Chris Wrenn: Fenway Punk

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An audacious and inspiring debut social history that explores how entrepreneurial members of the tight-knit hardcore punk scene within the vibrant heart of Boston cashed in on one of baseball's greatest rivalries.
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.

Since his salad days as a teenage skateboarder, Chris Wrenn has focused on two tasks: releasing albums for his favorite bands and finding unusual ways to pay for it. The indie record label that he started three decades ago in his college dorm room, Bridge Nine, has gained an international following by releasing over three hundred recordings from some of the most impactful bands in the punk music underground. At the same time, Sully’s, the Beantown-centric brand that Chris founded with an initial goal: to earn the money needed to fund the record label, went from profiting on bitter sports rivalries to celebrating all things Boston. The slogan that he coined in the spring of 2004, “Believe In Boston,” has become a rallying cry embraced by all of the city’s professional sports teams twenty years later. Chris and his wife Katherine live just north of Boston in Beverly, Massachusetts. Together they are raising a toddler and a teenager while also managing the day-to-day responsibilities of both brands. You can learn more about what Chris is up to next at http://www.ChrisWrenn.com.

Brookline Booksmith, thriving in the heart of Coolidge Corner in Brookline, Massachusetts, since 1961, is one of New England’s premier independent bookstores. We offer a vast selection of books, ranging from current bestsellers to the most eclectic titles. We are also known for our beautiful and inspired gifts. Customers buy and sell gently used books in our treasured Used Book Cellar and enjoy our bountiful bargain book selection. We host award-winning events series (including our groundbreaking Transnational Literature Series), offering more than 300 author talks, community conversations, and book clubs annually. Find more at brooklinebooksmith.com!

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