Katya Cepeda

UWRT 1101
April 27, y

North Carolina Hardcore:

An Ethnography
Hardcore is a sub genre of Punk music and a subculture that came to be in the 1970s.
Hardcore music is generally more fast-paced and more aggressive, with very personal lyrics.
Hardcore musics roots trace back to Southern California, but Hardcore scenes began to spread
across the country and sprout up in places such as in Boston, Washington, D.C., New Jersey and
New York. Hardcore has also blossomed all across the state of North Carolina, creating a tight
knit community of individuals who share a unique but similar set of values and norms that are all
tied together by one thing; the music.
Believe by Agnostic Front
I know I can trust myself cause I believe in what I say
I believe in my friends, because their with me everyday
Believe that we can overcome because the scene is strong today
Believe I live this life, because I know HARDCORE'S THE WAY
Believe we are right
Believe we are strong
Believe in yourself
BELIEVE - HARDCORE
I know things look bleak sometimes I wish it wasn't that way

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We know we're in the right WE STAND PROUD TODAY

While doing my research on Hardcore music and the North Carolina Hardcore Scene, the
song Believe by Agnostic Front seemed to me the very epitome of Hardcore music, and it spoke
of many of the common ideals and values within the community that will be highlighted in this
study. The song expresses the idea of Hardcore as a movement, strength, brotherhood and
friendship, and standing up for one's beliefs. Ironically, although many Hardcore lyrics mention
anarchy, the subculture is quite political, especially through the music, which brings about the
fact that the Hardcore subculture is one that is attempting to cause social change to create what
they believe would be an ideal society. In this study, I really want to focus on how the Hardcore
scene is portrayed as being full of vandals and delinquents that are alcoholics and/or drugaddicted, and how the music is stereotyped as "devil-music", spewing vile lyrics at every note,
and explain and emphasize that the North Carolina Hardcore Scene is a safe haven for those who
feel like they don't belong much elsewhere, full of strong and empowering people with music
that is attempting to change the world.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Leonardo, someone who has a common person's
view on the North Carolina Hardcore scene, and ask him a couple of questions. When I asked
him what his general opinion of the Hardcore genre was, he said that he thought the Hardcore
genre was catered to a specific group of people, people that he would consider "rebellious".
When asked why he felt that way, he said it was because of how the media portrayed Hardcore
music. Since he said he hadn't really a clue about the North Carolina Hardcore Scene as a
community, he said he assumed that it'd just be a bunch of people going to concerts where loud,
heavy music was being played. When I asked him to describe what he though a typical person

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involved in the scene would look like, he said he pictures a "thin guy, with dark clothes wearing
either fitted or baggy clothing, donning a t-shirt representative of their favorite band, with long
hair, piercings, and tattoos." He also said he imagined that they would be reserved, apathetic
people. Leonardo said he wondered what kind of recreational activities people involved in the
NCHC scene would partake in aside from going to shows, what their points of views are on
subjects such as politics and religion, and what types of values they have in particular.
Leonardos view of Hardcore music and the people involved in the community is one
primarily fueled like that of many others - by stereotypes. Assumptions and poor media portrayal
are what mislead people into believing the Hardcore scene is one that reinforces negative
behaviors and beliefs and is a support system for vagrants rather than the strong-minded, well
intentioned community that it is.
A few weeks ago, a few bands that are considered an enormous part of the North Carolina
Hardcore scene played a small show at a very tiny local venue. I cleared my schedule, payed
eight dollars for a ticket, and went in with an open mind. I had never before attended a local
show, although I have quite a bit of experience at bigger hardcore concerts. I arrived about ten
minutes before Youth at War was about to play their set, and I took the time to survey the room. I
saw a majority of white males, wearing either t-shirts with a band I had no clue about on or a
denim vest with multiple patches sewn on, khakis or khaki cutoffs, Vans sneakers on their feet,
and the majority had their ears stretched, or had some kind of visible tattoo. Many were what
people would consider skinny, but a handful of the attendees looked to be in pretty good shape,
meaning they were people to look out for when the crowd began to get rough. Many of the men
attending sported a slick haircut that was short at the sides. I also realized that many, including
those that were obviously well over twenty-one years of age sported big, black Xs on their

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hands. I was a bit startled when I heard the first chord of a guitar strike through the air. I heard
the frontman of Youth at War greet the concert goers, and a loud burst of drums followed. As the
band played into their first song, I saw people getting very excited. Some were chanting along to
the fast paced, almost unintelligible lyrics. Some people were jumping up and down, trying to
scream the lyrics they knew so well into the microphone. Others were starting a circle shaped
opening in the very heart of the crowd, and about seven people got in and began to move one
foot over the other and start punching the air in rhythm with the music. That strange, almost
ritual-like dance is what people in the Hardcore scene call Hardcore 2-step, and the circle that
was formed was the designated area for dancing like that, called the pit.
Many of these behaviors that I observed during the show may have seemed completely out
of this world to a large number of people, but to members of the Hardcore Scene, these are
completely normal and even encouraged behaviors to display at a show. Singing along to the
music and especially opening up a pit during a show is a way to show respect to the band, and let
them know that their show and performance is going great. People wearing Xs on the back of
their hands, or on their clothing, or even tattooed onto their skin is representative of their lifestyle
choice. Xs symbolize being straight-edge, which means to voluntarily live a life clean of drugs,
alcohol, and/or promiscuous sex. Straight edge as a value is a huge theme shared amongst bands
as well as the members of the North Carolina Hardcore community. Many members also choose
to be vegan, and there is a wide community of devoted Christians that are in the Hardcore scene.
Many of these value and ways of living are reinforced through music and propaganda. The fact
that a large percentage of people in the NCHC scene consider themselves to be straight edge,
vegan, etc., really shows that these people are not delinquents, that they arent really bad people

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at all. It shows that they are truly focused on what they truly love, which is themselves, the
scene, and the music.
Overall, I learned that we live in an assumption driven world. A majority of people believe
that what the media shows them is what is really going on in the world. They base their beliefs
on other people and other cultures off of what theyve seen on the television or read in a
newspaper. Sadly, most of the time, those portrayals are negative and everything but true, and
people of a certain community are outcasted and thrown aside because of this. Although there are
always going to be a number of people in any given community that fulfill the stereotypes of a
certain community, it is extremely important to remember that not everyone is the same. The
North Carolina Hardcore scene is a growing one, and as it grows, I hope that stereotypes are
expelled, and people try to get to know the people involved in the scene or perhaps even try to
become a part of one of the most familiar, strong, and most positive communities I have ever had
the privilege to observe.

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