DIY Hardcore Is Fucking Dead

Now, first of all I'd like to be clear; Yes, there's a lot of issues I have with certain people and certain aspects of "the scene", but, I'm going to try and keep my issues to this one post, as, regardless of my feelings towards these folk and their "moral stances", some of them are doing their bit to get bands playing and get music out there, which is at the very least worthwhile, and sometimes even great. It's just a shame everything they do is trivialised by a completely unfounded shit attitude towards everyone else.

The thought process and morals behind DIY hardcore, while commendable, are cannibalistic and, unfortunately, unjust; by teaming them with the superiority complex that the scene has of itself you're almost guaranteed to fail, and likely to walk away with nothing, financially or morally, and it's almost guaranteed you'll have yesterdays fans shouting sell out and poser on your way out the door.

"DIY" as an ethic or philosophy is still going strong, in absolutely any & all musical genres, but, it seems that hardcore, the genre that made the effort to give it a name and a label, has now become the elitist and inclusive group that it was NEVER fucking about. It can easily be argued that DIY is far from a philosophy, an ethic, or even anything worthy of a title at all, seeing as all it really stands for, at it's core, is the act of doing things for nothing more than the act of doing them: putting on gigs with little hope for profit or gain, just because you love the music, starting a label to get the music you love out their to people who've never heard it, touring and playing in any and every city you can, because the only thing that matters to you is playing. This is what it's about, and it's the same in every genre you can name (although, yes, the level of financial disregard can differ greatly from one to the next).

It's obvious from both the header that welcomes you to the page, and the first blog I actually posted, that I have major issues with "the Scene", which is a shame, because whenever I go to a gig it's almost guaranteed that for the short time I'm there, whichever band playing will be my favourite band. Regardless of quality, there are very few bands within the genre that don't give it their all when they play, and I appreciate that above all else. To see a bunch of kids up there and being so fucking into it that they literally have no energy left to stand when they finish is a truly amazing sight, and something that gives me goosebumps every time I witness it.

The problem starts when people become more aware and thoughtful towards all the other aspects than to just be "into the music". And this is what's griping me, mainly because these people are the first one's to start throwing out insults and giving people shit for "not being hardcore", just because of their haircut or their jeans or the places they go.

Awareness pretty much kills the honesty of everything. Or, rather, the awareness of a genre/title/label/group can pretty much kill why you got into it in the first place. Either because you find yourself compromising your original plans and beliefs to make sure you fit, or, in my case, you realise that you have no real choice BUT to compromise, if you want the group to take you seriously. I'm trying really fucking hard to do neither of these things, or at the very least not sacrifice what I'm trying to do to either fit or rebel, but it's hard.

There are people who don't take me seriously as a promoter for nothing more than the label of a band I've booked, because the label 'blurs the line between diy label and shitty indie label'. And, recently, I was told that I was trying to put on hardcore shows by booking what I thought were the right bands, but these bands weren't hardcore because they had video clips of them playing to crowds from big stages, which is apparently not what it's about. I thought it was all about playing to people, regardless of where and when, but just fucking getting out there and playing.

'Just getting out there and playing'. this is actually something that, as a statement, the diy ideals are all about, but in reality, isn't truly an option for most bands that want a lifespan of more than a couple of years (notice that I'm no longer going to use capitals for diy, you all know what it's about, and I'm done giving the title any more respect than it deserves). This is talked about well, and in great depth in my first blog (not by me, mind), so I'll try and move on as soon as possible. But, the diy scene kids are loathe to follow a band once they've moved on and start to look to music as a financial entity. This is so fucking stupid it's almost beyond words. Almost. If you love the band you're in, you love the music and you love nothing more than playing and travelling and getting new ears to hear your shit, the realisation can hit very quickly that the diy ethos of petrol & food just isn't enough. You might love the music, but when you've got kids they have to come first. You might love killing yourself onstage every night, but if you've got rent to pay, a mortgage, or simply a lover, there needs to be more. And this is in no way a slight on the music, it's just being honest to yourself. Fucking scenesters need to understand this, but they probably won't until they've moved on and got a mortgage themselves.

