The Anthrax was a highly regarded all-ages music venue that hosted punk and hardcore shows in Connecticut. To the many touring acts that played there, The Anthrax was as essential a stop as punk rock landmarks like New York City's CBGB or 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California. Founded in 1982 by brothers Brian and Shaun Sheridan, the actual club was located in the basement of a makeshift art gallery on the then dilapidated west side of Stamford, Connecticut, at 70 Main Street. [1] The space was small and the stage was barely 5 inches off the ground. [2] Many bands played the small Stamford location including 7 Seconds, Corrosion of Conformity, Youth of Today, RKL and Circle Jerks. By the summer of 1986, the reputation of The Anthrax grew and attendance at shows had outgrown the physical space. The Stamford location closed its doors and within 3 months the Anthrax reopened at a much larger location at 25 Perry Avenue in nearby Norwalk, Connecticut. [1] At the Norwalk location, the club's reputation continued to grow [3] and Brian and Shaun Sheridan continued to book shows until November 1990 when a neighboring apartment complex won a decision against the club in a zoning dispute. [1]
Among the many influential bands that performed the Norwalk location were Reagan Youth, The Exploited, 7 Seconds, MDC, Descendents, Government Issue, NOFX, Die Kreuzen, Fugazi, Sick of It All, Dag Nasty and many more. The Anthrax is often mentioned in books about hardcore history. [4] The book Everybody's Scene by Chris Daily is solely about The Anthrax and contains many photographs. [5] [3]
Hardcore punk is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk scenes in San Francisco and Southern California which arose as a reaction against the still predominant hippie cultural climate of the time. It was also inspired by Washington, D.C., and New York punk rock and early proto-punk. Hardcore punk generally disavows commercialism, the established music industry and "anything similar to the characteristics of mainstream rock" and often addresses social and political topics with "confrontational, politically charged lyrics".
Anarcho-punk is an ideological subgenre of punk rock that promotes anarchism. Some use the term broadly to refer to any punk music with anarchist lyrical content, which may figure in crust punk, hardcore punk, folk punk, and other styles.
Moshing is an extreme style of dancing in which participants push or slam into each other. Taking place in an area called the mosh pit, it is typically performed to aggressive styles of live music such as punk rock and heavy metal.
CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters CBGB were for Country, Bluegrass, Blues, Kristal's original vision for the club. But CBGB soon emerged as a famed and iconic venue for punk rock and new wave bands, including the Ramones, Television, Patti Smith Group, Blondie, Madonna and Talking Heads.
The Alternative Music Foundation located at 924 Gilman Street, often referred to simply as "Gilman", is a non-profit, all-ages, collectively organized music club. It is located in the West Berkeley area of Berkeley, California.
Youth crew is a music subculture of hardcore punk, which was particularly prominent during the New York hardcore scene of the late 1980s. Youth crew is distinguished from other punk styles by its optimism and moralistic outlook. The original youth crew bands and fans were predominantly straight edge.
Youth of Today is an American hardcore punk band, initially active from 1985 to 1990 before reforming in 2010. The band played a major role in establishing the "Youth Crew" subculture of hardcore, both espousing and evolving the philosophies of the straight edge and vegetarian lifestyles.
Ray Cappo, also known as Raghunath Das, is an American punk rock musician best known as the vocalist for the bands Youth of Today and Shelter and as founder of the independent record label Equal Vision.
Siege was an American hardcore punk band from Weymouth, Massachusetts. Formed in 1981, they were active in the Boston hardcore scene from 1984 to 1985, and reunited briefly in 1991. Drummer Rob Williams and guitarist Kurt Habelt led a live ensemble of reunion performances between 2016 and 2023.
Connecticut is a state of the United States in the New England region.
New York hardcore is both the hardcore punk music created in New York City and the subculture and lifestyle associated with that music. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Washington, D.C., by bands such as Bad Brains and Minor Threat. Initially a local phenomenon of the 1980s and 1990s, New York hardcore eventually grew to establish an international reputation with little to moderate mainstream popularity but with a dedicated and enthusiastic underground following, primarily in Europe and the United States. With a history spanning over more than four decades, many of the early New York hardcore bands are still in activity to this day. Some of them have been continuously or almost continuously active since their formation as well as having reunion shows.
Washington, D.C. hardcore, commonly referred to as D.C. hardcore, sometimes styled in writing as harDCore, is the hardcore punk scene of Washington, D.C. Emerging in late 1979, it is considered one of the first and most influential punk scenes in the United States.
Wasted Youth was an early 1980s hardcore punk band from Los Angeles, California. The band followed in the footsteps of Black Flag and the Circle Jerks. It was a prominent and popular act among the Los Angeles punk underground. Other bands active in the early 1980s Los Angeles punk scene were The Adolescents, T.S.O.L., Social Distortion, Bad Religion, Agent Orange, and The Stains.
American Hardcore: The History of American Punk Rock 1980–1986 is a documentary directed and produced by Paul Rachman and written by Steven Blush. It is based on the 2001 book American Hardcore: A Tribal History also written by Blush. It world premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and was released on September 22, 2006 on a limited basis by Sony Pictures Classics. The film features some early pioneers of the hardcore punk music scene including Bad Brains, Black Flag, D.O.A., Minor Threat, Minutemen, SSD, and others. It was released on DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on February 20, 2007.
Since the mid-1970s, California has had thriving regional punk rock movements. It primarily consists of bands from the Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura County, San Diego, San Fernando Valley, San Francisco, Fresno, Bakersfield, Alameda County, Sacramento, Lake Tahoe, Oakland and Berkeley areas.
A7 was a club in New York City that between 1981 and 1984, was a main location of the New York hardcore scene. The tiny space was located on the southeast corner of East 7th Street and Avenue A in Manhattan's East Village. The venue hosted fast punk bands such as The Stimulators and The Violators, and slowly a hardcore scene of initially about 100 persons formed around the club which spawned bands like Agnostic Front, Antidote, Cro-Mags, Heart Attack, Kraut, The Mob, The Abused and Urban Waste who played the A7 regularly, some of them weekly.
Crossover thrash is a fusion genre of thrash metal and hardcore punk. The genre lies on a continuum between heavy metal and hardcore punk. Other genres on the same continuum, such as metalcore and grindcore, may overlap with crossover thrash.
Up Front was an American hardcore band from New York City. They were an influential part of the late 1980s New York hardcore and Connecticut straight edge scenes. They played many of their early shows at the now famous Anthrax Club in Norwalk, Connecticut. In 1987 they appeared on the X Marks The Spot compilation 7-inch, one of the first documents of the burgeoning Connecticut straight edge scene.
Straight edge is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco and recreational drugs, in reaction to the excesses of punk subculture. Some adherents refrain from engaging in promiscuous sex, follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, and do not use caffeine or prescription drugs. The term "straight edge" was adopted from the 1981 song "Straight Edge" by the hardcore punk band Minor Threat.
Steven Blush is an American author, journalist, record collector and film maker who is best known for his book American Hardcore and the movie of the same name. Blush has written five books, is the founder of Seconds magazine and has written articles for many magazines. Two of his books have been made into movies. Blush's work mainly specializes in hardcore punk music.