Episode 217: The 1990's Youth Crew Revival

(Photo: Carrie Higginbotham)

Killer episode this week. I was joined by Clevo (Ten Yard Fight/Right Brigade), Matt Smith (Rain on the Parade/Shark Attack/Contention Fanzine), and Brett Beach (Hardware Fanzine/In My Blood Records) for a deep dive into the 1990’s youth crew revival. Check it out here, here, or here and check the playlist here or here.

This was mostly an East Coast phenomenon. In the mid 90’s, the closest thing we had on the West Coast was Ignite. I love hearing the stories of Ignite going to the East Coast in 1995 and blowing minds. The Zoli/Joe/Brett/Casey lineup remains one of the greatest hardcore bands I’ve ever seen in my life.

In My Eyes played Lazerstar in Oxnard in 1997. I don’t remember much about the show other than there wasn’t a stage yet. It may have been the first show there period.

Ten Yard Fight came out with Battery in 1997. They played the Pickle Patch in Isla Vista, about 30 minutes north of Oxnard. Their show in 1997 at the Showcase Theater is one of the best shows ever. In 1998, they came back and played Oxnard proper (respect!)

In January of ‘99, Floorpunch came to California. They played San Francisco, Isla Vista, Oxnard, Wilmington, and San Diego. Of course Oxnard was the best show.

I like lists and since not everyone reading this is a fan of this style/era, I’ll leave you with a Super 7 of sorts for the era.

#1 Floorpunch demo and 7”

#2 Ten Yard Fight - HC Pride 7”

#3 Rain on the Parade Body Bag 7”

#4 In My Eyes demo

#5 Growing Stronger 7” compilation

#6 The Time Is Now 7” compilation

#7 (tie) Sportswear - Both 7”s, Eyeball Talkin’ Straight 7”, Mainstrike No Passing Phase LP

I gotta pull a Dan here and toss all this stuff on here. These three bands (4 records) are so fucking good and have to be mentioned.

Also, the Mainstrike version of Destiny on the Supersoul comp is better than the LP version, so I wanted to include that here.

And with that we can seamlessly segue onto what killed this stuff. We will do a podcast in the future about what got popular next, but the ebb and flow of HC is normal. I want to discuss what put the nails in this thing.

I have a theory, so let’s get into it.

1. Better Than a Thousand

   You know, listening back to the pod, I thought maybe we were a little harsh on this band, so I queued up the old Spotify and thought let me give those records another shot. As I was listening to the undeniable BANGER “Live Today,” I decided to peep the bio. Walp…

   

   Holy fuck. I mean, respect for hibernating through 94-96, I guess. Did melatonin do the trick, or did they have to pound somas with a whisky back? I told you I like lists, so I’ll drop this one showing some of the roots hardcore records that came out 94-96:

   

   Thankfully Better Than a Thousand came around in 1997 and was the sole starting point that helped hardcore rediscover itself! That leads us into…

2. Ray Cappo’s 1999 Mentality

   I’m sure 2023 Ray Cappo is cool as fuck, but in ‘99 he helped put together a compilation called The Rebirth of Hardcore. It was a pretty killer comp but the name is LOLz considering it was 5 years too late. Please see aforementioned spreadsheet. Also, band members didn’t even get copies.

   

   It should also be noted, this was an era where “Ex Members” really mattered. In fact, it was your golden ticket to get on Rev, EVR, or Victory. The hero worship aspect of hardcore is something I’m glad is pretty much dead these days.

3. Good Clean Fun

   You know something is popular when the parodies start popping up. Well, in 1998, the year after Better Than a Thousand saved hardcore, Good Clean Fun did its best to kill it. It was unfunny jokes over bad roots hardcore songs but they somehow caught fire and could pack rooms everywhere, including So Cal. The fact that a gag band become one of the most popular bands of the genre showed the style was getting a little long in the tooth. Of course they stuck around for 8 more years until even the metalcore posers got tired of them.

4. Those two Where Fear and Weapons Meet songs on the Supersoul comp

   I kind of feel bad going in on this one but it kind of encapsulates the cheese levels during the death throes of the era. It’s another ex-member band* that got swooped by Rev. On the comp they do a 7 Seconds cover (gotta do an old school song for the old school comp!) and a song where the vocal hook is “our glass…always…half full.” Yea, it was time for Tragedy to drop their S/T LP.

* I just want to mention that Powerhouse 7” on New Age is one of the most underrated records of the era. Someone get it on streaming!

I leave you with this puzzle hidden in a riddle.

Here’s a picture of Atari.

Which dude is Octavio? Impossible to tell from this shot since it appears BOTH guitarists are playing octaves.

And that made me question…is Octavio even a person, maaan? Possibly. Or maybe Octavio is simply a slurry of all things combined, moving on the HC continuum between the Yolo spirit and the marshmallow’s descent into a bed of thermal degradation.

Hardcore rules. Peace!

- Zack