The State Of The Subscene, August 2024 · breakbone

The State of The Subscene: August 2024

Hierarchical high school style cliques and subcultures dumbed down to nothing more than black hair and piercings. Many people go to gigs to do drugs or to 'sort out' personal drama. That's how people describe the state of the scene.

What's the problem? The community. Gigs used to be the place to meet cool new people, all there because they loved the music. Now, it's like stepping into school all over again, with tight groups snubbing newcomers. Instead of moshing and kicking out the jams inside, people sit outside venues, updating their Instagram stories with images of them lighting a fire at a nearby park or sitting outside the venue. Where's the punk, goth or rock and roll energy in all of this? There's more focus on gaining internet points and stroking one's ego than on supporting your local bands or even starting a band yourself.

We can't just accept cliques, nepotism and privilege dominating spaces that should be open and free. We need to create an environment where bigots, abusers and troublemakers aren't welcome. Gigs shouldn't break the bank either, charging $30 or more only keeps more people out. Shows, especially local ones, should be affordable. Let's be real, those steep prices are more about lining wallets than supporting the scene. Everyone just needs to be nicer, and welcome new people. Invite them to hang out. Get to know them. Become mates.

It's clear that a lot of people in the scene are aging out. Bands have disbanded, many due to personal responsibilities, while others are playing at bars and pubs instead of at spaces accessible to the youth. If you want the scene to keep going, you need to have the younger people go to the gigs. That's how rock and roll perpetuates itself. New bands like Corrosion Girls, Act Dumb and Yellow Fever are keeping the spirit alive, being all founded by teenagers who saw the subscene and wanted to be a part of it.

In this issue, we have interviewed The Belair Lip Bombs, who come from a lively example of a youth scene a few years down the line, along with slam staple Verminate and rapper Topix. There's also interviews with scene members, along with music and gig reviews.

The scene is asleep. Project Punk committed rock and roll suicide. Antidismal went on hiatus due to their owner Ixaras going on tour, Gormless Records slowed down their gig hosting, Deadtrigger Records is focusing on setting up their studio, and 4ZZZ hasn't held a carpark gig in a long time.

There is no community aspect in the scene anymore. You can't go to gigs to meet cool people anymore, instead you see cliquey, sanctimonious groups of people that are unwilling to let new people into their tight-knit groups. People for lighters, give 'um yeah yeah' responses or just seem very disinterested. People go to gigs not for the bands, but to sit outside the venue and post on their Instagram about how they lit up a bong along with some shitty TikTok music. Either that, or some photos of them trying to look so cool and the dozens of fucking shitty school formals/semiformals where kids try and look cool in tuxedo suits and dresses. It's fucking pretentious. Where is the actual rock and roll, punk energy in all of this?

We can't just accept cliques and privilege dominating spaces that should be open and free. We need to create an environment where bigots, abusers, and the insincere find no welcome. Gigs shouldn't break the bank either, charging $30 or more only keeps people out. Shows, especially local ones, should be affordable. Let's be real, those steep prices are more about lining wallets than supporting the scene.

A lot of bands today are made up of kids with money who don't carry the true grit that punk and rock are supposed to stand for. Instead of genuinely burning with the passion to play, it feels more contrived, like checking boxes rather than breaking them. The scene needs to remember what it used to be about: being raw, starting a band whether or not you had all the skills, and looking out for each other.

Too many bands consist of rich private kids with daddy's money trying to act like they put in hard work, when they didn't. One thing's for sure, the scene must remember the meaning of the subcultures it embodies, which is to not give a fuck, start a band even if you don't know how to play an instrument, and to be there of each other. The scene must also start being more confident about stamping out whoever doesn't deserve to be in the scene, like bigots, abusers, people who bring drugs inside the venue, or some richie rich kids who can't take honest words about them.

Also, a gig should not cost $30, looking at you, Antidismal. A similar gig to your Happy Feet Fest held at a bowls club cost only $15 to enter, and that was for charity. A local gig should cost $10 to $15 maximum, and after all the costs are considered, you'll still break even with profits. Charging that much means you just want more money in your pockets. Now, I get you're trying to be a proper record label, so you hire more people for art, audio etc., but when the people running the gig are volunteers and the acts that play aren't even punk or moshable, it's massively overpriced. What next? $50, $100 for a gig? That's the same as a stadium concert for fucks sake. Use that money to pay your volunteers or the people working for you, or make the tickets cost less money.

If inspiration shall be found, it should be found from elsewhere. In this issue, we have interviewed The Belair Lip Bombs, who come from a lively example of a youth scene a few years down the line, along with slam staple Verminate and rapper Topix. There's also interviews with scene members, along with music and gig reviews.