Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Preferred Citation
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Processing Information
General note
Biography/History
Scope and Content
Organization and Arrangement
Related Material
Title: Max Ward Collection of Powerviolence material
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.2345
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
5.6 linear feet
(10 boxes, 2 flat oversize boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1990s-early 2000s
Abstract: The collection documents the emergence of the Powerviolence music scene, a little known subgenre of hardcore punk, which was
primarily active in the 1990s through the early 2000s. Materials consists of original fliers, posters, handbills, correspondence,
photographs, stickers, zines, and patches collected by San Francisco Bay Area drummer, Max Ward.
Language of Materials: Materials are primarily in English with a small amount in Japanese.
Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button
located on this page.
Creator:
Ward, Max
Conditions Governing Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. All requests to access special collections material must be made in
advance using the request button located on this page.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Max Ward Collection of Powerviolence Material (Collection 2345). UCLA Library Special Collections,
Charles E. Young Research Library.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Purchase, Johnson Rare Books & Archives, 2017.
Processing Information
Processed by Kuhelika Ghosh in 2017 under the supervision of Courtney Dean in the Center for Primary Research and Training
(CFPRT).
General note
Biography/History
Powerviolence is a subgenre of hardcore punk known for dissonant, fast, and short songs with constant tempo changes. It emerged
in the early 1990s, primarily on the West Coast of the United States, with bands like Man is the Bastard, Spazz, and Capitalist
Casualties. Some trace the origins of powerviolence back to late 1980s hardcore bands such as Siege and SSD. Many of the leading
powerviolence bands had dissolved by the early 2000s but some some continue to tour.
Max Ward, sometimes known as Hirax Max, was a San Francisco Bay Area drummer who played in the bands Spazz, Plutocracy, Capitalist
Casualties, What Happens Next?, Bombs of Death, and Scholastic Deth[sic]. He was a major influence in the powerviolence scene.
Ward was also the founder of 625 Thrashcore Records, which booked tours and released records for local, national, and international
powerviolence bands. He produced the zine
Mosh of Ass and contributed to the zine
Maximumrocknroll. As of 2017, Ward is a professor of History at Middlebury College in Vermont.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of materials collected by drummer Max Ward related to the powerviolence scene from the 1990s to early
2000s. Includes original fliers, posters, handbills, correspondence, photographs, stickers, zines and patches, documenting
the emergence of the scene in the San Francisco Bay Area through to when Ward moved to Japan in the early 2000s.
Organization and Arrangement
Arranged in the following series:
- Series 1: Correspondence, photographs, and zines, 1990s-early 2000s
- Series 2: Fliers and stickers, 1990s-early 2000s
Original order of materials was maintained.
Related Material
-
Punk zines and ephemera collection (Collection 2276) Available at Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
-
The American Hotel and Al's Bar Project records (Collection 2305) Available at Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
-
S.A. Griffin collection of underground poetry, Scott Wannberg, and The Carma Bums (Collection 2248) Available at Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
-
Craig Michael Lee papers (Collection 2016-013) Available at ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.
-
San Francisco Bay Area punk rock fliers and posters collected by Marshall Weber. (Collection BANC PIC 2009.057) Available at The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Ward, Max -- Archives.
Hardcore (Music)
Punk culture--California--20th century
Zines