Radio Silence / A Selected Visual History of American Hardcore Music

I bet only ROA knows where I got the title of this post, I expect him to be active in the comments section. My brain hasn’t been it’s sharpest lately, I routinely forget things, I have to use the calculator on my phone to figure out tips and I’m terrible with names. Every working cell in my brain has been put on sabbatical due to what happened last week in California.

Nathan and I landed at Lax and immediately found out it was four million degrees which was unpleasant. The dude at Enterprise Rent-A-Car had a Red Sox themed tie and promptly gave me a pound but then awkwardly did that move where the fist explodes like a slow release grenade and stared at me as he released his fingers from the celebratory fist..it was weird. The guy who actually got us our car was an Angels fan but I didn’t torment him because I was afraid of getting a weird convertible or some other mid-life crisis rental car.

We got settled and rolled out to Long Beach to pick up Jesse, master of all portraits (you’ll be seeing his amazing work soon). We stopped by Mike V’s warehouse to chill with Handsome Larry Ransom. Apparently surfers don’t like making money on Tuesdays as the Secret Spot was closed and we couldn’t get an authentic cali burrito with Larry but Jan’s was a sufficient substitute. We stopped by Love Park O.G. Vernon Laird’s spot in West Hollywood to say what’s up and where Clyde Singleton was crashing while looking for a new spot. We had a million bags and three tired dudes so we hit up the Hollywood Heights Hotel to get settled. I later watched game one of the ALCS with Vern and Clyde and found out that Clyde and I share a love for Cam’ron (no homo), we spent the rest of the night talking about how cool that dude is for surfing on a Lamby and wearing the best jackets. Click here if you don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about.

Fast forward to Wednesday, the day that the Cro-Mags and Violation were going to be the first live bands to play Nike Sportswear at the Montalbán Theatre on Vine in Hollywood. Our morning began with “hella” coffee and a trip to Indie 103.1 to appear on The Last of The Famous International Morning Shows with Joe Escalante. Joe is a fucking righteous guy who made us forget how tired we were with his wide smile and enthusiasum. He even mentioned America’s Hardcore which is kind of incredible and was foreshadowing because later that evening Casey Jones brought down an AHC shirt to hang underneath his painted leather (as featured on the cover of Radio Silence) in a plexi-glass glass greeting everyone who came into the show. Big thanks to Stephanie Savage for getting us on the FM dial that morning.

We knew that a ton of people RSVPed for the event but we had no clue how many humans would arrive. The first people we saw pulling up to the spot were Toby Morse and his son Max (the youngest and raddest member of the hardcore family). It was awesome to see Toby and meet his son, he was psyched and the feeling was infectious. Around 7pm we saw this :

Instantly we knew this event would be fucking proper. Everyone we encountered had a shit-eating grin and a glimmer in their eyes, there was something electric on Vine and it wasn’t wearing Juicy Couture sweat and Uggs or Botox, the fucking Cro-Mags were about to play a free, all-ages show complete with candy and drinks compliments of Nike and over 700 heads were going to rep hard for it.

When the doors opened it was a flurry of handshakes, smiles and pounds. Every age group and style of hardcore head was rolling through the doors, from every corner of the world. I can’t name many shows where members of Chain of Strength, Justice League, Swiz, No For An Answer, Insted, Amenity and Gorilla Biscuits shared M&Ms with Lord Ezec, Danny Boy O’Connor, London May, skateboard industry heavyweights and even Jake Perry a Massachusetts native and hardcore fan and assistant to Corey Feldman on the Two Coreys.

Nike suggested we assemble a panel for a Q&A to start the night and we assembled an eclectic cast that represented a cross-section of the book with the help of master of ceremonies, Sloth Crew All-Star Joe Nelson.

