New Jersey-based hardcore band Fast Times was around during the mid-90s and my sister Alison was the singer. When I was in elementary school, she would lie to Mom and we’d venture out to see Fanshen, Life’s Halt, Rorschach, and her band play in churches, rundown skate parks, and friends’ basements whole states away (all while making sure I did my homework and was on time for school).
Hardcore for me (and probably everyone who really, really got into it ever) was more than just music. It was about experiencing new and exciting shit. DIY, PMA, deep thoughts, stage dives, circle pits, sing-alongs, photocopied zines, and a beyond-tight-knit community. Hardcore was there for you to fall back on. It was your best friend in high school who ate lunch with you and told you to keep it posi when you were bummed (which was way too often).
Vice: Remember the lyrics for your song “Where Were You”? It went, “Was it at a show, when you did your first dive off the stage, when you were serenaded by Ian McKaye, when that stranger in the pit picked you up off the floor, where were you when you fell in love with hardcore?”
Alison Mennor:
OK, well, when I was 12, I looked out the window and saw Dr. Chud from the Misfits picking you up for a romantic date in a purple pickup truck. Did you guys french at Blair Witch?
I’m telling Mom!
Hardcore for me (and probably everyone who really, really got into it ever) was more than just music. It was about experiencing new and exciting shit. DIY, PMA, deep thoughts, stage dives, circle pits, sing-alongs, photocopied zines, and a beyond-tight-knit community. Hardcore was there for you to fall back on. It was your best friend in high school who ate lunch with you and told you to keep it posi when you were bummed (which was way too often).
Vice: Remember the lyrics for your song “Where Were You”? It went, “Was it at a show, when you did your first dive off the stage, when you were serenaded by Ian McKaye, when that stranger in the pit picked you up off the floor, where were you when you fell in love with hardcore?”
Alison Mennor:
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I’m telling Mom!
Mere
fra VICE
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