Could you share a brief introduction about yourself?
Hey guys! I am Amanda from Denver. Happy to be doing this interview. I am still Straight Edge and have been sober my whole life. Currently I book shows and manage bands in Denver.
One of my biggest passions is hockey. I guess you could say there’s a good amount of ice in my blood. I manage bands in Denver and they are Hardcore, Metal and Punk. Making sure they are all booked up for a couple months at a time, and have all the correct marketing materials they need up to date takes up most of my free time. I am also booking shows at HQ which is a bar/venue here.
What’s currently on your playlist?
Godcollider, Spirit World, Black Rainbows, Judas Priest
How do you define straight edge?
No drinking, drugs and promiscuity.
How important is music to your relationship with straight edge?
You dont have to be active in any music scene to be sober or Straight Edge.
What’s your straight edge story?
When I was in middle school I got into the Punk and Hardcore scenes, I was previously surrounded by friends that weren’t the best influences on myself or anyone for that matter. One got addicted to heroin, and every drug under the sun and dropped out of high school to get knocked up by the guy supplying her with the drugs. I decided I’m not going to have any part of that and I was going to make something of myself rather than start drinking at parties and hanging out with people who weren’t even going to remember me the next day.
Going to Hardcore shows and listening to a bunch of straight edge bands really made me feel like wow these people are just like me. I belong here.
How straight edge influenced your relationships with family, friends, and others?
Still to thisbday people give me a hard time about being sober and I feel like they are just doing it because they are ashamed of what they are doing themselves so they have to pick on someone else.
Looking back, is there anything about path into and through straight edge that you would do differently?
Not a single thing. I do it for myself and no one else.
True or False: “If you’re not now, you never were”?Â
I never gave up.
Have you encountered any challenges or misconceptions about being straight edge?
Oh man people always assume I’m mormon or that because I drink caffeine it’s a drug. It’s rather annoying.
Do you feel that your gender or age has influenced your experience within the straight edge and hardcore scenes?
100% being a female in a subgenre can be tough. I was 13 when I started going to shows. There are still to this day countless men in this scene who feel that they can push myself and other females around.
In your view, how inclusive is the straight edge movement?
I dont think a lot of people really treat it like they used to where there were the hardline and militant edge kids around. It doesn’t seem like I even know a ton of Edge people around anymore.
Have you observed any evolution in the straight edge scene regarding acceptance and diversity?
I haven’t seen much evolution at all anymore. There’s some people I come across that are in their late 40s who are getting sober in general but they aren’t claiming Edge.
