Tell us about yourself!
I’m Colleen, I’m 29 from Dublin, Ireland. I’m a DJ and university lecturer of music.
My passion is music, and my vocation is teaching. I teach at the music university that I attended myself. I mainly focus on music history, production, theory, and live performance. I was in a post-punk band for a number of years called Brass Phantoms, and we released an album together. I also release music under my solo electropop project Throatsugar .
At the minute myself and my friend Jess are having a great time recording metalcore covers together – catch us on Youtube.
I’ve been DJing for around 10 years – it’s the best craic ever and that fact I get paid for it still blows my mind. I’m a regular DJ at Dublin’s best-known metal bar, Fibber Magees, and I do other venues and private events/weddings.
What’s currently on your playlist?Â
I’m a metalcore kinda gal. My gateway band was Enter Shikari when I was around 12, and it went from there. My playlist right now has a lot of Spiritbox, Enter Shikari, Bad Omens, While She Sleeps, Knocked Loose, The Amity Affliction, Architects, and a whole lot more. The Irish music scene is amazing also. I’ve been loving Worn Out, Ailsha, Crown The King, Light Grey, Pain in Vain, Silverglass, Glasseyed, Neon Empire, Unmaker, Survivalist, and many many many more.
Define Straight Edge.
For me, it’s about enjoying the heavy music scene and losing yourself to live performance without requiring the use of substances as so many do. I think being sober means abstaining from substances regardless of your music tastes and other behaviours. I’m new to SXE, it’s only been 6 months for me and it’s been the best 6 months of my life. SXE in Ireland is quite different to other cultures in my opinion, as Ireland is known for its drinking culture. Doing no harm is something I’ve always believed in, yet I was harming myself with alcohol use. I’ve been vegan for 9 years, which is also something that was almost non-existent in Ireland when I first started. I haven’t ever properly smoked, vaped, or used drugs, but alcohol had an unhealthy grip on me, as it does to many Irish people.
How important is music to your relationship with straight edge?
I don’t gatekeep, and I’m new to SXE myself. People don’t participate in the music scene for all kinds of reasons. I think the only requirement apart form sobriety is an understanding and respect for the origins of the movement.
What’s your straight edge story?Â
I drank alcohol from the age of 15 or so, which is standard in Ireland. I abstained from drug use and smoking, and used this to justify my alcohol use. As I reached my late twenties, I started to meet people at gigs who would absolutely lose themselves in the music, and to my surprise they were completely sober. I met a small handful of straight edge metalheads and the seed was planted from there. The Tiktok algorithm started to push sobriety content onto my feed. I attempted to come off the mental health medication I had been on for many years and I quickly spiralled. I realised that I needed to experience an alcohol-free life to keep my body and mind healthy and to actually enjoy music again.
I had a moment of “I could never give up alcohol” and I realised how disturbing that thought was. I never drank again.
How straight edge influenced your relationships with family, friends, and others?
Very positively. I see people more, I drive myself places, and I have meaningful interactions. I sometimes struggle in social situations and with social cues, and my anxiety around this has lessened dramatically. My fiancé Mikey is not straight edge but he also now drinks much less often.
Looking back, is there anything about path into and through straight edge that you would do differently?
I wish I did it sooner. I wish I didn’t wait for other people to do it first. I should have put my wellbeing first.
True or False: “If you’re not now, you never were”?Â
I’m not sure to be honest. As a newly straight edge person, I feel like I can’t really comment. I drank alcohol until I was 28 so I’m sure some people would say I will never be truly straight edge. People say the same thing about people who end their veganism. I’m been vegan for 9 years and I know plenty of ex-vegans, and it doesn’t bother me at all that they say they used to be vegan. It’s not for everyone and that’s ok. I believe in personal choice and I don’t like to gatekeep.
Have you encountered any challenges or misconceptions about being straight edge?
Yes. People sometimes expect me to be preachy or judgemental, which I’m not. I’m very happy for people who can enjoy substances in a healthy way. Most often people are kind and congratulatory.
Do you feel that your gender or age has influenced your experience within the straight edge and hardcore scenes?Â
Somewhat. The scene is of course male-dominated, and in my local scene the people involved are incredibly kind, respectful, and welcoming. My age hasn’t really been a big factor, I’ve been going to the same venues and gigs for years so my social circle is wide and diverse.
In your view, how inclusive is the straight edge scene?
It’s so small in Ireland that it’s hard to comment. I think lessening gatekeeping would help more people who are sober-curious take the leap. Alcohol misuse is so normalised in Ireland that I think we’re a bit behind on the movement.
Have you observed any evolution in the straight edge scene regarding acceptance and diversity?
I can’t say I’ve seen it in SXE in particular but the alternative music scene in general has become much more diverse where I live. The average metal night in my local has people of many ages, countries, backgrounds, and orientations, even when compared to just 10 years ago.
