So straight, I'm so straight.

August 6, 2010 12:25 PM

Arguably, DC's first punk band was the father/son duo called White Boy. The two, Mr Ott and Jake Whipp (real names: James & Glenn Kowalski) self released their records on their own label, Doodly Squat. They are also known to be the first punk record owned by Minor Threat frontman Ian Mackaye. The full story of White Boy is much darker and hasn't been fully put together in the collective recollection of the band.

The father of White Boy, James Kowalski, according to WebSlueths was arrested with reams of child pornography in his home and another residence where child sex parties would occur after a investigation of a missing boy, Junior Burdinski. In 1993 he was arrested, again, for child pornography and child molestation.

The son, Glenn, never speaking of the horrendous acts of his father now heads up the band 7 Door Sedan and was interviewed by a DC music blog, BrightestYoungThings about White Boy and his current project but the interview didn't even touch on the deviance of his father.

The full story puts a real twist on album and song titles such as: I Could Puke, I'm So Straight, Living in the Shadows and Heavens of Hell.

posted by wcfields (6 comments total)

The cover of "Heavens of Hell" is one of the creepiest and most memorable early DC punk graphics - something about them was always a little unsettling, and the child molester revelation wasn't a total surprise.
posted by ryanshepard at 1:05 PM on August 6, 2010

Also, I've always thought that their story would make an interesting documentary (if George Pelecanos wasn't so expensive now, he'd be the perfect person to help w/the scripting.)
posted by ryanshepard at 1:34 PM on August 6, 2010

Can't Stop The Bleeding comment on Mr Ott

I think we’re selling Mr. Kowalski a little short. He was a full-scale, no-holds-barred (as it were) kiddie fiddler, a pae-doe-file of the first order. Kowalski wandered into D.C crime lore in 1993 as a (material?) witness in vanishing of 10-year old George Stanley Burdynski Jr., who has yet to be found. I’ll jsut quote from a Montgomery Cty. website at this point:

“One lead in Burdynski’s case involved two suspects who were connected to a child exploitation ring in the mid-Atlantic United States. Maryland law enforcement and the Federal Bureau Of Investigation (FBI) discovered that the suspects utilized the Internet to further their child pornography ventures. The individuals, Steven Leak (occasionally referred to as “Bruce Leak”), James A. Kowalski Jr. and Joseph Lynch were never charged in connection with Burdynski’s disappearance, but the FBI did begin an investigation focused on Internet child exploitation as a result of the failed lead. Innocent Images debuted in 1994 and works to prosecute suspected child pornographers on the Web. Burdynski’s mother testified at Lynch’s trial, saying that her son visited Lynch’s home in the 3200 block of Varnum Street with his friends in 1993.

Authorities believe that Kowalski, Leak and Lynch sexually abused two of Burdynski’s friends the weekend prior to his disappearance. Kowalski stated that he was not aware Burdynski was missing, but investigators discovered he videotaped news footage of the boy’s case at his home. The three men were eventually convicted of child abuse unrelated to Burdynski’s case.

Investigators announced in March 2002 that they were focusing on another individual whom they believe may have murdered Burdynski in 1993. Authorities have not publicly named the suspect, as the case is still under investigation. The information received by investigators reportedly does not involve any of the convicted child molesters.”

Not too surprising, then, that the White Boy material is not in print. Or, perhaps, very, very surprising.

And they are talked about in the book, Dance of Days.
posted by wcfields at 1:58 PM on August 6, 2010

Not too surprising, then, that the White Boy material is not in print. Or, perhaps, very, very surprising.

Almost nothing from that era - proto and early punk - of DC music is still in print (there are a few exceptions).

White Boy's records being OoP doesn't have much to do w/Mr. Ott's being a pedophile - they were just part of a scene that wasn't very well documented, was almost immediately overshadowed by harDCore, and still hasn't been revisited in any substantive way. Except for people who participated, it has mostly been forgotten.
posted by ryanshepard at 2:36 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]

As a DC native and local music aficionado this post wrecks my mind on several levels. Thank you.
posted by $0up at 3:06 PM on August 6, 2010

Not too surprising, then, that the White Boy material is not in print. Or, perhaps, very, very surprising.

Almost nothing from that era - proto and early punk - of DC music is still in print

Yeah, that's someone's quote. I've been trying to score some of the 7"s and even Myspace messaged Glenn Kowalski about it. He must have a garage full of them (:30 Under DC says they pressed nearly 5000 of Sagittarius Bumper Sticker alone) but is selling them for $45 each with no cover which is about 1/3rd the going price on eBay for their records.
posted by wcfields at 3:29 PM on August 6, 2010