i


  

:jo.

 

 

. 

 

ances are. he's just the guy
who can do it. .
Levin incase you've never heard

gthe name has been a ?xture on the
lndianapolis punk rock scene for the past

10 years. He?s the head honcho of the

'head bangers. The king of underground

5

cool.
Until recently. on. any given night you

could ?nd him bar-hopping in Bmad'Ripa 
ple- dressed entirely ln-bl'ack witha shock I .:
of spiky white hair 3

his head.
But not anymore. 

I  1"
These days he keeps. earlieer hours;
wears a suitableast threetimes'a week?

and combs" his hair which is now its
original shade of dark blonde in the
same basic style favored by young execu-
tives everywhere; 
Why the drastic  a 
"Cash.." he sat . ie- 5551 a pint
of imported beer at e' ellin ne of

LBroad' Ripple's most upscale Watering

holes and one which Levin would never
have frequented a few years ago.
?in this town. promoting punk rock

,gets you survival money. You can afford to

eat and pay rent. but that's it." hie said.
?My goal is to be ric 

in the initial step toward 'achievin that
goal. the 31-year-old recently a cep ed his

 

tising boldly proclaims.- ?all the sugar and



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1'


 

4-

STAR STAFF PHOTO I JERRY CURK

 



In this tovm, promoting 
punk rock gets you survival

money. You can afford to
.butthat?s

mama: is is:  .-

rh, 

 -    4-3111 Levin
-. - much energy on one 

 

twice the caffeine" or other popular
brands. -

Having a mainstream job means Levin
is {now firme entrenched in the system he

ence rejected. a situation 'shared' by-many

of his friends. 
?You?d be surprised. a lot of punks got
real-normal business jobs." he explained.
?They all ended up in business suits."
But unlike many of those ex?punkers.
Levin says having ajob doesn't mean he's
giving up his punk ideals. If anything. he
plans to use to

   
 
 
 

 

?What I

how to deal with all of people." the

rocker-turned-entrepreneur' explained;

"And i have lots of contacts in the music

I business. which helps get me in the door

'to sell, my, product to_' bars and clubs in
-town. Eventually. i want to make Jolt the

official rock?nfroll cola." IV I 
Levin has already lined up tentative

agreements with some local bars to hold
?Jolt?n?Jack? nights. where the house
drink would be his cola mixed with Jack
Daniel's whiskey. 
"I'm a punk. but merchandising's in
my blood." Levin admitted with a smile. 
grew up in a merchandising family. At the
age of ?10. I knew more about wholesaling
and retailing than most people ever do."

they're imported.

in leather jacket for. three-piece suit

. He and his partner. rthur also
a veteran of the punk ene are
considering sponsoring concerts in local
clubs as part of their overall promotion
program. The promotions will take place
both in bars serving liquor and in those
catering to the-under-2l crowd.

"If Miller beer can do it. why not Jolt
Cola Arthur asked. - 
"Exactly. it's a natural." Levin chimed
high-energy concert sponsored by a
high-energr soft drink." 
But is lndiana real ready 'fOr that
e? 

"Of course it is." Said Levin. the
.punkmovement is stillpvery much alive in
every high' school and where

there are kids. 

"What you've got to rememberis that

today. 90 percent of all punks are kids

whose parents were hippies. The kids just
got tired of hearing Mom and Dad play
Jackson Browne all the time. There will
always Qbe An audience for this type of
thing." 

Will-Levin himself ever tire of it? .
he Says emphatically. He still

listens to punk rock. -. . on a new compact

disc player. And he still likes to get rowdy
and chug a few   as long as

But tell him that he's sold out to the
establishment. and'he'll- tell you where'to
o. -- .
"People can call 'me a Yuppie if? they
want. They  call me anything they
like." he explained. i?fBut- ast'ar as I?m
concerned. nothing's changedexeept my
packaging." -