's Greatest Rivalry
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Fenway Punk
Narrated by:
Chris Ciulla
Buy Now for ₹500.00
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Narrated by:
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Chris Ciulla
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Written by:
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Chris Wrenn
About this listen
For eighty-six years Boston Red Sox baseball fans lived in the shadow of their rivals, the New York Yankees, who more or less dominated the sport each season. Red Sox fans grew dejected as their team often got close, but ultimately would be eliminated from contention each year as New York went on to win yet another World Series championship.
Author Chris Wrenn, a member of the Boston hardcore punk scene, had a dream of his own—to start his own record label. Embracing the do-it-yourself ethos of the scene, Chris set out to make it happen, networking and forging relationships with local bands. But such an endeavor required money he didn't have ... until he and his friends heard a familiar phrase echo out of Fenway Park, the home field of the Red Sox. The phrase “Yankees Suck!” was chanted at every single Red Sox game. Possessing the wherewithal to produce inexpensive merchandise and the free time to stake a claim to the sidewalks outside the baseball stadium, Chris and his crew of punks began a lucrative endeavor of selling “Yankees Suck” merchandise such as stickers and T-shirts to the fans. While navigating cops, competitors, a violent gang, and in-fighting within the crew, Wrenn and his friends turned Boston's rivalry with New York into "six-figure summers," affording him the capital to launch Bridge Nine Records and bring local Boston hardcore bands including American Nightmare and Have Heart to stages worldwide just as the Red Sox got closer than ever to finally winning the World Series again.
A rousing story of entrepreneurship and ingenuity that also reveals fresh insight into one of the most epic rivalries in sports history, Fenway Punk is a gripping read for both fans of punk music and readers of Ben Mezrich, Lizzy Goodman, and Chuck Klosterman.
Critic Reviews
“Fast, wild and scrappy, Chris Wrenn’s improbable success story reminds us of how powerful the DIY spirit at the heart of hardcore punk remains. Fenway Punk is a bare-knuckled time capsule, an unabashed celebration of a time and place anyone who was a part of will remember forever.”—Stewart O’Nan, author (with Stephen King) of Faithful and A Face in the Crowd
“It's impossible to read Fenway Punk and not come away inspired in so many ways. The laser-focused passion. The relentless hustle. The unforgettable stories. This book delivers all of it, offering a powerful reminder that chasing your dream is never a bad race to run. Put down whatever you're doing and soak in Chris Wrenn's story. You will be glad you did.”
—Rob Bradford, national baseball columnist/podcast host
—Rob Bradford, national baseball columnist/podcast host
“Chris Wrenn is an icon in the Boston hardcore music underground, and his wild tale of how he and his band of punks cornered the market on 'Yankees Suck' merch has been Gen X lore for decades. It's high time this story is told to the masses as it exposes the most unlikely of culture clashes, showcases Boston's relentless and at times terrifying DIY ethos, and tears back the curtain on a turbulent subculture where drugs, violence, gangs, and money often violently collide.”—Dave Wedge, New York Times bestselling author of Blood & Hate: The Untold Story of Marvelous Marvin Hagler's Battle for Glory and Riding With Evil: Taking Down the Notorious Pagan Motorcycle Gang
“A wicked good read about music and baseball and a city that’s wild about both.”—Kirkus Reviews
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