I remember coming across an original copy of Making a Scene: New York Hardcore many years ago. Even back then, I felt slightly hollow. I remember older dudes talking it up HARD, but upon seeing it, I was pretty let down. I mean, I have read zines with more pictures than this book. Granted, the work that Bri Hurley put into it was AMAZING. It was a great book with some awesome photos. But there were less than 100, and the book wasn’t cheap (still isn’t. Check some of the prices on amazon, yikes!). You always knew a hardcore kid owned it properly because the book binding was always broken to open immediately to the Steve Reddy pic. The other issue, the short interview snippets didn’t hold much with me. I had no idea who Ralphy Boy was, and I know Diego was an OG member of Agnostic Front, but his name was foreign to me too. Gavin’s name was, of course, familiar. But they didn’t resonate with me. Where was Raybeez, Jimmy G, Ray Of Today, Jules, …? Where were any of my hardcore heros? A great book, but it was a little off.
Thankfully, Chris Daily felt the same way as me. It turns out, Bri Hurley felt the same too. Apparently her original printing company stiffed the first time author and edited the crap out of her original work. But in 2011, it has been revisited. And it’s truly worth it. There are now 3 times as many pictures as the first version. There are a ton of great interviews too. From Jeff Perlin to Sammy, Neil Robinson of Nausea to Steve Mcallister of Damage, … the list goes on and on. This one is awesome. Such a great work.
If you are looking for the best take away, the item that stands out the most, you’ll find it on page 4 & 5. The introduction by Freddy Cricien (aka Freddy Madball) is off the charts amazing. He seems to encapsulate the entire birth of the scene through the eyes of a child. A child that grows with the scene. Three pages and you are hooked. It makes me hope he does write his own book.
You need this book. It’ll look smart on your coffee table. Go order it now. Check their homepage for information about upcoming book release gigs. Don’t miss them, they look dope.
PS. why can’t I find any real pictures of the new cover? The new cover also says “revisited by Chris Daily.” He definitely deserves plenty of credit here. Kudos to him.
