Todd Taylor is not your average punk rocker. Or more specifically, he does not fit the mold of what mainstream culture thinks an average punk rocker should be. As a former Eagle Scout, and possessing a Master’s in Literature, some might not expect that Taylor would be a thoroughly rabid fan of punk rock—but that’s exactly what he is, and he documents that searing spirit and enthusiasm in his new book, Born To Rock, a collection of essays and interviews that gives readers an insiders look into a subculture that has been misrepresented and misunderstood by the public for more than 25 years.

As a writer for legendary West Coast punk zine Flipside, Taylor honed his skills to become one of punk’s preeminent journalists, and co-founded the magazine Razorcake a few years ago, interviewing countless bands and people involved in the rebellious and unpredictable music scene.

Born To Rock features several articles culled from the archives of the previously mentioned magazines, where Taylor speaks with luminary figures in punk such as Duane Peters and NOFX, along with bands that may not be as well known, but are nonetheless very worth reading about, including Bloodhag, Kid Dynamite, Strike Anywhere and Dillinger 4.

With well researched questions, a lively pace, and oftentimes humorous and insightful dialogue, the interviews give the reader the feeling of actually being there in the room with Taylor and his subjects, to the point that many may find themselves bursting into laughter, or nodding along in agreement with what’s being said.

“I think my take and version of punk rock is just as viable as anybody else’s, and since I’ve kind of like been in the middle of [it], especially doing zines for the last 8, 9 years, I think that it’s a lot more complex and there’s a lot more ways to look at punk rock than the real obvious ones,” says Taylor.

“I mean just think of TV news or whatever, they’re not going to put the cameras on some guy sitting in the back reading a book or thinking about something, or going to their house and listening to a record—[they’ll show a guy] with a middle finger extended, throwing up into the camera, which is part of it, you know, and I don’t want to deny that part, but it’s like any other culture, you can stereotype, or you can look at the actual culture.”

Taylor also interviews author and child advocate Andrew Vachss, who may not be a punk rocker, but definitely has an independent spirit and attitude when it comes to his activism.

“My whole thing is you don’t try to pigeonhole everything, you try to make connections—some people go, ‘oh, punk rock doesn’t change anything’—au contraire. You know, if you pay attention to specific things, as a punk rocker you have a definite skill set, to help like what Andrew Vacchs set up-- closing incest loopholes in state law--doing very pragmatic things that you can use your energy and get direct results from it. So I think that’s very gratifying. [If] you have an activist spirit, or you question things, why not put that directly to something, that has a result.”

The book starts off with an emotional essay about Taylor’s teenage years, and a horrific car crash that took the life of a good friend, and left Taylor with permanent scars, along with a lifelong suspicion of official organizations and authority. The tale continues with his discovery of punk rock, and how that revelation changed his life from then on, chronicling his early searches for hard to find tapes and records, up until the time he founded his own publication with a friend to help spread the word about the music he so dearly loves.

Taylor brings an intelligence and a way with words not usually associated with punk rock—he examines his subjects the way a cultural anthropologist would, but with an edge that most scientists never have—he himself is a member of the society that he’s writing about, which gives him an insight that any outsider could never have. On top of his clear expertise, an amazingly strong sense of love for his subject comes through with every phrase that jumps off the page. Taylor lives and breathes punk rock, and it shows.