The New Gay is currently rocking a rad post by Robert. Hardcore + queer folks = fantastic post.
In 1993, I first heard Fugazi via a dubbed copy of “Repeater” given to me by one of my closest friends. In 1993, I failed my driver’s license exam twice, and then shortly after drove to Pittsburgh to see my first hardcore punk show (Avail at Carnegie Mellon University). In 1993, I purchased my first pair of olive green old school style Vans. I owned those shoes for six years before they gave out while I was mowing the lawn. It was also in 1993 that I came to terms internally with my attraction to guys. These moments were interrelated, if not inseparable parts of my adolescence. While many of my gay contemporaries were embracing Madonna, George Michael, rave DJs, and other entertainment icons as cultural crutches for dealing with their sexuality, I never felt their music or lives resonated with how I felt about being gay, or even on a simpler level, being a teenager.
For the record, my version of the "olive green old school style Vans" was a pair of oxblood 8-eyelet Docs that I wore (sporadically) from 1994 until about 3 years ago, when I had to staple the sole to the upper. At that point, they went into the storage box o' memories. Those boots kicked a lot of ass, saw a lot of shows, and had completely smooth (and dangerous!) soles by the time they went into the box.
I miss 'em.
