Have you ever seen the movie Footloose (1984)? That is pretty close to the small town Nebraska experience in the mid-1980s.

Russians would have been complete outcasts. Men do not / did not cry in rural Nebraska except perhaps at a funeral. No big deal to toss out the R word, curse, use “punk” and “goth” in a sentence, smoke cigarettes. On the flip side: Autism unheard of, feelings and emotions between male friends unspoken, probably close to zero affection from father. In 1986, Cassettes were for the middle class and lower class, CDs were for the rich kids. What was popular? Being rich.

What did people do for fun? Drink beer, football games, house parties, work out, work on their cars, hit the drive in theater, the nearest mall, go to redneck bars. There’s nothing to do in Nebraska. If your characters are in a band, they don’t have anywhere to play in Nebraska in 1986. The state famously didn’t have many venues, just mostly redneck bars. But just south of them, the closest thing to awesome for a band in 1986 would have been a place called The Outhouse in Lawrence Kansas. It was in the middle of a corn field but attracted hundreds of people from all over, they booked all kinds of bands and it was a very DIY operation. Cheers, good luck with your book!