Virginia Beach Hardcore Punk

I discovered hardcore punk at the age of 16, and started going to local shows in the late 1990s in Virginia Beach, Virginia. There’s nothing in this world like the energy of a hardcore punk show. The shows themselves are small (the best ones no more than 100 kids or so), all-ages, and in DIY venues like warehouses, basements, record stores, empty storefronts, and VFW halls.

Hardcore has been a part of my life ever since. In my late teen years, I started booking hardcore shows in Virginia Beach, and over the next decade booked dozens of shows featuring local hardcore, punk, metal, and indie rock bands.

Long before the days of social media, I also designed and printed the flyers myself, and promoted the shows by handing out flyers at other events or posting them in record stores and coffee shops. I was a photographer and regularly documented hardcore shows up and down the east coast of the United States on my blog.

I was the art director behind Last Anthem Records, where I created and printed album art, posters, flyers, ads, and websites. I also created original merchandise for local bands including t-shirts, buttons, stickers, patches, posters, and album art.