Troll Away Spray

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Pittsburgh Hardcore website ... unless it's written by me.

 

Do You Ever Think You Might Be Wrong?

Everyone is defintiely encouraged to send in their rant to be posted. All rants will be posted, whether or not they are agreed with or not. Just try to make them halfway intelligent. Hopefully this will show different sides of the argument. I think this is much more constructive than using a message board. Type shit out so we can read it and send it to xAJx@hotmail.com and I'll post it up.



There Is Still A War...
Darren Gruetze

The members of our community, a.k.a. "the scene," came here originally because they thought that something was missing from their life, and whatever that piece was, it was filled at least in part by hardcore. That is what "this" originally was: an outlet for all the stress brought on by a monotonous society. The figure heads of the first wave were not the most eloquent speakers, but that was just because they had only a vague idea of what was wrong. They knew that something didn't fit quite right, that the world they saw around them was not the world they wanted to be a part of, that something needed to change. But somewhere along the line this point was lost; the fans misinterpreted the means as the message. What the bands were trying to sell was frustration and vision, what people bought was breakdowns and easy answers. Finger point, spin kick, pile-on, do whatever you want, but don't fool yourself into believing that this is anything more than sound. This is because the almighty "hardcore" that everyone is so quick to champion has become nothing more than a microcosm of the society we all despise. And this is not just the petty mirror images of things like he said she said and minor differences in views, but the entire mentality of "me" as the center of the universe. Just look at the cries of respect and unity, which only come through the feeling that I personally am disrespected, or that my white-suburban-middle-class burden is not carried by others. That self centeredness is manifested through the people who say "respect" in one sentence and faggot, bitch, cunt, whore, kike, nigger, Jew, or whatever-the-cool-minority-to-be-down-on-this-week-is in the next. The mentality of respect for me, unity for me, view the world only as it pertains to me, is what is destroying hardcore. Blame all the Headbanger’s Ball bands and everyone who signs to Island DefJam if that will make you sleep easier at night, but please note in the back of your mind that it is your personal idea that the world owes me joy and everything, but I owe nothing in return that is destroying this medium. Think next time you pop a CD in or download an Mp3 what it is that this band is saying. Are they using hardcore as a means of attaining personal desires, or are they trying to promote something more. Do they have a program for progress or just punishing breakdowns? Is their message one of stagnation or rejuvenation? In short, get out and fucking do something more, because listening to music is not revolutionary. Music is a means to an end, and it can be whatever end you choose, just as long as it is not the status quo. Hardcore is nothing but reverberating air if we let the message be self centered gratification of personal desires.


(Pittsburgh) Hardcore Economics
Me

First off, I would just like to say that this is 100% inspired by an article that Scotty J from Bystander Fanzine wrote a few years ago. Obviously, my writing refers specifically to our area and is updated by a few years with some new ideas. So yeah, I've been going to shows in Pittsburgh since early 2000. Since then, gas prices have literally doubled, the PA turnpike fees have increased by approximately 70%, and inflation has touched basically everything else a touring band could possibly need. The only consistency I've seen in terms of price in the past 5 years has been the price of "hardcore shows". A local show would range anywhere from $4-$6, a DIY show with touring bands would be somewhere around $8, and a Sick Of It All show would run you about $12. With complete disregard for the inflation that is surrounding us everyday ... the price of shows has remained the absolute same. Honestly, it's about fucking time for us to take a step back and put things into perspective. If we had a larger scene with 400 kids coming out to every show, I'm sure we could keep prices at the level they are at now. However, as we all know, most DIY shows around here pull about a fourth of that number. It's time to step up and be willing to throw a few extra bucks to support touring bands on the road. The money that bands make from merch (more often than not) goes directly towards the bills the bands have racked up from producing said merch. If any profit is made from merch, I can guarantee that profit will be sucked up by some repair the van will need. Basically, paying a band $75 for gas doesn't usually get a band on tour very far these days ... especially in PA.


