Chaotic Lives Converge

After only a few years as a band, Jacksonville melodic hardcore group Evergreen Terrace has made it to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

Orange County hardcore act Throwdown's lead singer Dave Peters is out on $50,000 bail for aggravated assault, and will be performing Wednesday at Xtreme Wheels - with Norma Jean, Evergreen Terrace, Fear Before the March of Flames and locals Casting Lots for Judah - after a few days in lockdown.

Meanwhile, Fear Before the March of Flames singer Dave Marion was asked to "take it outside" Monday night at a concert in Detroit, after spitting on a fan.

Perhaps some clarifying is in order.

Evergreen Terrace made a stop at the Hall, Tuesday afternoon in the midst of a tour stop in the rock and roll town.

"We're just about to walk in the doors," said guitarist Josh James.

Peters was allegedly involved in an altercation in Long Beach, California, a year and a half ago, having been falsely picked off a website by the accuser.

"Cops showed up at his door, and had a warrant for his arrest," said Throwdown guitarist Tommy Love. He was forced to stay in jail for a few days last week and cancel a few tour dates.

"Not a lot of fun for him or us," said Love. Now that bail has been placed, the singer will resume touring.

"He wasn't even at the scene of the fight," he said. "I'm actually not allowed to talk about a lot of that stuff right now. It's a bunch of crazy stuff."

In another exciting/horrible occurrence, Monday night, Fear Before the March of Flames suffered severe criticism at the hands of some "tough guys" in Detroit.

"I guess what happened is, the opening bands were super-tough Kurd's crew bands, and I guess some of their friends were mocking Fear Before the March of Flames. I guess the singer spit on one of them," said James.

"We got up and they were like, 'F***!'" said Fear Before guitarist Adam Fisher. "There were tons of kids that were into it, but there was this group of kids that just weren't having it. I was facing my amp, tuning, and when I was done tuning, I was listening to what they were saying. Brandon, my drummer, was like, 'Dude, start the song!'"

So this is what it's like to be a hardcore star. Pure chaos, it would seem.

Much of the controversy and fighting comes as a result of diverse bills, which feature fans of straight-edge hardcore. Straight-edge is a lifestyle which stresses holding back, particularly from alcohol and drug consumption. Some of these fans allow their territoriality to overwhelm them and instigate fights.

Xtreme Wheels gained some familiarity with these situations last spring at a show that featured polar opposites (within the genre) Himsa and Sworn Enemy. Altercations broke out several times, and police were called to regulate.

Bands with straight-edge influence on the tour, namely Throwdown and Evergreen Terrace, seem to be ignorant to such events. Throwdown's Love says there's "not much if any difference" when their band is supplanted into an otherwise less straight-edge lineup, as is the case tonight.

"We've never had any trouble with straight-edge bands at all," said James, of Evergreen Terrace.

"You could get real mad about it, but what's the point? It happens all the time. It's like a bad day on the job," said Fisher, whose last job was a four-week stint at a Denver Rite Aid.

The bands all hope things can calm down to the cusp of insanity, where they prefer it. These degrees are marked by harmless mosh incitement and stage antics that, while minor injuries may occur, aren't going to get anyone arrested.

Unless they've outlawed climbing onto 30-foot high rafters during a performance. That's right, expect climbing.