When former UNCW Journalism Professor, Janis Chakars, leaves the relaxed beach town of Wilmington for the urban metropolis of Philadelphia, what does he get? A three show reunion tour with indie rock mogul and former band-mate Ted Leo, a hoard of faithful fans that remember their band, Citizens Arrest, from their glory days as teenagers, and a entire new crowd of devout head-bangers who hail from a new generation of hardcore punk enthusiasts.

“I moved to Philadelphia because there were teaching opportunities for my wife and I. And when I got here, I thought ‘Might as well get the old band together,'” said Chakars. With his goal in mind, Chakars re-united the old band members in a way only someone who played at the famed and historic underground rock hall CBGB’s and was a house band at ABC No Rio, a venue that prides itself on counter culture exhibitionist art and activism, could ever devise.

The band set about producing three reunion shows for their own nostalgic desire. Little did they know that their first show in Brooklyn, N.Y., would sell out months ahead of time.

“It took 20 years to play to a sold out show. Back when we were kids, we never played to a crowd more than 100 people,” said Chakars. “We even got a paragraph spread in the New Yorker about it.”

The hype superseded the band’s expectations, and the more shows they played the more Chakars could see that the era for hardcore rock was not dead and that the self-described “youth music” was still applicable to today’s generation.

“I just can’t believe how many young bands are still into our music. I mean one band we played with, the Asshole Parade, made T-shirts saying ‘Holy shit I can’t believe we played with Citizens Arrest.’ It was really cool to see that our fan base has remained so solid within the past 20 years,” said Chakars.

After the three shows in New York and Philadelphia, Citizens Arrest was invited to reunite once again at the Canadian Music Fest in Toronto featuring more than 800 artists playing in 55 venues over the span of five days. As their popularity rises, Chakars hopes to return home to Wilmington to play at the Soapbox downtown and revive the scene he once saw as a dominant part of youth culture.

“I know that whenever I’m at the Soapbox, I always see a crowd amping up for the metal and punk music upstairs. There is definitely a scene for it, and kids always want to hear the people who started the revolution themselves,” said freshman Megan Davis.

With a music scene as lively and diverse as Wilmington’s, many punk and hardcore fans alike would like Citizens Arrest whose lead guitar player went straight from the classroom to the main stage.

“I actually went from my giving my final at Gwynedd-Mercy College, straight to my show in Brooklyn. I was still wearing my shirt and tie,” said Chakars.