Brian Deneke

Brian Deneke (March 9, 1978 – December 12, 1997) an American punk rock fan from Amarillo, Texas, USA, whose homicide galvanized the punk community and raised questions about the tolerance of Amarillo. Deneke became well-known after he was deliberately struck with a Cadillac, ran over, and instantly killed by local jock Dustin Camp during a parking lot brawl in 1997. Deneke was 19 at the age of his death.

Biography

Deneke was born and raised in Amarillo, TX. While growing up, Deneke was a Boy Scout and a Kwahadi Dancer. He attended Crockett Middle School in his early teens. Nicknamed "Sunshine", Deneke had a spiked mohawk haircut and often wore a black leather jacket with a studded leather collar and sported homemade tattoos. He was also an enthusiastic skateboarder, and it was this interest which drew him into punk music. He attended Amarillo High School, and would later obtain his GED. Deneke also contributed to Stanley Marsh 3's art project, Dynamite Museum, which consisted of handmade mock road signs that were scattered across the city. He was also a singer involved in the band "White Slave Traders". [ [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=214365837 White Slave Traders Website] ] One of Brian's favorite bands, whose music was played at his funeral, was the noted punk group the Dropkick Murphys, who were later involved in memorializing him. [http://www.pastepunk.com/interviews/dropkick_interview.html "Dropkick Murphys" "Paste Punk" March 15, 2001] ] Brian was a charismatic individual seen as somewhat of a leader in local punk circles in helping to organize many local musical events. Like the rest of the town's alternative teenagers, Deneke faced frequent verbal and physical attack throughout his life, even getting other nicknames "Punch," as in human punching bag, and "Fist Magnet." [http://www.dallasobserver.com/1999-10-21/news/anarchy-in-amarillo/ "Anarchy in Amarillo" "Dallas Observer", October 21, 1999] ]

An urban myth circulating on the internet claims inaccurately that Brian Deneke was Good Charlotte's first drummer.

Death

Deneke was killed in a hit and run incident in the Western Plaza Shopping Center parking lot stemming from a fight between jocks/preps and punks outside of an IHOP in Amarillo, Texas on Friday December 12, 1997. His death was immediately met with great anger from the punk subculture since it was widely believed that he died solely for being a punk, and that his death was a hate crime. The case had gained controversy because the convicted killer, Dustin Camp, received 10 years probation and a $10,000 fine for the death. Camp violated his terms of probation in 2001 and was sentenced to eight years in prison.cite news | url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2001_3332563 | title= Probation violator gets 8-year term | publisher=Houston Chronicle | date=08 September 2001 | accessdate=2008-04-25]

It actually started at the Waffle House on Western Street in Amarillo, Tx. but was moved to the parking lot of the IHOP and then to the fateful parking lot of the Western Plaza Shopping Center - Waffle House is and was a spot to hang out for those who aren't quite the "norm"

Media Coverage and Significance

The case's ongoing notoriety amongst punks has developed through the activities of the Brian Deneke Memorial committee formed by Deneke's family and friends in an attempt to ensure he was not forgotten providing badges, t-shirts even tattoo designs. A large number of punk bands have highlighted the case in concerts as well as it featuring in fanzines and on internet sites. The case is regularly condemned by punks as a miscarriage of justice, and as a demonstration of the prejudice and abuse that punks face from outsiders. The interest that punks feel in the case was supported by the attention national television paid to the case in 1999 and 2000 being featured on Leeza, Dateline NBC, 20/20 and an in a MTV documentary "Criminal" "Punks vs Preps". [http://www.amarillo.com/stories/011400/new_take.shtml Browsers take aim at Internet Web site Amarillo Globe January 14, 2000] [ [http://www.amarillo.com/stories/092801/ent_channel.shtml Channel Surfer: Deneke's death subject of MTV show Amarillo Globe September 28, 2001] ] The widely syndicated City Confidential episode "Amarillo, TX: High School Hit & Run" in 2005 reinforced interest in the case. In 2000, Marilyn Manson discussed the Deneke case at the Disinfo conference while addressing the issue of the causes of youth violence. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxiFfYX7JYs Disinformation Conference - Marilyn Manson Speaks on Violence Part 2] ]

The conflict between jocks and punks in Amarillo has been compared to the widespread social divisions in Columbine High School which contributed to the Columbine High School massacre. [Jane Bluestein, Creating Emotionally Safe Schools: A Guide for Educators and Parents(HCI, 2001) p. 157] The Deneke case has also been referred to briefly in an academic article arguing the case for expanding the definitions of bias crime beyond the usual boundaries of religious, sexual and racial groups, to other social groupings. [M. Blake, "Geeks and Monsters: Bias Crimes and Social Identity" "Law and Philosophy", Volume 20, Number 2, March 2001 , pp. 121-139] Recently parallels have been drawn with the death of a British girl Sophie Lancaster who followed the goth subculture and was murdered by a gang of youths in late 2007. [http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/leedsbradford/2008/03/394627.html UK Indymedia | Sophie’s death leads to campaigns to end prejudice against Alternative subcultur ] ]