I Don't Need X's To Make Friends
Christian Beebe

For those who do not know, I am not straight edge, nor do I ever intend to be. This is just my view on what straight edge in Pittsburgh has become. If that pisses you off enough already, then you can just quit reading right now. "Straight edge for myself, and only myself." How many times have you heard this phrase coined by the millions of straight kids in the world? I mean, isn’t that what ‘straight edge’ is supposed to be about? At least it should be. Being that the large majority of those I am friends with and talk to are straight edge, I have grown to know their views on it. And honestly, the majority of those kids may say they do it for themselves, but truly only do it for acceptance. Let's put it this way. Picture yourself as a new kid at school. You have no friends and would do anything to make some. You join the football team, baseball team, debate team, student council, cheerleading squad, or even the fucking chess club and BAM! ... instant entrance and acceptance with people. That’s the way I view the majority of kids involved in straight edge now. I do know a select few who I feel truly believe in every aspect of straight edge and how nothing in the world could change that. I respect that to no end. However, the endless amounts of those just looking at it as a way to meet or get accepted or think of it as a trend I could give 2 shits about. In Pittsburgh especially I feel this is a major problem. Kids are so concerned with finding friends in hardcore and fitting in, that they feel it’s their obligation to label themselves as edge. For themselves? Fuck no. For their friends? Fuck yes. This can be justified by the amount of segregation in the Pittsburgh scene. Sure straight edge kids will talk to non edge kids, but it goes no further. Just acquaintances. Their mentality is that if your not edge, your not my friend. That's fucking bullshit.That's all straight edge is to those kids, acceptance into a tight knit clique and nothing more. If all their friends started drinking and smoking, they’d do it to. JUST FOR ACCEPTANCE. I can’t stress that word enough. I’ve talked with a ton of straight edge kids from other scenes and cities who say they’ll hang out at bars or parties with non edge friends. They don’t segregate kids because they aren’t edge. Of course, Pittsburgh straight edge kids are too elitist and 'cool' for shit like that. Honestly though, some of my closest friends in Pittsburgh are straight edge who completely agree with me on this issue. They do not openly label themselves as straight edge to people because they hate those they would be grouped with. I don't blame them. They also don't wear all of the straight edge gear or get mass amounts of XXX tattoos because they don't feel that determine's how 'true' their edge is. All the power to them. For the rest of you unlike this, grow the fuck up, figure who you are and not how your friends want you to be. I can honestly say I am glad I did not turn straight edge when looking the people I would A) Associate with B) Hang out with C) Be grouped in with. I am happy making friends based on personality and not on if they are straight edge or not, unlike most of you. Feel free to talk to me more about this if you have any complaints/agreements, because I’d love to. Alright, this rant is getting kind of long. I’ll stop here. But I strongly feel this hold's true: I don’t need X’s to make friends.


What Is So Special?
Carey Davenport

Hardcore has been and always will be the same thing it ever was. It’s nothing special from what I have seen. You still have your assholes claiming it’s theirs and for all the new jacks to get the fuck out cause they are ruining it. Then they turn around in the same breath commanding people to get involved. You still have the Atheists versus the Christians but neither has gone anywhere. You’d think we would just learn to just live and let live by now. You still have the people who would rather stand and watch a band and the people who would rather dance. Oh and let’s not forget scene politics, you know, the he said/she said bullshit. But all of this doesn’t go to say that there aren’t some cool people out there either. But it sure does take a few bad apples to ruin something good, if you let them. So why are you so worried about the state that hardcore is in? It’s still the same as it ever was. You think hardcore is different? Well I challenge you to show me that it is. Because the way I see it’s no different from the majority of the world. People still talking shit, people still forming cliques, people not drinking, smoking, doing drugs, people being vegan/vegetarian, people drinking, smoking, drugging their asses off, people eating as much meat as they can, people fighting, people being peaceful, people believing what they want to believe, people still doing whatever it is they want to do. Hardcore just does it on a smaller scale in terms of a community. So what makes you think your subculture is so special and extraordinary? It’s not.


What Is Hardcore?
Steve Assault

I will tell you what hardcore is. Hardcore was the music made by people who saw what happened to punk in the 70’s (The Clash) and wanted to have something of their own. Punk WAS theirs, but it was put through the ringer and put out to dry for the masses to consume. People started bands that were faster, harder, and angrier. They made the most violent music known to man, and they called it HARDCORE. Now, sadly, what those people created has become what they set out to avoid in the first place. Take a listen to bands like Bad Brains, Cro-Mags, old Agnostic Front, even more recent bands like Hatebreed, Madball, and Blood For Blood. This is angry, hard, honest music worthy of the term HARDCORE ... it carries on the spirit of what hardcore really meant. Now, listen to Atreyu, Nora, Everytime I Die, or The Bled. This music is something else, it is not hardcore. If you like this music, that is fine. I myself just cannot relate to it because I like HARDCORE music, not something disguised as it. I can't relate to something that just uses the term to market itself or hitch a ride on the scene that was built on blood and sweat over the past 25 years. Hardcore was an honest, hard working music. Bands like Reagan Youth and Minor Threat sang songs that changed lives and meant something ... and to people like me, they still do. Look at today: there are actually bands today which are based upon fashion, really bad fashion, at that. Sick Of It All once wrote a song called “SCRATCH THE SURFACE”. Listen to it. Listen to the words. Try to find what is beneath all the fancy packaging that is being crammed down your throats to see the reality beneath it all. Listen to a song that has tangible lyrics about something real. Real hardcore will ALWAYS be around. Trends will come and go, especially those which are built upon such hollow foundations as girly haircuts and abstract lyrics.