The other problem is how tight the fans are getting. Actually, tight isn't the right word, as they're likely to spend alot of money on releases, merchandise, haircuts, and (very) occasionally travelling to a gig. But ask more than a fiver on the door to a show and you're not hardcore, you're not diy, and you don't understand the scene, man. Idiots, Selfish & inconsiderate are three more suitable words that come to mind. It's this attitude that has seen the demise of too many awesome bands to mention. A recent example being the fucking great Outcry Collective, who have had to call it quits because there's not enough money in being a smaller level band. So, either keep going and lose money, finish up on your dream, or "sell out" and get shit from people that only months ago would have declared you the best band in the world. Again, fucking idiots. Time and time again bands disappear for this very reason, and barely any one of their so-called fans will take notice and change their attitude.

As a promoter, I want as many people to come my shows as possible (wanting lots of people at your shows is far from diy too, of course), so I want to charge the least I can so more people can afford to come. But, I also have to be realistic about the bands' needs. Now, these needs can and will differ from band to band, most entry level bands know this, and if they don't, they'll figure it out pretty quickly, but once you make that change from part-time giggers to full-time band, you need more than twenty quid a night and a chippy. And, to go back a few paragraphs, if all that matters to you is playing, how can the fans begrudge the idea that you need to live to actually play?

The scene is VERY picky as to where they'll go to a show, too, mind. There's an obvious preference to supporting the better venues, or even just your favourite, and it's important that those venues that don't treat fans or musicians with respect don't get your money, but not going to see a band you supposedly love because they're playing a venue that put on that other band that you hate last week, is as stupid as it fucking sounds. Venues are important, and I always try to get the best venue for a show I can, but it's not always possible, so the idea that someone might not come because of other shows that happen there baffles me. A venue is just a venue, and very rarely do they have a code when it comes to having bands play; venues want gigs, bands want gigs, why deny both of these for nothing more than holding yourself to a stubborn point?

Bare in mind, should you yourself choose to try and put on a show, you might even get shit for just using venues. Diy isn't about venues, and light rigs, and bars and curfews and bouncers and rental charges or takings. It's about house shows. It's about the music. Of course it's about the fucking music, which is why it doesn't matter where it's played, right? If you want to support your bands and your scene, go and see them wherever, because they NEED your support regardless of where they're playing. And on a personal level, house shows just don't cut it for me. I get that they're cool and intimate, and that they're fighting the system and bringing it back to the people and all that shit. But if you're putting bands on in your house the first thing you need to know, and it's very important to remember, is; IT DOES NOT MAKE YOU BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE. Yes, it's cool, and yes, it costs you money and it can be hard work, but so can using a club or a bar. So fuck off with your superior high-horse shit. I would like the security deposit back from my flat, and actually care about the state of where I live, which is why I don't put on shows at my house (maybe I'm better than you because I like to keep my house clean? Just a thought).

There's very little chance you'll catch me paying to get into someones house, either. This isn't down to any particular gripe or dislike of the idea, but it's a fucking house. I know these shows can be intimate and engaging, and alot of fun for everyone involved, but charging on the door for a gig in your flat seems completely against what diy is supposed to be about (according to the scenesters, anyway). Why is it against the ethos you hold so dear? Because you're literally falling over mere feet from the finish line. If you wanted to have a birthday party, and you wanted it to be the best party it could be, you'd maybe get in a pa system and a dj or a band, maybe make some snacks, a punch-bowl or maybe some vodka jelly shots, and quite possibly even get in a bunch of cheap spirits for everyone to hammer down and get pissed on. What you wouldn't do is ask your guests to pay a fiver to get in. If you're paying out for a pa, and maybe a sound engineer etc, why not man up and pay the band out of your own pocket too? And, fucking AND, if it costs you £100 quid to hire the pa, get posters printed up and to pay someone to help you out with the sound, why not use a venue that'll only cost you £60 and do alot of that shit for you? Leaving more money to pay the bands, should you choose to charge that all-important five pounds on the door.

