Michelle St Claire

Fast Punk Michelle St Claire

Brooklyn is where it all begins.

We are all teenagers, ranging from fifteen to seventeen. My cousin Pete is the youngest. He plays guitar while my brother, Benny, keeps time on percussion. Mickey rips it out on the horns while I take the lead on vocals.

Our little band lights up Brooklyn, man. We are on fire! The girls are screaming. Our friends and family gush with pride. Fans line up for our autographs.

We are better than the Beatles, man; more prolific than the Marley brothers; brighter than the Jackson Five. Our music is a mix of reggae, rock, jazz, and blues. We PACK concerts, man.

I'm gonna tell you how it all begins, how we jump subway turnstiles on our way to practice, how I skip school and ditch homework like a punk in pursuit of a fast life.

I will tell you how I put it all together before it all falls apart, before Pete moves back to Jamaica and Mickey drops out, before Benny...well...before Benny went away.

I will take you on the crazy journey of how four unknown Caribbean-American teens make it out of the hard-knock Brooklyn tenements to become Fast Punk.