The Land Across the River

New Jersey was the epicenter of hardcore.

At least it seemed so. Sometimes.

New Brunswick. In particular.

It felt like everything I was listening to. Everything that was coming out. New Brunswick.

Really. Only a handful of bands.

Everything is magnified when you're sixteen.

There were bands I thought were from New Jersey. They weren't.

New Jersey was my mental default. If a band was on New Age Records.

This was true. Only some of the time.

Regional bias. My whole world was Bucks County.

(To a certain extent.)

Fifteen minutes from New Jersey. From Trenton.

The bands I saw. The bands I knew. The 'zines I read.

It wasn't everything. Not the sum of hardcore. Not even close.

The early days. Naive. Clueless.

Over time. On your own. With friends. You learn.

1.6 Band - Broke Up. Princeton Record Exchange. Bargain punk.