I Hope You Can Tell He's Being Sarcastic
Steve Schwartz

I'm hardcore. I honestly do not see the point in going to see bands live when I can just buy the T-shirt online, freeing up time to go to the movies with my girlfriend. This is my family and all, you know, I just don't bother going to see any of that family. Don't worry, hardcore is in my heart and I take it everywhere I go. This means I never have to attend another show as long as I live and I'll still be core as fuck.

I'm militant Straight Edge and I hate everyone that is not Straight Edge. Yeah, it is easy to be militant when I surround myself with only Straight Edge kids, what's your point? Yeah, I get up in arms when someone doesn't respect my beliefs, but why should I bother respecting someone else's? This is all about me, after all. I am the consumer; I don't have to give anything back. Hardcore is mine, which is why when I actually do make it out to a show and see someone I've never seen before, I go out of my way to cause them as much pain as humanly possible. Well, why shouldn't I? They need to be initiated, don't they? Well… no, when I got into hardcore nobody fucked with me. Well, sure if I got my ass kicked by someone 3 times my size at my first show I probably wouldn't go back, but why should I care?

Fuck most of these new kids are 16 and are trying to say they're Straight Edge. You're not even old enough to drink, how can you be Straight Edge? Yeah I know how hard it is to go against the grain in high school and make a conscious effort to avoid drugs, tobacco, alcohol and sex when they're probably the "coolest" things to do in high school. I still say if you're not 21, when people actually respect your right not to drink, you're a fake. I also can't believe kids are saying they're Straight Edge and drink Pepsi with caffeine in it! Caffeine is a drug, shit heads! Well, sure I eat meat…what's your point? Well, yeah I know it's loaded with steroids, but that's different…I mean…I don't get high when I eat meat so it's not wrong. No, I don't know anyone who has been high off of caffeine. Fuck you, I'm edge…end of story.

I'm hardcore so that gives me the right to use the words "faggot" and "nigger" excessively because I think it's funny. Yes, I'm white and straight…I don't see the point you're making. No, I don't say the word nigger around black people, but I still see nothing wrong with it, I mean I'm not serious or anything ... most of the time. Basically, I plan on taking what I can until I get a real job, then I'll see you fuckers in the South Side on my way to the bar. This is my family ... for now at least. X the fuck up!


Wake The Fuck Up
Christian Senrud

I don't quite understand how there can be 400 kids at a show at The World and then the next week there aren't even 30 present when there's a smaller show with bands that are just as good, if not better, for less money. You could say that there isn't enough promotion ... but that's pretty much bullshit, I see flyers everywhere I go. I just think that kids are lazy. They're too lazy to spend the extra five minutes looking up directions for The Mr. Roboto Project or The House Of Hardcore. They just figure they can wait until that band comes to The World for double the money with no local opener, which is another interesting point. When I go to Erie or Cleveland, there is ALWAYS a local band opening up for the touring acts. It's complete bullshit that local bands who put so much time into what they do are being denied the opportunity to play in front of their hometown crowds. Granted, they can play at the smaller shows that the same ten kids go to, but they're not gaining any exposure ... and their band name remains one of those "oh yeah I've heard of them, but I haven't heard or seen them play." I know I'm basically preaching to the choir on this since anyone who knows about this site (www.PittsburghHardcore.tk) has enough common sense to check out the show list. It's just fucking annoying that week after week good bands are coming to Pittsburgh and kids aren't coming because they're too lazy. I try to go to as many shows as possible and yes I do miss some, but at least I make an effort. I show up, I PAY to get in, I check out the merch, and I don't give a shit what genre you try to put the band into. If they're a good band, they're a good band and it doesn't matter, at least not to me, what you want to call it. I know hardcore means a lot to a lot of people and they don't want to see it get watered down with other subgenres and bands riding the hardcore bandwagon, but I just don't think ruling out a band because they have other influences is so great. Just because you like a little metal doesn't mean that there aren't going to be bands who still play great straight forward hardcore.


