Originally Published: Thursday, June 9, 2005
Written by: Vanessa G Rojas
The Northern Virginia Hardcore Scene: A Critical Overview
The Northern Virginia hardcore scene..a breeding ground for misinformed and self-proclaimed scenesters, weekly edge breakers, and backstabbing in the name of money and scene points. Along with only a handful of other legitimate and talented bands is Time Crisis. Their view on the scene? It’s about the fun and what you get back from the music.. not how tight your girl’s pants are, not how sweet your two-step is, not “Keeping it posi”, and not who to suck up to to get ahead in terms of booking.
Time Crisis: A Band Born from Satire
Time Crisis was born in late January of 2005 when vocalist, Ethan Erevia, decided it was time for a band to be formed that more or less ridiculed the tone that the NOVA scene was taking on. This joke soon took on the form of a 5 piece hardcore band with the acquisition of Eddie Hall and Billy Anderson on guitar, Patrick McGlade on drums, and Nick Adkins on bass. Rather than focusing on perfection during practices and making sure that combat hats were on at the perfect angle, they combined their diverse musical tastes and formed the first actual joke band to come out of the area.
The Unexpected Chemistry and First Show
Surprisingly enough, they soon found themselves working under undeniable chemistry, and between bathroom humor, near nakedness, and cookies they discovered that they had a fair shot at making good music. This was first reinforced at their first show, a last-minute gig at Ethan’s basement. That night found over 100 kids crammed into a small basement supporting three bands. Instead of the usual house show where kids slink out the back door in boredom, people automatically become engaged. Stagedive off of shelves, couches, and anything else imaginable came from all directions. Their songs consisted of youth crew-esque anthems about everything from fat girls to ice cream and people simply loved it. Time Crisis began to build its reputation.
Building a Fan Base and Recording a Demo
The week after the infamous house show brought something none of them had expected..some sort of a fan base. Kids began showing up wearing stenciled Time Crisis T-shirts and insisting on a next show while TCPC, a crew meant as a joke was formed by both Time Crisis members and their friends and followers. TC continued practicing and busted out more hilariously honest songs and went on to record a demo.
First Legitimate Show and Upholding Hardcore Values
Finally, this next show that had been insisted on for a month straight had been set up. Time Crisis, the band that was started as a joke played their first show along with a fellow Stafford band, Goals We Set, as well as Bane and Comeback Kid. Even though TC received a great deal of support during their set, it was inches away from never happening in the first place due to being given the task by a less-than-reliable booking agency to sell 50 tickets within a week-long span. But, instead of stressing out and sticking to their beliefs that hardcore should be about creating good music not ripping kids off, they gave out a majority of the tickets for free or lower prices and ended up paying the majority of the booking fee out of their own pockets. This only gained them the respect of other members of the hardcore community who held the same values.
Rising Popularity and Challenges Ahead
After their first legitimate show word spread about Time Crisis. Some people took the less than open-minded view of typical scene policers and automatically assumed that TC was nothing but a group of try-too-hards due to their suburban location. The majority of people who had seen them or knew them personally thought otherwise..they were ecstatic to find a band that for once openly opposed the cliques, drama, and plain idiocy that polluted the majority of hardcore scenes today. People begged for Time Crisis merch and once again insisted on more shows. Time Crisis played on numerous other bills throughout the spring and received a plethora of encouragement from everyone..from 13-year-olds just entering the hardcore scene to 30-year-old veterans.
Facing the Inevitable End
Unfortunately, though, they began to hit a rut in the form of everything that they stood against. With the fact that their breakup was imminent and fast approaching due to the moving and collegebound members, Time Crisis sought the opportunity to record a higher quality and new demo to go out with a bang. They spent countless hours perfecting their own songs (while still managing to keep up the hilarity level of their practices) and decided to call upon a close friend and member of their pseudo-brother band which will remain nameless to avoid dispute. The guitarist of promised them a recording session on his homemade setup and they soon set up a recording date.
A Disappointing Turn and Final Shows
Once word had gotten out about the soon-to-be recorded demo, the kids who had loyally supported TC since that first house show became excited to hear their last big release before their untimely breakup. Unfortunately, the night before the supposed recording date everything came to a halt. The guitarist and personal friend of the band, responsible for the recording of their demo casually asked how much they planned on putting down for their few songs on his less than professional “recording system” located at his own house and suggested $15 per song. This automatically outraged TC whose mantra was based on the idea that hardcore was what you made it, not how much you paid into it. Their grassroots philosophy combined with the fact that they simply had no means to pay for it due to providing merch and tickets for free to a large number of people left Time Crisis without a demo. Unfortunately, the trash that overwhelms their local scene took its toll on a band promoting integrity and good times. They would have no musical memoir to vouch for the success that came out of a band originally formed as a joke on a boring winter afternoon.
The Final Curtain Call
Time Crisis is slated to play two last shows, one on June 15 at KCs in Fredericksburg with Champion and Where Eagles Dare and their final show which is set at an acquaintance’s house with a number of other bands. If any of you happen to be in the NOVA area on either of their last two dates I suggest you do yourself a favor and show up..you won’t be disappointed and will more than likely get a few laughs out of it. You may ask why such a small band is getting such recognition. This serves as proof that there are still bands and people out there that value what’s really important in hardcore..the friendships made, the music produced, and the good times that are had.
Check them out and let them know what’s up.. http://www.myspace.com/timecrisis I
| Comments |
| Written by ihadninelives on 2005-07-15 01:03:46i loved time crisis. it’s great when people can just have fun and NOT take the scene so damn seriously, and that’s exactly how they did it. |
| time crisis? Written by Guest on 2005-06-22 20:03:18it’s good to hear that hardcore has become a joke now. |
| TIIIIGHT CRISIS! Written by erin_exxxciting on 2005-06-18 12:11:00I give Time Crisis Props. Too bad college got in the way of this one….It could of been somthing sweet. |
| shakaka Written by Guest on 2005-06-15 19:52:39personally i think that TC is boring. FINISH YOUR PLATE or you dont get ice cream !!!?!? wtfuck is that ?!? who gives a shit about ice cream!!. |
| tcpc tinkerbell music. Written by Guest on 2005-06-15 19:51:22BOO! |
