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By the time the second wave of Los Angeles punk rock began to crest in the early 1980s, most historians had already closed the book. But things were just starting to get interesting.
The music got harder and faster. Politics became integral to the scene. Police-on-punk violence and massive riots were de rigueur. The concept of "D.I.Y." transformed from a necessity to a battle cry.
And the Better Youth Organization was born.
Founded by brothers Shawn and Mark Stern from the influential L.A. punk band Youth Brigade, the BYO was part political movement, part business venture. It was a way to organize punks to take positive action to help sustain their scene and their way of life. The ideals upon which it was founded helped countless bands put on shows, put out records, and otherwise get their music out to the world. It allowed for the making of the landmark punk documentary "Another State of Mind". And it spawned BYO Records, which stands today as one of the oldest surviving independent punk rock labels in the world.
BYO, Youth Brigade, and the Stern family are three intertwined entities that comprise a too-often-overlooked chapter in the history of punk.
This is that chapter.
