Old dogs, new rules
Growing old in hardcore is weird as fuck. I turn 44 next month. Most people age out or find other things that interest them more, and who can blame them? For us lifers, I think we try to stake out a corner where we can participate or contribute but try to not steer the ship too much. Hardcore needs to be fueled by new generations breathing life and vibrance into it and that can make for a onerous balance between being involved and being an obtuse barnacle.
I guess technically I’m still in a band although we’re pretty inactive these days due to mostly, of course, age related things. 2020 and 2023 were the only two years of my life that I didn’t play a show since I started playing in hardcore bands as a teen. I’ve noticed there are lots of old dudes who have popped back up in the last few years with hardcore’s surge in popularity and that’s cool. Just be aware when they attempt to drop knowledge, leaving out the fact that their involvement had a little 20 year gap. It’s pretty easy to spot cuz it often starts with “When I did (something in the 90’s)…”
There is a giant difference between people who have been around and people who were around.
In 2019, inspired by 100 Words or Less and Turned Out a Punk, I started 185 Miles South to interview Nardcore and San Diego people to put their stories out there. Over the years it’s evolved into what it is now - a loose rotation of focused discussion episodes and an audio zine. Honestly, I’ve always been surprised how little negativity has come towards this project considering hardcore is notoriously sassy online. This is leading somewhere, I promise.
Earlier this year I was a part of a project that got a small grant from Ventura County to do a presentation of the 40+ years of punk and hardcore in Oxnard and the surrounding areas. In doing that project, I went through hundreds of flyers. I had always thought it was kind of funny when a flyer would have the year on it.
No shit, we know what year it is - the show is in nine days.
It wasn’t until doing that project that my dumb ass realized how crucial it was to have the year for archiving purposes.
So as this year wraps, I was thinking about things I’d like to work on next year. I decided to do a little flyer project where I chronicle a bunch of local San Diego Hardcore shows and maybe I’ll toss them into a zine at the end of the year. I created an Instagram account and posted the nine flyers I made. It didn’t take long to draw some unexpected shots. I wanted to discuss this here because it plays into what I was discussing about earlier - old dogs sticking around not knowing about new rules, so to speak.
For the record, I got permission from the person to post our interactions as long as I hid their identity. I thought this was better than summarizing the interaction and possibly misrepresenting the person.
It begins in the comments section like most healthy conversations:
I know who this person is and have spoken with them in person several times, so I decided to DM them.
So I put it out to you all - is this a thing? When did flyering a show become territorial?Is this common consensus amongst the younger generation? Am I a dick for not posting the “original flyer” along with my “mock flyer?” What the fuck is going on here? Am I trippin?
What’s your take on flyer politics? Comment here or email me at 185milessouth@gmail.com
Hardcore rules. Peace!
- Zack
I offended someone with a “mock flyer”. However, that was 100% my intention.
But in your case, this guy just seems overly territorial, petty and bored.
Man, the phrase “mock flyer” is the most unpunk thing I have ever heard of. 🤷♂️