Jackson Free Press

If you met Caroline or Ray Crawford on the street, knowing nothing more of them than the (black) clothes on their backs and (large) tattoos on their arms, you might come to one of the more stereotypical conclusions: just a couple of punks.

But taking a second glance will reward you with a more accurate picture. Beyond the knee-high leather boots and bad-ass kung fu T-shirt are a couple of the most soft-spoken individuals you're likely to meet in Jackson, and two very passionate artists.

Growing up in Clinton wasn't easy for Ray, 36, who felt "very alone being one of the only skateboarders there." He left town when he was 19 and didn't return until he was 33.

"We had very similar experiences growing up. People were always so insistent on trying to categorize me," says Caroline, a 32-year-old Alabama native and songstress who's in the process of signing with South City Records. "Now that I'm older, I don't feel like I have to fit any one stereotype."

The Crawfords grappled with the decision to leave Jackson for another city like New Orleans or Nashville, but decided everything they wanted was right here all along.

"Whether I wanted to like it or not, this is my home, this is where I feel like I can express myself and be myself," Ray Crawford says.

The couple conceived the idea for Southern Punk one night in their living room. Ray looked up at Caroline from his computer and said, "Spunk! That's it! I'm going to make a Web site called 'Southern Punk.Ҕ

The site, which "caters to the less conventional side of life," is a forum for all things punk including rants, music reviews/venues, and monthly S. Punk Pin-Up Girl and Spunk Artist profiles.

S. Punk is also the product of three other employees who regularly write, design and report on the punk scene. And later this year, an expansion will add user profiles, community boards and partner sites in various southern hubs so that anywhere punks travel, they'll be linked to a network of like-minded nonconformists.

S. Punk's launch party is June 7 at Left Field Sports Grill, beginning at 7 p.m. For more information, visit southernpunk.com.

Previous Comments

ID

130264

Comment

You can also read the info about the southernpunk.com launch party on the MySpace page if it's not on the site. We are in the middle of revamping and adding new content and a new pin-up girl!

Author

caroline

Date

2008-05-28T18:55:04-06:00