Friendship You Can Count On….
This article was inspired by a true friend and is dedicated to that concept. Through all of lifes stuggles I know I have a bunch of things I can count on the straight edge that gives me a focus for my own life, my family who’s bond is written in blood and my friends who I will always have time for.
Friendship is something that has and is incredibly important to me and through this hardcore movement, this lifestyle that I live I’ve met and spoken to so many people just because of the common ground I have with them, the passion for the music and eveything that comes with it.
Hardcore is like a kid at the moment, yea people talk about the old days but ’88 wasn’t that long ago and hardcore has gone through many phases and will continue to evolve, this is just the beginning. It is still relatively young. It will always be underground that thing is constant. The majority aren’t interested in kids screaming into a microphone and diving off of stages. To them flipping into a crowd or stomping across the hallowed floor or breaking out a cartwheel because that’s just what the music makes me wanna do is so far removed from there own lives that it is abnormal.
To me it’s not, to me losing myself to the music is the most important thing its my escape, it helps me forget about every little problem I have in my own life, seeing these bands and being infected by the positive messages has given me the strength to look outside the box.
The First Step, Something Inside:
Looking back in a short time, I KNOW I’m not afraid to scream and shout, because I know what we're about.
Solid ideals combined with my friends, forever growing in my heart and my head. Some say the core has seen better days, but it's still alive in so many ways. When we play there is something inside; from the music, the message, and the stage dives!
SOMETHING INSIDE
Open hearts and clear minds.
SOMETHING INSIDE
And we're going to KEEP IT ALIVE!
And that's not just hype; despite all our problems we can't lose sight.
Because the scene will never survive if you treat hardcore like it has died.
I know it's easy to care when the scene is on top and there is so much there. But our chance is now, our days are real. We've got to see this through and that's the deal!
SOMETHING INSIDE
Open hearts and clear minds.
SOMETHING INSIDE
NO, I won't play that game, where the clothes make the person and we all look the same. RIGHT NOW, I have no fear, 'cause the kids will see the truth and not how it appears’
And through all of this Iv’e met so many kids. Whether its trekking to London for hardcore shows from my hometown of Swindon or to Bristol, Nottingham, Birmingham or wherever there is one thing that I can always count on.
No matter how much time passes, no matter if I don’t see or speak to some of these people for 5 years when I see them again whether it be a band passing through on a tour or just a mate I used to see around I know that although life may have altered there perspectives, as long as that hardcore passion brings us back together it’ll seem like we’d always been in touch. Whether I’m talking to Cody in Hawaii, Ben in Australia, Kate in New Jersey or Mike in Norwich dude it doesn’t matter because hardcore transends languages and borders and all of our efforts today will build on a better tomorrow for this to grow.
That’s what hardcore do’s man, it brings us together. I get emails from kids all over the world. I had my hotmail messenger shutdown because a bunch of kids added me from Peru, I hear from so many students from America to Australia, kids in Japan, Thailand wherever because this is worldwide. All it takes is just a first contact, I’m always down for meeting new people, chatting to kids who share this passion with me.
I’d never take any of this for granted, its kept me on the straight and arrow, I might not know many kids in my hometown now where a lot of people have “grown up” or moved away from the scene but it doesn’t matter to me man. I go to shows on my own, I always did. I usually start chatting to people wherever anyway and that’s what I love - hardcore is like a big community, a meet & greet kids are usually friendly and receptive and whats the point of being insular when you could make some new friends and have great interesting conversations. It’s a great way of discovering new bands as well.
Throwdown, Slip:
To my friends
I'll be there for you
Be there for me
Now I'm watching my friends slip away
Watching them fade
Id give anything
To have them back
I watch them slip away
I watch them drift away
And I'm watching my friends slip away
Watching them fade
Id give anything
To have them back
To my friends
I'll be there for you
Be there for me
Cus I have your back
Watching my friends slip away
Watching them fade
Id give anything
To have them back
To my friends
I'll be there for you
Be there for me
The most frustrating aspect is kids coming and going from hardcore, I cannot’ understand how someone could lose interest, I know we all grow up, our perspectives change but to just shut off and that’s how it seems is something I could never do. It’s really infuriating and I’m not just talking about kids turning their backs on the straight edge.
I respect people changing direction or wanting to evolve, we all do and to not try to would feel like your holding back on life, something I‘m definitely not interested in. But I could not, would not turn my back from people I’d known for years and nor would I ever compromise my beliefs, my straight edge convictions just to fit the mould as I grow up and get older.
Just because time changes you should not mean because you have to get a job, join the real world and have some responsibility that you therefore can forget about everything little thing you’ve learnt along the way and what made you unique to begin with.
It’s all about positive development and living a fulfilling life.
I guess what I’m trying to say can be summed up in the Champion song Different Directions:
Let's keep it clear what I need from you is just a little space
Don't understand the goals I've set
Or the choices that I've made
Days fly by in the blink of an eye
And I find that years have past
Can't spend my life chasing expectations you've set
Let's keep it clear what I need from you is just a little space
Don't understand the goals I've set
Or the choices that I've made
Years fly by in the blink of an eye
And I'll find that I've grown old
So much to do and so little time
And I can't live these days for you
That's not the way I want to live
So I'm always going to push it away
You need to give me room to breathe
I want to live, live the life that I know is right for me
I want to live, and I know my mistakes
Are just lessons learned
I want to live, live the life that I know is right for me, drug free
I want to live, can't you see what's right?
If it's not my choice then it's not my life
And I want to live, live my own life
I think that whole concept, trying to define yourself and find some individuality is sometimes forgotten and in doing so who do we ending up hurting, our friends, people who care about our wellbeing.
I’m not interested in people who have false pretences or people who say one thing one minute and then changing the next, I may look at the world in a different way to some of my friends who aren’t straight edge or who thought they could be but I never passed judgement, im only interested in being positive and moving forwards!
