Courtesy Maxwell Hendrickson
Audio By Carbonatix
You might not think it, but hardcore and the holidays go hand in hand.
While it’s still a newer tradition, Front Range bands like to team up this time of year to host toy drives to benefit the local community, providing gifts for those in need. The annual Denver Colorado Hardcore Toy Drive, for example, celebrated its seventh year at the beginning of the month with a show at the Marquis Theater.
Up in Fort Collins, the second edition of Hardcore for the Holidays: Toy Drive is set for Friday, December 27, at the Aggie Theatre. Inspired by similar efforts in Denver, Front Range Fury Productions and restaurant Music City Hot Chicken, which has locations in both towns, decided to partner with the Family Center/La Familia to re-create the success of the inaugural FoCo event in 2022.
This year’s lineup includes 10 to the Chest, Polish, Pig Splitter, Warmachine, Spear of Cassius and Talking Point. Acceptable donation items include winter clothes (hats, gloves and scarves), personal-hygiene products (deodorant, hair-styling tools, perfume), wallets, Bluetooth speakers or headphones, crafts, books, sports equipment, LEGO toys and puzzles.
Talking Point bassist Billy Fabrocini credits Miguel Walter of Front Range Fury Productions for ensuring that Fort Collins had what he likes to call a “satellite version” of what Denver is already doing with the toy drive. He and Walter naturally connected through the scene; Fabrocini previously booked shows under the Hardcore in the Fort banner before stepping back and helping to form Talking Point in 2021.
“I think [Walter’s] had so much success, specifically in this last year,” Fabrocini says. “When the [toy drive] idea came up this year, Miguel asked me if we would be up for it. It’s one of those things – he and I always looked out for each other.”
Talking Point – which also includes guitarist and vocalist Jaren Samples, guitarist Matt Kennedy and drummer Ryan Hullibarger – formed over the idea of reinvigorating the Fort Collins DIY underground.
“We wanted to start a band and give Fort Collins something that was its own, so no CSU or Rocky Mountain High School student should have to drive to Denver on a Thursday night to see their favorite band and then make it back late as hell at night and have a test first thing in the morning on a Friday,” Fabrocini explains. “It was really important that we did something where bands would play in Fort Collins and kids would have shows to go to.”
Originally a trio, the group put out the four-song release Winter Demo 2023 last year before linking up with the recently resurrected independent label Braeburn Records, which is now based in Fort Collins. Kennedy, formerly of Maryland alt-rock band the Dangerous Summer, only joined Talking Point in the last couple of months, but is excited about the post-hardcore, Midwest emo sound the group creates.
“I’ve only actually had one practice with the guys. I was super amped. It felt right,” Kennedy says. “I was joking that this is the heaviest band I’ve ever been in. It’s funny to hear them say it’s on the lighter side for them.”
The newfound four-piece is currently composing an upcoming album set to be released sometime next year. But first, Kennedy will make his live debut as a Talking Point member at the Aggie for the toy drive. On such a brutal bill, it’s nice to be able to provide a little palate cleanser, as Fabrocini sees it.
“Most of the bands playing this toy drive are going to be super-heavy bands. Then we bridge this gap, along with Spear of Cassius, between people who like Myspace-era music and the modern-day super-heavy hardcore and metalcore,” he says, adding that having Kennedy on board marks “a new period of the band.”
“It’s nice to be like, ‘Hey, Matt, here’s a roomful of people spin-kicking, but we’re also singing, and we don’t have to scream,'” he says.
There are other bands that will happily do just that during the toy drive, including young up-and-coming Denver trio Polish (as in nail polish), a band that lands on the opposite end of the sonic spectrum from Talking Point.
“The whole premise behind Polish is trying to find the most pissed-off thing that we can find. The most pissed-off sound. Just trying to be as pissed as possible,” says the group’s drummer, Eddie Eaton.
“The biggest goal has always been: How fucking mad can we get?” vocalist and bassist Issac Roybal adds.
Eaton, Roybal and Dante DeLaurier (who also plays bass) really whip themselves into a rage on stage, and it’s proved to be contagious.
“We’re even more pissed as the show goes on,” DeLaurier says. “Everybody kind of forgets themselves and just goes nuts for this twelve-minute set or whatever it is. The shock factor of just the energy of the music, the band, everything. We just kind of run it, and when we’re done, we’re done.”
The sound is called “powerviolence” for a reason. Armed with a crushing dual-bass attack, Polish released its latest single, “Assassination Attempt,” featuring Texas outfit Surface Breach, in October. Plans for a proper debut album are in the works for 2025, and the three members are kicking around the idea of possibly adding a six-string to the mix. Of course, it’s all about “trying to go more evil with it, but keep the same bounce that we have,” according to Roybal.
“When we’re doing the double-bass stuff, it’s interesting how creative you can get with just four strings,” DeLaurier adds. “Powerviolence in and of itself is a very untapped genre. We’re trying to find ways to make riffs that have weird inspirations but are also super crazy and weird themselves.”
It’s hard to explain, but Polish (which also doubles as hardcore act Flak) just makes it work. Needless to say, the best way to experience Polish is live. But as aggressive as the trio may come off, the scene and bands within it are more welcoming and supportive than initially meet the eye. That’s evident in toy drives becoming a greater part of the cultural fabric locally.
“Everybody’s there for the music. Everybody’s willing to just live in unison with whoever you are. It’s the first time you’ll see something like a bunch of blue-collar, strapped-up-boot-looking punks hanging out with goths and LGBTQ people,” DeLaurier explains. “It really brings people from all over the spectrum of whatever together, and everybody’s willing to be together and about the music, because that’s what matters. It’s a very inclusive community.”
It’s always been DIY, too, so helping one another is second nature at this point.
“Whatever you put into it is what you’re going to get out of it. The more shows you go to, the more people you jam with, the more people you meet, the more hands you shake – you get your name out there more and more with each thing that you do,” Roybal concludes. “It’s all love at the end of the day.”
Hardcore for the Holidays: Toy Drive, 7 p.m. Friday, December 27, Aggie Theatre, 204 South College Avenue, Fort Collins. Tickets are $20 ($5 discount with donation at the door).
