PLEASED YOUTH

New Brunswick's Pleased Youth were pure hardcore when they started out; the initial lineup included Dave Scott of Adrenalin O.D. Had there been more bands like Pleased Youth and TMA, New Brunswick might be remembered for having a hardcore scene (instead, both were lumped into the generic "New Jersey hardcore" category). With the lineup of Paul Decolator, Doug "Sluggo" Vizthum, Andy Skovran, Greg Walker, and Keith Hartel, the Youth signed with A.O.D.'s Buy Our Records label, releasing Dangerous Choo-Choo in 1986. By this time their sound had evolved to the melting pot of hardcore-with-melodies made quasi-popular by the Descendents, Agent Orange, early Hüsker Dü, etc. But they still had their aggression, and it wasn't limited to the music — bandmembers fought constantly, leading to a short-lived but memorable existence, some of it captured on Ivy Silence's video site. Post-breakup, various members remained active in New Brunswick, including Walker, who joined Moby Dick, and Vizthum, who formed Bad Karma and later joined Lunar Bear Ensemble. Decolator remained heavily involved in the music scene as well, playing with G.G. Allin, forming the band Loose, promoting/booking bands, and creating general havoc until, suddenly, he was dead in 2002. More on Pleased Youth can be found at punkvinyl.com.

Depicted here are a couple classic flyers, though neither is from New Brunswick. $5 door, all-ages, many bands, and adrenaline the drug of choice.

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