We, along with a bunch of other shops are taking part in a 80s themed fashion show at Valanni 1229 Spruce Street Philly. The show is at 10 Pm there is no cover and there is going to be booze. Could be something different and fun to do.
We sent along a brief history of the shop to Valanni this morning and reprinted it here.
Crash Bang Boom opened it’s doors in July of 2005 but the history of this store goes back much further than that. In fact Crash Bang Boom is the reincarnation of one of Philadelphia’s original underground, independent, punk rock boutiques, “Zipperhead”.
Let’s start from the beginning; In 1980 when punk rock was just beginning to rear it’s unusual head and South Street was becoming a dumping ground for everything strange in Philadelphia a store named Zipperhead was born. It was made famous by the song “Punk Rock Girl” by the Dead Milkmen. First line, top billing, “One Saturday I took a walk to Zipperhead”. It was made infamous by many of the happenings there, most notably Courtney Love completely physically trashing the place, while being completely physically trashed herself… of course.
As the face of South Street was changing into a slightly more corporate version of it’s former self two long term employees scraped together everything they could muster in the world and purchased the business from the original owner who had also changed into a slightly more corporate version of his former self as well. As things continued to progress the shop not only became the first of it’s kind but also the strongest and longest lasting as well. Someone has to sell Rock and Roll, but not everyone has it in them.
An enormous proposed South Street rent increase left this shop, it’s people. and it’s history looking for a new place to live. Co-owners Rob and Stefanie took all the merch, all the fixtures, all the people, all the history and moved it around the corner. Part of being an independent shop is being truly independent, so to stay free and truly independent a new name and address were needed. Zipperhead became Crash Bang Boom, and it’s new residence is at 528 South 4th Street.
The theory to Crash Bang Boom is to be more than the old place ever was by just going further over the top and creating even more chaos. Crash Bang Boom sponsors events all over the city, tries to bail out every independent attempt to keep Philly interesting, and even has live Punk-Rock-N-Roll shows in the store (which the neighbors totally love). Major lines at the store include Serious, Sourpuss, Switchblade Stiletto, Lucky Thirteen, Lip Service, Rock Steady, Special Effects, and many more. We also have a consignment section where people can buy and sell. Our shop is always more rock than roll and a great place to find that special gift for the person you just can’t figure out.
Crash Bang Boom has been happily on Forth Street for more than three years now and we are fighting our way through this “stupid” South Street construction project that was started in what feels like 1980 as well. Crash Bang Boom is very happy to be teamed up with Valanni and all of the other great shops that are involved in this event. You can also visit us at www.CrashBangBoomOnline.com