So yeah Nathan and I were in the middle of Chris Bratton, ROA, Jason Farrell, John Joseph, Mark Owens, Shaun Ross, Dan O’Mahony, and Gavin Ogelsby in front of a crowd of people anxious to hear the opening clicks of We Gotta Know. The questions sped by, everyone got a turn on the mic and suddenly Violation was tuning up ready to set the night off with an energetic set. It didn’t hit us until later that a panel like this had never really been assembled before and it spoke to what the book was about. Everyone participating represented a piece of the puzzle called hardcore and everyone was there because of the passion for it that binds us all.

Violation turned it out: fists flew in the air, lyrics were chanted and new ears instantly became converts. They blasted through a set that had everyone warmed up, more hand shakes and sweets followed until the familiar drones of the A Clockwork Orange soundtrack filled the theater. And there it was, the cream of New York City hardcore was assembled on stage belting out tracks from a masterpiece, The Age of Quarrel. AJ was riffing along with perfect crunch and soloing with surgical precision, Craig Ahead’s full tone and heavily strummed bass chords coupled with Mackie’s piercing stare and perfectly syncopated drumming, laid the foundation for John Joseph to go the fuck off with style, grace and attitude. Whether it was Life of My Own or a beefed up cover of 12XU, they were breaking sonic barriers while sounding timeless. The Cro-Mags perfection lies in a balance of energy, power, speed and raw emotion, never teetering on metal, never punkishly sloppy and never amateur. Some bands play other bands perform, the Cro-Mags delivered the whole package and left ears and heads ringing behind starry eyes and wide grins.

Massive thanks to Nike who funded this event, let us do whatever the fuck we wanted, made sure it was all-ages, removed seats from their venue and covered the orchestra pit to make sure everyone could have fun and treated hardcore with the respect it deserves, an idea which was the root and heart of Radio Silence. The Ricardo Montalbán Theatre is now the oldest standing theatre in Hollywood and was in great need of a makeover until Nike volunteered to restore it. They gave the building a massive overhaul and host a variety of community events at the venue for kids and adults. Time, money, blood and sweat was put into this space and they opened their doors not knowing what the fuck would happen in honor of a good time. Thank you again to Tim Bergevin for coordinating the event, Robbie Labelle Nike Sportswear’s brand manager, Nils, Brad and the entire staff on hand that made this an epic night.

Oh yeah and this dude got his van tagged by Mackie as promised on the Bridge Nine message board, how fucking dope! CALIFORNIA PART 2 Coming Later this week, we haven’t even discussed the fucking after-party yet…

Let’s take out a big fat marker and underline something before we wrap up Part 1 of Radio Silence in California. Hardcore gets a bad rap, it’s the bastard child of Rock n’ Roll and the media loves to sensationalize it but this event proved something important. There was every type of mother fucker crammed into a theatre, from all over the world totally amped on the event, ready to go off but there were no egos present, only personalities. It’s a testament to what hardcore is and what we’re trying to say about the culture. Thank you to everyone who attended, it was a time we’ll remember!

Photo 1: Casey Jones’ Jacket, Nike Sportswear At the Montalban Theatre , Hollywood, California October 8th, 2008; Photograph by Fred Hammer.

Photo 2: Line on Vine, Nike Sportswear At the Montalban Theatre , Hollywood, California October 8th, 2008; Photograph by AJ English.

Photo 3: Q&A Panel, Nike Sportswear At the Montalban Theatre , Hollywood, California October 8th, 2008; Photograph by Jared Eberhardt.

Photo 4: Q&A Panel, Nike Sportswear At the Montalban Theatre , Hollywood, California October 8th, 2008; Photograph by Juan Puente.

Photo 5: Cro-Mags Jam, Nike Sportswear At the Montalban Theatre , Hollywood, California October 8th, 2008; Photograph by AJ English.

Photo 6: Cro-Mags Jam, Nike Sportswear At the Montalban Theatre , Hollywood, California October 8th, 2008; Photograph by Juan Puente.

Photo 7: Cro-Mags Van, Nike Sportswear At the Montalban Theatre , Hollywood, California October 8th, 2008; Photograph by Courtesy of BGBGB.