Almost every city has a selection of venues on every level, so why not use them? The more we use them the more people will go, the more money a venue might put in to their equipment, and the more bands might want to come and play. Also, don't write off a venue because the staff/regulars/management don't understand your scene, it's stupid. Why not put on more shows there and MAKE them understand? Wait, do they not like your shows because your punters spend no fucking money? I think I covered that earlier. Do they not understand how being hardcore is about throwing yourself around and fucking shit up? Funny, that.

Hardcore is about the music; So is folk, so is dubstep, so is acoustic pop and mid-nineties rave, and old-school crusty punk and fucking orchestras. Everything else is a side-product from the music, and the ideals that music instills in those playing it and those hearing it. Once these side-products start to takeover and dictate the aspects of the music, they will start to kill the integrity that was so important in the first place. Everyone has to move on, everyone has to make a living, everyone has the right to listen to the music they like regardless of the shoes they're wearing or where they go to see it. A hardcore band playing a festival doesn't stop them being hardcore, the same way that where you buy your music from doesn't make you more hardcore than the next person. Passion in the music is what makes you hardcore. If a kid wants to show how much he loves a band by wearing t-shirts like theirs, fucking let him. If I want to appreciate the gig I'm at by standing to the side and listening while taking a drink, that doesn't make me less worthy of being there than you, and breaking glasses and noses while you dance doesn't make you better than me, it makes you look like an idiot. But I'm not going to tell you not to do it, because that's how you show your appreciation of the music, and that's fine by me. It might look silly, but whatever.

And to correct something a diy kid said to me recently, shouting at folk about them being 'posers', makes you a poser. Peppering everything you say with DIYORDIE makes you a poser, telling everyone you're better than them because you're DIYORDIE makes YOU a poser. Disliking bands because you don't like the label they're on, or the jeans they wear, or the places they play, makes YOU a poser. In fact, if you choose to like or dislike a band for any reason other than their music, YOU'RE A FUCKING POSER. And the fact that you have the audacity to throw that around as an insult to anyone who doesn't do "diy" the way you do, shows how much of a fucking posing idiot you are. The scene is supposedly about the bands and their fans uniting in the music and the energy it can bring, and I see this in abundance from the kids in stupid day-glo t-shirts and silly haircuts. Yeah, they look daft, but fuck it, these are the same kids that put the time and money into shows, the same kids that travel to different cities for a gig, the same kids that street team and tell anyone who'll listen how awesome a band is. Their fashion doesn't matter. Music & Fashion always have and always will go together; but the fashion doesn't ever discredit the music. V-neck tshirts don't affect your guitar-playing, and I don't think having a hairstyle lowers the quality of the songs you write.

There are too many people involved in diy hardcore with a completely unfounded sense of superiority over everyone that doesn't do things their way, and this is what's killing their very own scene. Why can a band not take sponsorship, if it means they can afford to do another record? Why are you better than another because they're wearing shoes you don't like? Or because they heard of a band after you did? The scene is far too exclusive, far too suspicious of outsiders, and far too quick to kick people out of their club for the smallest slight against their values. If you don't accept newcomers and the new ideals and input they can give, or if you exclude someone for suggesting there's more to hardcore than you old-school basics, your club's going to get smaller and smaller, and less and less relevant as everything else moves on and becomes better.

Working hard to keep people away and kick people out is the EXACT OPPOSITE of what you're supposed to be about, you fucking grumpy, hateful, high-horse riding pricks, and it's the reason diy hardcore is dying. Not the kids in skinny jeans and espadrille's, not the band that decided to take a label deal to earn a living, and certainly not the people who choose to put on shows for These Bands and These Kids. These are the one's trying to keep it alive, making more and more people aware that this music exists, and showing bands that it's still worthwhile if they can pull it off. You try so fucking hard to protect what you hold dear, you refuse to accept that it's changing, and will continue to change and evolve beyond your idea of what it should be about, until what you're cradling in your hands is nothing more than an empty, fucked up and outdated ideal that no longer makes sense, even to you.

Hardcore is not dead, yet, but it's evolving far beyond where you want to keep it, and it's going to leave people like you behind. Thank Fuck.