More Involvement In The Scene
Dennis Patton

In the past seven or eight years that I have been listening to hardcore, I have witnessed the roller coaster that is the Pittsburgh Hardcore scene. Sometimes it’s up and sometimes down, but all in all I really have enjoyed the ride. Lately, though, I’ve had to self-reflect and realize why I feel like its been slipping away from me. Sure, I’ve never stopped listening to hardcore, it has been one of the few constants in my life and still lights a fire in me like it did back in 7th grade. However, I have really been so distant from everything lately, and instead of doing something about it, I continue to make excuses. There are a million things that we do that could take time away; school, work, relationships etc. I don’t go to nearly as many shows as I should/would like to and it is nobody’s fault but my own. If everyone decides to do shit like me, then we will run into problems like we have now, nobody coming out to support good bands who need it. As I read these rants I started to think that in less then one year I will be done with college, and don’t know if I will be living in Pittsburgh or not. I realize how much Pittsburgh Hardcore has meant to me and everyone involved. It also made me realize that I need to put more time and effort into the scene while I am still here, however long that is, because I have met so many good kids who will continue to make Pittsburgh a good place for hardcore. Now, I think everyone else needs to do this as well, no matter how involved you are, I think you can always do a little more. Whether its go to more shows, start a band, do stuff on the web ... whatever it is, if we all contribute more time and effort then the scene will improve by that much. I think we can make the scene what we want it to be, but we can’t look around and rely on everyone else, we all have to step up to the next level and do something about, it is our scene and only we can make it a better place.


Unrelated Sentences
Jon Klosinski

Years ago (like 4th or 5th grade) I dedicated my life to goofing off and loud music. Hardcore Punk has been all the same to me ever since. If I like what's in my ears - Breakdowns, "Old-School" - then consider my boat to be afloat. I decided life is too short too worry about what anyone else is doing. Hardcore and Punk already went through hell and back while i was playing with ninja turtles. Just cause a ruckus and don't be a Stiffly Stifferson and you'll turn out alright.


The Heart In Hardcore
Colin Bennington

When I first started going to shows, I couldn't help but be totally turned onto hardcore and the scene through the unity, awesome people and bands, and the SINCERITY in the scene. I remember getting chills listening to Warzone and so many other bands for the first time and I remember being soooo into those bands because of how sincere the lyrics were. Every song seemed so personal and heart felt and that immediately got me fucking stoked. I'm not saying things were so amazing back then as to the way things are now, but there just seems to be a lack of heart in a lot of the hardcore bands today. A lot of bands seem to be just going through the motions and being completely cheesy in order to get big and have tons of mosh. I can't take a band seriously when all their songs are about getting revenge and moshing or some lame ass POINTLESS bullshit. Nobody even questions these bands or asks why they are here and what this actually means to them. Do they really feel this in their hearts? Do they really care that much about the scene that is ours? I don't know about the rest of you, but I know I'm going to start questioning these people that scream so loudly, but have nothing good to say or offer and have no heart behind what they say. I think its about time that people are called out on what they preach so loudly about. I think its time we take back what is ours and replace all the heartless fakes that degrade what every single one of us stands for and put back the heart in our scene!


Flyering Is Worthless
Me

I'm gonna make this one short just to start things off. Flyering for shows in this town is completely worthless as a DIY promoter. December 28th ... at Stillborn Fest 2002, I pass out 800 flyers for the Terror show on New Year's Eve at The Planet Of The Apes. 800 fucking flyers, do you know how much that costs? So anyhow, New Year's Eve rolls around and there are about 80 kids there. But you see, the thing is ... I know each of those 80 kids personally and just told them about the show through conversations. Few months later ... Terror plays Club Laga and there are at least 800 kids there again ... probably the same 800 kids who were handed flyers for the New Year's Eve show. Basically, POTA wasn't a cool enough place to show off your dance moves and new hardcore shirt ... so kids waited until they were booked at Laga. I guess a 25 minute drive is too long to see a band you supposedly "are all about". If I booked Terror at Roboto tomorrow and handed up just as many flyers, maybe I might get 100 kids now instead of 80 ... because they're on Trustkill. Don't tell me you care about a band if you can't drive 25 minutes to support them. End.