this 'cripple' wants to form a punk rock band

Opting to live, thrive, and find happiness in a disabled body is anarchic. It's punk-rock.

Can you name a famous disabled musician? If I had to guess, I’d bet you’re going to say Stevie Wonder. Him, Ray Charles, or Beethoven. Those last two are great, but they are also dead, so let me rephrase the question: can you name visibly disabled musicians who are part of the mainstream? Whose music goes on the radio? Who signs with major labels? Whose names pass through people’s mouths as often as Green Day or Ed Sheeran?

Lately, I’ve been venturing back into the punk-rock genre.

Before this, I’d always been pretty conservative when it came to music, listening on repeat to the same songs that spoke to my shaggy soul. Bands like Green Day and The Clash and t.A.t.U (when they were still an unabashed female duo, defying Russian anti-LGBTQIA laws) often played in my ears and later came Pussy Riot and Keny Arkana. 

But last week I found out about this rock band from New York — Flame! — whose members are 11 people with different kinds of visible disabilities (autism, cerebral palsy, blindness, Down Syndrome, etc.) They’re very fucking cool and have been active since 2013 I think. They only have 500 subscribers on YouTube and don’t even appear on Spotify, but they are a real band, I swear. 

If you do a quick Google search you’ll find the names of many disabled musicians who are very talented and very much into it for the art. But they are never mentioned in the mainstream media or on radio stations people usually listen to, and you’ll rarely, if never, read their names in Pitchfork or Rolling Stone.

Why am I sharing all of this? Because I'm a visibly disabled person, and the punk-rock scene not only tells me it's okay to be who I am but also shows me it can be a source of strength.

Let me explain: punk-rock embodies anarchy, a rebellion against the chains of societal norms and regulations, a counterculture opposing the conservative mould of corporate life — conform, work, earn, sleep, marry, and produce offspring to perpetuate this soulless machinery.

Opting to live, thrive, and find happiness in a disabled body — when society expects us to hide or be fixed — is anarchic. It's punk-rock.

This whole movement - cripple-punk - honestly helped me see myself in a better light. Cripple-punk rejects the notion of the 'inspirational disabled person’ who is patted on the back for buying groceries, and rejects the toxic view that a disabled person needs to achieve something extraordinary in order to be viewed as a person worthy of dignity and respect. To me, it’s about not apologizing for taking up space and asking for accommodation, not just being thankful for the bare minimum. 

In recent years we have been witnessing a bit of a spotlight on disability topics and disabled artists, especially in the movie and modelling industry - but it’s still something that remains pretty niche. 

You can come up with all sorts of excuses to leave out disabled people:

“There’s not enough of you to justify the extra costs for an elevator”

“It’s too difficult”

“You aren’t the right fit”

These words may not feel aggressive, but they still convey messages that exclude disabled individuals from various experiences, whether intentionally or inadvertently - especially from creative and artistic areas. Like you, these are the things that make us feel alive and that hold a huge responsibility in empowering, communicating and bringing about change.

To me, the punk-rock genre is the best platform to spread disability awareness through music.

While the music industry may be the hardest to break into when you are physically disabled and use a mobility aid - it’s not impossible. We just need supporters who are willing to crack the door open for us.

Despite its DIY ethos, basement concerts, and intimate venues, the punk-rock scene might appear daunting to make accessible for individuals with disabilities. However, if anyone can tackle this challenge with ingenuity, it's us. After all, DIY is synonymous with creativity, and disabled individuals are among the most inventive, since they’re used to having to navigate a world that’s not built for them.

Maybe one day I’ll do it. Maybe one day I’ll start a band that blends punk-rock and disability, and we’ll show people that you can dance, even if you’re sitting down. I’ll keep this post as an accountability report, and if you’re disabled and play any instrument (or just have a bit of the necessary attitude) please reach out.

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Who wrote this?

Maja Urukalo is a writer and creative who lives in Italy. She’s the author of A Crip Punk, a newsletter about the disabled and chronically ill life told from her point of view that you can find on Substack. She lives her life in between a cup of (cold) coffee and punk-rock song. 

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