New exhibit ‘60 Miles East’ celebrates Riverside’s underground punk scene

From backyard parties to sweaty moshpits, music lovers of all ages flocked to Riverside in the late 1980s and early 2000s to experience bands like Voodoo Glow Skulls and The Skeletones at smaller, independent venues — a community of fans, artists and promoters that shaped the city’s underground music scene before the days of the internet.

Some of that history is now on display at the Riverside Art Museum in an exhibition called “60 Miles East.” Curators Zach Cordner and Ken Crawford compiled thousands of photographs, flyers and other materials to showcase the impact of local punk, ska and hardcore bands — an era that was separate and distinct from what was happening in Los Angeles and Orange County at the time.

“ We were definitely in the shadow,” Crawford told LAist. “We kinda had to make do with hodgepodge shows and backyard bands. And then these great venues ended up emerging.”

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That included places like The Barn at UC Riverside, as well as the Showcase Theatre and Spanky’s Cafe — both of which are now closed. Cordner and Crawford said they would learn about upcoming performances from friends, magazines and at record stores like the now-shuttered Mad Platter.

“As the mid nineties kind of progressed… bands were coming to Riverside finally, so we really didn't have to go too far,” Cordner said. “It was amazing.”

At the time, there was no social media to spread the word about shows, and very little internet access, which made it difficult to navigate the scene. Most people would draw maps and scribble directions to venues on the back of hand-copied flyers and posters.

“We had to actively seek it out, and hope that the map was accurate enough to actually get you there,” Cordner said. “It was definitely a more participatory thing.”

The title of the exhibition is a nod to the Inland Empire — sometimes the simplest way to describe where cities like Riverside and San Bernardino are located is to say they’re about “60 miles east” of L.A.

Ken Crawford and Zach Cordner met as kids in Riverside.

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Gillian Moran Perez/LAist

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Cordner and Crawford first met as kids in the I.E. and later bonded over their shared love of skateboarding and concerts during their teen years at Riverside Polytechnic High School.

“My parents had the hangout spot and I had the car with the most seats in it, so I got to be the host and chauffeur,” Crawford said.

During that time, Cordner got hooked on photography. He was about 14 or 15 when he shot his first-ever show featuring a hardcore band called Process. That experience helped him develop relationships with other artists who would then use his prints for their albums and other promotional materials.

“After that I was just smitten,” Cordner said. “I was like, ‘This is what I want to do.’”

The pair reconnected about three decades later. Cordner now serves as publisher of Riversider Magazine, and Crawford is editor-at-large.

In 2023, Crawford said he was covering a story at the opening of a Stater Bros. when he ran into an executive at Riverside Art Museum and later pitched her the idea for “60 Miles East.”

“And we ran with it. We started collecting not only from (Zach’s) stuff but from the community,” he said. “It became very evident very quickly that curating was going to be more of an issue than collecting.”

Cordner said it took almost half a year to sort through all the materials and narrow it down — and that’s “just the tip of the iceberg” of what they have.

The exhibition "60 Miles East" runs through April 12 at the Riverside Art Museum.

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Julian V. Jolliffe

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Today, the music scene in Riverside is still alive, but it’s smaller and lacks institutional support, especially when it comes to all-ages concerts. But thanks to social media, it’s also easier to connect with bands and to learn about events in your area.

“I mean, it's Riverside. We still have a lot of these bands here…. it's just a matter of connecting and creating a community that really fosters the scene,” Cordner said.

Part of the reason they created “60 Miles East” was to educate people on how great the underground scene in Riverside was in its heyday — and how great it can still be today.

“I really love it when I see younger generations in the exhibition, reading the walls and just soaking all of that in,” Cordner said. “Hopefully they see that and can do it, and restart it. That's my hope for it.”

The exhibition “60 Miles East” runs through April 12 at the Riverside Art Museum.

This story was produced with help from Gillian Morán Pérez.