In
Indianapolis, a vibrant 1970s
punk rock and
new wave scene existed. Artists involved in the scene included Latex Novelties, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and
Dow Jones and the Industrials (from
West Lafayette). One of the most influential Indiana punk bands was
The Gizmos, from
Bloomington, who spawned a thriving local alternative scene that included the likes of Amoebas in Chaos and
The Dancing Cigarettes. Later, a
hardcore punk and
alternative rock band from Indianapolis called the
Zero Boys became the single most important punk band ever to arise from the state. The Zero Boys started trying to make a local hardcore scene after seeing the
Dead Kennedys in
Chicago. Paul Mahern of the Zero Boys led the effort, and founded Affirmation Records, releasing several compilations and recordings from
Articles of Faith (from Chicago) and local band
Killing Children before going out of business. Indianapolis/Bloomington is home to post-hardcore/emo band
Split Lip/
Chamberlain who helped influence other emo contemporaries in the midwest such as
Braid and
The Get Up Kids.
The Ataris formed in
Anderson in the mid-90s by Anderson native
Kristopher Roe. Bloomington has a large
folk punk music scene. The town is home to
Chris Clavin who runs the
DIY punk rock record label
Plan-It-X Records and is in the band Ghost Mice. Every other year Plan-It-X Records organizes Plan-it-X Fest, a large DIY punk music festival held in Bloomington. Bloomington is also home to the record labels
Secretly Canadian,
Jagjaguwar, and
BlueSanct. From
Kokomo, another folk punk group is Harley Poe fronted by Joe Whiteford.
Lafayette is the home of
Mass Giorgini's (of
Squirtgun,
Screeching Weasel, and
Common Rider fame) Sonic Iguana Studios. Several legendary national and international punk bands have recorded or mastered their releases at Sonic Iguana, including platinum-selling acts such as
Rise Against. Lafayette / West Lafayette is home to punk rock record label
Oi! the boat records whose roster includes bands from around the US and Europe. In the 1980s, the Lafayette music scene featured bands such as Rattail Grenadier (later
Squirtgun), Stone Soup (featuring
Carrie Newcomer), East of Eden (with Newcomer's husband and guitarist Rob Meitus on guitar), and Styff Kytten (featuring
Shannon Hoon later of
Blind Melon.
Izzy Stradlin and
Axl Rose, both of whom went on to form
Hollywood Rose and
Guns N' Roses also emerged from the Lafayette music scene in the 1980s. ==Hip hop music==