Tributes

Concerts

Numerous tribute gigs and concerts have been made for Brian Deneke over the years. In 2000 "The Unity Through Diversity festival" was held in Amarillo featuring The Undead and Mike Watt amongst other bands. [ [http://www.amarillo.com/stories/073000/new_diversity.shtml "Diversity festival draws hundreds" "Amarillo Globe"] ] The tenth anniversary of his death demonstrated the ongoing significance of his death to the punk community with 25 concerts being held on December 8 2007 across the USA and Canada, including concerts in New York City, Chicago, Seattle and five concerts in Texas including a two day event in Amarillo. Half of the money raised by these events went to National Organization for Parents of Murdered Children, the other half to various anti prejudice causes. [ [http://www.amarillo.com/stories/120907/new_9144733.shtml "Short life remembered" "Amarillo Globe"] ] [ [http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=86248 Blabbermouth.com Ex-MISFITS Guitarist Pays Tribute To Slain Fan - Dec. 6, 2007] ] The memorial concerts stated aims were: "Brian was only 19 years old when he succumbed to violent death due to prejudice & ignorance. The Memorial events will donate our profits to charities that fight hate-crime. Brian's existence will continue to inspire others." [ [http://www.myspace.com/natldenekememorial National Deneke Memorial - Organising page for the 2007 events] ]

ongs

Knowledge of Deneke's death has been spread by a large number of tribute songs including some from well respected bands on the punk scene. These include Ethan Daniel Davidson's 1997 folk song "Brian Deneke", Fifteen's "Brian's Song", the former Misfits member Bobby Steele and Dave Street's 2002 punk song for The Undead "Tears On A Pillow", the Dropkick Murphys song "Fortunes of War", the Against All Authority song "Sunshine Fist Magnet", the Total Chaos songs "A Punk Killed" & "Murdered", the Career Soldiers song " American justice is all a LIE", The Code's song "Brian's Song" and The Swellers 2004 song "Sunshine". He is also referenced in the Hamell on Trial song "Hail". [http://www.soundstage.com/music/reviews/rev571.htm SoundStage! Hammell On Trial - Tough Love, Lou Depot - 61 Old Depot ] ]

The first musical tribute to Deneke was the disturbing We're at War (and you're not paying attention)" for upright bass, samples and electronics and written by Donovan Stokes. Written in December of 1997 immediately after Deneke's death and performed at several events hosted by the Brian Deneke Memorial Committee the work uses audio samples, taken from news coverage. Although recorded, the work was never released commercially. Despite this, the work has been widely disseminated through internet download and other underground means. The title comes from Chris Oles, friend of both Deneke and Stokes, and appears on material produced by the DMC.

Drama

A play on the Deneke case MANSLAUGHTERED by David Bucci was performed at the Annex Theatre, Seattle in 2000. [ [http://www.geocities.com/thriftyluxury/BUCCI/Manslaughtered.pdf David Bucci, Script for Manslaughtered (PDF)] ]

References

*cite news
first=
last=
author=Kris Kelly
title=Camp indicted in Deneke death
date=1998-02-05
publisher=Amarillo Globe-News
url=http://www.amarillonet.com/stories/020598/021-6766.002.shtml
*cite news
first=
last=
author=Kevin Welch
title=David Camp pleads guilty
date=2001-10-19
publisher=Amarillo Globe-News
url=http://www.amarillonet.com/stories/101901/new_davidcamp.shtml

Bibliography

*Mikita Brottman (ed), "Car Crash Culture" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002), 254-6
*Jeff Ferrell, "Tearing Down the Streets: Adventures in Urban Anarchy" (Palgrave Macmillan 2001)
*"Texas Monthly on True Crime" (University of Texas Press, 2007) p. 19-38
* "Death In Texas(the story of Brian Deneke)" PUNK PLANET 36

Filmography

*MTV: "Criminal: Punks vs. Preps" (CBS News Productions, 2000)
*City Confidential - "Amarillo, TX: High School Hit & Run" Episode Number: 128 Season Num: 11 First Aired: Saturday July 9, 2005

External links

* [http://www.briandeneke.org/ Official Brian Deneke memorial site]
* [http://www.dallasobserver.com/1999-10-21/news/anarchy-in-amarillo/ "Anarchy in Amarillo"] from the "Dallas Observer".
* [http://www.houstonpress.com/1999-10-21/news/punks-jocks-and-justice/ "Punks, Jocks and Justice"] from the "Houston Press"
* [http://www.kwahadi.com/ Kwahadi Dancers]