F I R S TP R E V828NEXTLAST

Gilman, Berkeley
Catch a rising star, this nondescript brick building on the west side of Berkeley is home to 924 Gilman Street Project a.k.a. the Alternative Music Foundation, a non-profit, collectively organized club usually referred to as "Gilman." The seminal Gilman club was founded in 1986 and is known as the birthplace of punk and hardcore bands like Green Day and Rancid.

As one of the longest-running independent music venues in the United States the small club's list of past bands is a virtual who's-who of the genre's most influential bands including Bad Religion, GWAR, AFI, The Offspring, L7, Third Eye Blind, NOFX, and many more. To 'keep it real' the Gilman policy is that once a band is signed by a major label they can no longer play here.

For a membership of $2 a year you can have a say in how the club runs and what bands play. Gilman's all-ages policy is supported by its no drugs, no alcohol, no violence policies. That policy was violated in 1994 during a famous incident in which The Dead Kennedys singer, Jello Biafra was attacked by audience members yelling, "Sellout rock star, kick him". Biafra suffered a broken leg, ligament damage and head injuries – that's so punk rock.
[ MAP J-12 ]