Metro Pulse/Music/Bane

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Who:
Bane with Death by Stereo, Adamantium, and Minute 61

When:
Tuesday, July 11 at 7 p.m.

Where:
Axis Skatepark. $5. All ages.

Bane wants to be more than their genre

by John Sewell

Hardcore has gone through quite a lot of changes since the nascent days of 1982, when Black Flag and Minor Threat defined the genre. Back then, 'hardcore' was the shortened tag for hardcore punk. And yes, the hardcore bands really were the most extreme faction of punk rock at the time.

Well, here we are well into the new millennium and hardcore still thrives, albeit slightly mutated. These days, hardcore exists as a separate entity from punk rock. Though the hardcore and punk tribes may live next door on the map of American subcultures, the two sects rarely interact. Modern hardcore is a rigidly defined genre that employs facets of heavy metal, grindcore, thrash, and (of course) the more traditional old school punk sounds. Hardly a new thing, hardcore has become a rite of passage for teenagers who are predominantly male, white, and upper-middle class. Odd as it may seem, getting into the hardcore scene is more about conformity than rebellion, at this point.

Five years into its career, Massachusetts' Bane finds themselves among the leading lights of the Y2K hardcore scene. The band is uncomfortable being aligned with any particular subset of their genre.

"For all intents and purposes, we'd prefer to be called simply a hardcore band," says drummer Nick Branigan. "That's where we came up and that's how we want to present ourselves: within the hardcore ethic and aesthetic. It's pretty cut and dry and if you want to strip it down, hardcore says it all. The influences that we bring into it may be so called 'old school' or metal or whatever. But we also bring our own thing to the hardcore table. We're almost comfortable with the hardcore tag, if you have to label it."

Being defined as a hardcore band is okay, but the band is somewhat less thrilled with the rigidly defined rituals within the subculture. "Well, we get tired of some of it sometimes—absolutely," says Branigan. "I think you gotta sort of take the good with the bad and realize that the majority of the kids that come out to your shows are gonna be males age 15 to 22. I don't know, it all depends on where you go. In some places you see a few less white kids or a few more girls.

"We definitely get worn out on playing with bands that we don't really want to associate with: sort of the tough guy, macho kind of beefy, tattooed, basketball-jersey-wearing, goatee-having kind of thing. It gets old real quick and it gets tiring. We're at a point now where we just let it happen. Let those bands play and not get involved. We don't really voice an opinion about it. It gets hard to take but it's just one of the pitfalls that you have to deal with."

To Bane's credit, the band has done well to avoid clichés associated with hardcore. Rather than dealing with the usual, mundane hardcore topics (unity, 'the crew,' straight edge, 'keepin' it real,' etc.) the band tackles personal politics in an even, mature fashion. Their first full-length effort, It All Comes Down To This (Equal Vision Records) relies on a varied kaleidoscope of sounds and ideas, and challenging both musically and lyrically. More than a teenage time capsule, the album succeeds on its own as artistic expression, plain and simple. And it rocks, hard.

Currently on tour with Epitaph Records' Death By Stereo and Adamantium, the band is finding a bigger audience and finally reaping the rewards of several years in the trenches of the underground. The breakup of several important hardcore bands of the late '90s (Ten Yard Fight, In My Eyes, Lifetime, Refused, et al) and the waning of the last wave of popularity of hardcore (which reached its peak around '98) has left the band in a position to take up the slack.

"The tour is going awesome and the crowds have been more diverse," says Branigan. "Death By Stereo tends to draw more of an aggro punk type of crowd. The tour is bringing out different kids than would normally come to see Bane.

"The last wave of hardcore has sort of hit the shore already, and Bane rode that wave from as soon as it started until now. The wave has crashed and we're still here. I don't think we're riding the revivalist thing any more."

At present, Bane is crossing the netherland between underground and commercially viable status. After the current American tour, the band will embark on its first European jaunt and hopes are high. Branigan says that though he is happy to see Bane drawing larger crowds, he is wary of mass marketing and overexposure—fearful that the band's message would get lost in the shuffle.

"We're sort of torn because we want to play in front of lots of people. I mean, look at Rage Against The Machine. Honestly, they're a band with such a powerful political and social message and they're playing in front of a bunch of people who just want to be there and mosh. And that's totally the opposite of what they wanted to do as a band. They're getting to more people musically, but I don't think anyone is really getting turned on to their message at all.

"We're not really pushing anything aside from knowledge of who you are and knowledge of self-worth," says Branigan. "We're just trying to relay the message that people aren't alone and that life can sometimes really be a downer. I don't think, as a band, we can pick one particular issue and agree on it. We're dealing with emotions more than politics or aspects of the scene. I just hope people catch onto it.

"We really don't want to be associated with any kind of a clique mentality," Branigan continues. "We don't want to narrow ourselves down to one thing. We want to be open to everybody and to make everyone feel welcome and comfortable at our shows. People and personalities are what is most important to us."