Spring Break
The Daily OrangeSyracuse hardcore music scene stresses straight-edge ideals, vegan lifestyle
By Christine Show
Posted: 4/5/04, 1:21 AM EST Section: Feature
When Pete Spielman got into hardcore music, he wasn't interested in the message. He was heavily into drugs and alcohol, but after two rounds of rehab he realized he would have to change his ways to stay alive.
He sought out friends who would help him stay clean, and he found Syracuse hardcore band Earth Crisis.
"They have been my best friends for years," said Spielman, a former roadie for the band and a student at Onondaga Community College. "They saved my life."
The members of Earth Crisis pioneered the Syracuse hardcore scene in the early and mid-'90s. The band stressed its straight-edge, vegan roots and was one of the first to weave metallic elements into the hardcore genre.
Young people in the United States formed a hardcore style of punk music in which musicians were able to express their views on politics, war, animal rights and personal situations, Spielman said.
In the early 1990s, the genre's popularity plunged.
"There was a huge drop-off," Spielman said. "It was practically uncool."
Hardcore exploded back onto the music scene in Syracuse primarily because of Earth Crisis, which formed in Syracuse and released its first major album in 1995. The now defunct band, went on to a successful national career under Victory Records. Syracuse skateboarder and musician Karl Buechner started Earth Crisis as a way to blend his interests, Spielman said. The group brought hardcore back on the map at the time when the scene was starting to fade away, he said.
"About 90 percent of people now going to (hardcore) shows in Syracuse go because they've heard of Earth Crisis," said Chuck Monday, the vocalist and guitar player for the band John Wayne's Severed Head.
Earth Crisis and the sub-genre it inspired strengthened the straight-edge movement, which swears off drugs and alcohol. Young people attend shows with huge Xs on their hands as a statement of pride to indicate that they avoid alcohol and drugs.
Earth Crisis was very outspoken and militant about its beliefs, which often caused controversy, Spielman said.
He sought out friends who would help him stay clean, and he found Syracuse hardcore band Earth Crisis.
"They have been my best friends for years," said Spielman, a former roadie for the band and a student at Onondaga Community College. "They saved my life."
The members of Earth Crisis pioneered the Syracuse hardcore scene in the early and mid-'90s. The band stressed its straight-edge, vegan roots and was one of the first to weave metallic elements into the hardcore genre.
Young people in the United States formed a hardcore style of punk music in which musicians were able to express their views on politics, war, animal rights and personal situations, Spielman said.
In the early 1990s, the genre's popularity plunged.
"There was a huge drop-off," Spielman said. "It was practically uncool."
Hardcore exploded back onto the music scene in Syracuse primarily because of Earth Crisis, which formed in Syracuse and released its first major album in 1995. The now defunct band, went on to a successful national career under Victory Records. Syracuse skateboarder and musician Karl Buechner started Earth Crisis as a way to blend his interests, Spielman said. The group brought hardcore back on the map at the time when the scene was starting to fade away, he said.
"About 90 percent of people now going to (hardcore) shows in Syracuse go because they've heard of Earth Crisis," said Chuck Monday, the vocalist and guitar player for the band John Wayne's Severed Head.
Earth Crisis and the sub-genre it inspired strengthened the straight-edge movement, which swears off drugs and alcohol. Young people attend shows with huge Xs on their hands as a statement of pride to indicate that they avoid alcohol and drugs.
Earth Crisis was very outspoken and militant about its beliefs, which often caused controversy, Spielman said.
