August 2009 Editorial

What a summer this has been. Traveling the United States, hanging out with friends, making some new ones and having lots of fun. I can say that this has been one of the most enjoyable and fruitful summers of my life. I was fortunate enough to be able to hang out with friends at No Way Fest 3 in Richmond, VA, and directly after that go on tour with two awesome bands; Guilty Faces from Connecticut and Bad Antics from California. If you have been following the articles that we have published in the past year, our staff voted the Guilty Faces E.P.  as one of the top 9 albums for 2008.

The summer stated with the three days of No Way Fest which was interesting not only because it was an out of town show for me, but more so because it was an out of town show for lots of people and bands. It's a really awesome feeling to be able to hang out with people from the punk scene from all over the U.S. and other parts of the world. It's also interesting to see how people act and do things different from each region of the U.S. From the way they dance to the way they dress, everyone has their own traditions and unique style that make them distinct of each other.

In turn, it's funny how you don't notice how different you are until someone points it out. This became apparent to me when I was hanging out in Philly with some really cool people. When I introduced myself to them and told them where I was from they just said "we figured you were California". At first I didn't know how to take that, but they explained that they had noticed a difference in the way I dressed and spoke. Though it can be kind of weird to be pointed out as something different, it's also a bit of a novelty to be the topic of discussion and asked questions about "how things are" living in another part of the country.

Richmond and Philly were only a few of the places that I visited this summer. Boston, New York, Chicago, New Jersey, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City, Cleveland and Denver are just a few of the big cities that we visited, each with their own unique character and way of living.

One thing I can say is when it comes to the east and west coast is that the difference between the two is night and day.  Our lives are shaped so much by our environment and the people we interact with on a daily basis. Things that someone might deal with on a daily basis on one coast, is tantamount to a war crime on the other coast. Where tradition is lacking in one place, art or politics fill the void. Sadly, though we visited some of the most culturally rich cities in the world, we also visited some of the most economically depressed and joyless cities too. But that, in a twisted way, was part of the beauty of seeing the country.

Returning to California has opened my eyes to the difference in the way we too live. One can only imagine the impression that Californians give off to those visiting us. I can only hope that we aren't seen to be as self absorbed as television makes us out to be. But when all is said and done, all the differences that made everyone seem just a bit foreign, the common thread that bound everyone together via punk rock, was the love of the same music and ethics for getting things done. When the day is done, that is all that really matters, not what we wear,  regional lingo or handshakes. Ethics and passion.
 

 

-Matt C.-
Editor in Chief