Richie with Underdog at City Gardens, Trenton NJ, Photo: Ken Salerno

“I had met Richie from going to shows and his band, The Numbskuls, played with Murphy’s Law about three or four times.  I really liked their sound.  At the time, I really liked the Cro-Mags because they had a hard sound, but it was a different sound. It didn’t fit in with the ‘model’ NYHC sound. It wasn’t quite metal yet either.  I remember watching the Numbskuls and they had all these great riffs and, I guess you’d call them, breakdowns or mosh parts now…

They had a girl filling in on bass and were looking for a permanent replacement. Once I knew I was out of Murphy’s Law, the first call I made was to Richie to ask about playing for The Numbskuls.”

-Russ Iglay

Twelve-year-old skate prodigy, Tom Schaar, is the first ever to land a 1080.

DCXX’s Ed McKirdy with aggro air into the Boston crowd for Dave Smalley and DYS. Photo by returntothepit.

“One of the D.Y.S. songs is called “Brotherhood,” and the chorus has the lyrics “brotherhood — true till death” in there. I can’t remember whether I came up with the lyric first or the tattoo line itself. But all I do know is that once it hit me, it was emblazoned into my soul. You know, the thing about that period of time, and I think like this still, is that loyalty is extremely important. I probably value loyalty to and from friends more than anything else. I expect a good friend to take a bullet for me and I’d likewise take one for them, you know? The Boston Crew was very loyal to one another – disagreements sometimes, to be sure, but it was unity once the fights with the jocks or in other cities started, or once we were out spraypainting or hanging out in Kenmore Square.

And even today, I value each one of those guys, and what that time frame meant to me as a person, and to music and hardcore especially. True Till Death. And straight edge was such a vital component of all of that – it was really the glue that helped make the crew unbreakable. And when you’re living that kind of lifestyle, where ideals really do matter, then it’s not done in half-measures – it was till death.”

-Dave Smalley

Youth Of Today at The Anthrax, 1989. I don’t know about you, but that looks like a perfect stage diver. Photo by Chris Fortin.

“Then I also noticed that everyone was stage diving. It was the first time I ever saw stage diving. I saw these guys stage diving, they would say something into the microphone; I didn’t realize they were singing along. I just thought they would say something random into the microphone. I was like, “alright, you’ve gotta pick something clever to say, because before this show stops I have to jump off that stage.” So I’m slamming, slamming, slamming. And then the UK Subs were like, “Okay this is our last song,” and I was like, “I’ve gotta do it.” So I jumped on the stage, I grabbed the microphone and said “Fuck Ronald Reagan” and I jumped off the stage. I didn’t realize I was supposed to say the lyrics of the song. I just said something I thought was very poignant and would make me look cool. it probably had the opposite affect.

That was it. From then on, we slammed…actually, we moshed.  We copied the New York Style of moshing. We were really into dancing as part of the culture. 100% stolen from New York. But I will say..and I traveled a lot back then…New York had a style of dancing that no one else had around the country. I mean, just from traveling around the country back then, it was actually an art form. I can’t describe it. So we mimicked it as best as we could.”

-Ray Cappo

First the special Bones Brigade issue of The Skateboard Mag and now this cool little tribute video with classic clips and killer Grant Brittain photos. Check it all out at theskateboardmag.com

Making up for lost time, doesn’t benefit you, it’s a crime against yourself.

The album “Time’s Up, You’re Next” from The Alligators is now available.