An acoustic-based singer/songwriter with an aggressive performance style and a lyrical outlook that melds the personal with the political, Roger Manning was one of the first major artists to emerge from the anti-folk scene of the late '80s, in which performers such as Manning, Lach, and Brenda Khan sought to bring the confrontational energy of punk rock back to the increasingly conservative folk scene. New Yorker Manning began performing in the early '80s, playing clubs when he could but more often setting up on the streets or in the subway. (Manning was involved in a court case that affirmed the rights of performers to busk in subway stations.) Manning's political activism and confrontational style were affirmed in part by his association with Missing Foundation, one of New York's most notorious leftist punk bands of the day; members of Missing Foundation accompanied Manning on a cassette-only release under his alias of Joe Folk.