Highland Current
Industrial Arts will host all-ages show
During a key moment in Octet, which closed last month at Hudson Valley Shakespeare, an anguished character asked, “Where have all the punk kids gone?”
Nowhere — they’re still around. Even the gritty hardcore scene survives 40 years after its heyday, as kids young and older slam dance to loud, fast, rebellious guitar-driven rock ’n’ roll.
At offbeat venues like Balmville Grange Hall in Newburgh and the Orange County New York Veterans Center in New Windsor, when the guitarist starts blasting power chords and the group takes the stage (if there is one), almost everyone reaches for earplugs.
Bad Brains, Black Flag, Minor Threat and the Dead Kennedys broke up (or at least had their heyday) in the mid-1980s, but their middle-finger attitude blazes on, and a half dozen bands from around the Hudson Valley are bringing the musical mayhem to Industrial Arts Brewing in Beacon on Sunday (Oct. 5) for an afternoon, all-ages show.
RBNX will perform at Doomtoverfest. (Photo by Dave “Face” Boccio)
The brewery’s concert and event space, The Workshop, opened last year and hosts an eclectic mix of bands, including Heavy HV Fest (Oct. 25), a full day and evening extravaganza of granite-hard rock held last year at Balmville Grange.
Julia Foreman, 26, who plays bass and sings with Poughkeepsie-based alternative metal group No More Sun, booked the bands for Sunday, which is being promoted as Doomtoverfest. “It’s great that Industrial Arts is friendly to metal and hardcore music, and hopefully it will be a kickoff point for other venues to see the artistic value,” she says.
Beyond the menacing, anti-commercial musical approach, with short songs, pummeling beats and inventive chord changes, the original hardcore kids created the zine scene, the mosh pit and the DIY (Do It Yourself) ethos, which included independent record labels.
RBNX, which will perform in the final slot on Sunday, consists of hardcore-punk old souls from Poughkeepsie. Drummer Phil Bartsch’s arms move in a blur, yet his body remains static. Kyle Behnken studied classical music in college, which informs his intricate guitar licks.
Because hardcore plays well with other genres, it can be infused into tunes even with melodic vocals and more polished guitar and drum parts (the suffix -core is to music what -gate is to politics).
“The sound has changed a lot since the ’80s; we incorporate ska,” says RBNX vocalist and bass player Mike Dietz. “A lot of bands that call themselves punk aren’t close, but they bring the same background and feeling.”
SUNY Albany and New Paltz, along with more blue-collar influences, fuel the DIY punk scene on the river’s west side, but “Poughkeepsie raged when The Chance had tons of bands,” says Dietz, 37. “Now, Reason & Ruckus has filled the void, and things are hopping again. Quinn’s did stuff for a while, but Beacon has always been super sporadic.”
Hardcore-style shows “are a good draw for us because that community is so dedicated, committed and supportive,” says Nina Leone, 36, general manager at The Workshop. “People travel.”
Also on the bill: Avari, MaMa Doom, Weeping Angel and the Beacon-based Storm the Valley. Some of the bands swing toward the pop side, others lean into metalcore.
Despite the die-hardcore punk community’s reputation, the lifestyle has a soft side. Mental health is an essential part of RBNX’s DNA, and the scene has always been inclusive, says Dietz.
“We have a wide age range and accept anyone, no matter what, unless you’re a jerk,” he says. “I’ve seen shows in gay bars and with drag. We don’t care who you are, hardcore offers a safe space for everyone” — except in the mosh pit.
Industrial Arts Brewery is located at 511 Fishkill Ave. Admission to Doomtoverfest is $15; the doors open at 1 p.m.
