Punk rock band Economy Cartel is coming to The Green Bar at 8 p.m. Friday. The band said they have seen Tuscaloosa’s punk scene grow larger than it ever was.
“More people are coming to our shows at each one we play. You can definitely tell the punk scene is growing,” said Jimi Hawkins, lead guitar player and vocalist.
The band credits some of the growth of the scene to venues like Greenbar and Egan’s.
“Egan’s and Greenbar are definitely bringing a lot of cool bands to Tuscaloosa,” Hawkins said. “We need venues like them to keep the punk scene here alive.”
Economy Cartel started when the members met in Tuscaloosa in 2013.
“Jimi was one of the only people I knew that was into punk,” said Kevin Forbus, the band’s bassist. “Some of the other members and I were playing around in indie rock bands, then we met up and started this punk band.”
Hawkins found the punk genre through the skateboard culture and said he is influenced by groups such as NOFX and Minor Threat, while Forbus said he once traded a metal CD for a punk CD with a neighbor and has been hooked on the genre ever since.
