Generally unheralded at the time, the early-80s Hardcore Punk Rock scene gave birth to much of the rock music and culture that followed. There would be no Nirvana, Beastie Boys or Red Hot Chili Peppers were it not for Hardcore pioneers such as Black Flag, Bad Brains and Minor Threat.

Hardcore was more than music — it was a social movement created by Reagan-era misfit kids. The participants constituted a tribe unto themselves — some finding a voice, others an escape in the hard-edged music; some sought a better world, others were just angry and wanted to raise hell.

AMERICAN HARDCORE traces this lost subculture, from its early roots to its extinction.

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Production Notes

Paul Rachman and Steven Blush met through the hardcore punk rock scene in the early 1980s. Steven promoted shows in Washington, DC, and Paul directed the first music videos for bands like Bad Brains and Gang Green.

Steven's book AMERICAN HARDCORE: A Tribal History (Feral House), which detailed the scene's rise and fall, came out in 2001. By that time, Paul had made some of MTV's most important videos for Alice In Chains, Temple Of The Dog and Pantera. The two reconnected when Paul moved back to NYC after completing his first feature film, Four Dogs Playing Poker. They ran into each other on the street, and talked about making a film inspired by the book.

After weeks of discussion, they got down to work. Their first interviews came in December 2001 when Paul joined Steve in his decrepit '84 Chevy Blazer for a five-hour drive up to Boston.

Excited by their first efforts, they conducted interview after interview. With the shot footage accumulating, they took numerous meetings to secure funding — but quickly realized that few potential backers had ever heard of most of the bands. They realized that a film on the subject of hardcore — like the music itself — would have to be a 100% Do-It-Yourself effort.

Paul had a digital video camera and a laptop editing system. Steve had lots of punk rock contacts, and no day job. Five years, 100+ interviews, and untold urns of coffee later, a documentary film emerged.

AMERICAN HARDCORE is a testament to the power of youth, and an exploration of an unheralded subculture. Hardcore punk rock was more than just loud, fast music — it was a way of life.