Rettsounds - Making a Scene (Again)

Bri Hurley’s photo book Making A Scene is a very infamous and arcane artifact from the late-80s New York hardcore scene. Originally printed by Faber & Faber just when the 80s smooched the 90s, the book was a slim but genuine glimpse into the sights, sounds, and smells (is that fresh urine?) that happened both inside and outside those CBGB matinees held on Sunday afternoons.

Even though the book was released by a respectable publishing house, it dried up pretty quickly and the years have seen it change hands from stubby fingered hoarder to slim-wristed collector for outrageous prices. But lucky, lucky you: Butter Goose Press has recently re-printed the book complete with extra photos, wordage, etc. and it’s a real scalp scalder to see.

To celebrate the re-up of this classic, I talked to both Bri Hurley and Butter Goose Press proprietor/owner Chris Daily about those days--those fuckin‘ days--and here‘s what they had to say.

VICE: Bri, how did you first become involved with the New York Hardcore scene?
Bri Hurley: I had a neighbor on Norfolk Street--Charley Sclafani--the drummer for Ultra Violence. He invited me to a hardcore matinee to shoot his band. Told me I was on the guest list. When I got there, Ken Sly, the door man, thought I was trying to scam him, when I was just clueless. He shouted, "There is no guest list!" So I paid. The energy, the motion, the chaos, and the wave of sound all hooked me in. The visuals were rich and the energy amazing. I wanted to capture the texture and grit as well as the beauty of what I was seeing.

Chris, do you remember the first time you saw the original Making A Scene?
Chris Daily: I remember looking at it in See Hear every time I went in there to buy zines. Never bought it probably because of the cost at the time. At first glance I loved the cover photo, it was the perfect fit for the theme of the book. Hangout photos have always been a favorite of mine, no matter what scene or show, I just loved looking at the people there--the clothes, the styles, the demographics, the skateboards, the records they were holding, or the shirts they were wearing. The original book had some great shots, plus most of the shows in the book I was at, so it was always cool it was in a book.

What are some of your favorite shots from the book?
Bri Hurley: My favorite shots were ones that showed energy and motion. There is one picture of Straight Ahead, Tommy singing and charging around the stage. Another I like a lot is of Youth of Today’s singer, Ray, with his neck standing out in cords. A quiet shot of a mohawked Andrew sitting on the edge of the stage with the light shining off the drums behind him is also a favorite of mine.

Chris Daily: The cover shot of Jimmy Gestapo is one of my all-time favorites. There was no way I was going to take that off the cover. In the book, there is also a picture of them from the opposite side of the car which is kind of cool. There is some great Raybeez/Warzone photos. Bri seemed to take great live photos of Djinji from Absolution. The one photo of Roger Miret from Agnostic Front handing the mic out to the crowd is a cool shot. The skinheads standing with their backs against the wall just looks so classic to the time period. I am also really partial to so many of the pictures of people just outside CBs hanging out. It brings back a lot of the same memories I had at those shows. The bands were always great, but the hanging out with friends is what made the biggest impression on me. How did the original Making A Scene come about?
Bri Hurley: I was visiting my family in California, showing them the photos and wondering aloud what I would do with all these images. My father suggested I do a book. I made a partial mockup in an art pad and a press package. I sent the package out to every publisher that I could find who did photo books, and I scoured bookstores and took notes. Faber & Faber were interested. They were having some success with the book This Ain't No Disco about CBGB‘s. Between this and the timely nature of the material, they were willing to take a chance on an unknown photographer. I liked the women who were working on the book. but they made the decisions. That was very clear. They would listen and say "No" to my suggestions and requests. They controlled everything from the photo selection to the layout.

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How did this new edition of the book come about?
Chris Daily: My wife always says I am not happy unless I am doing some sort of side project. When I did the Everybody's Scene book it just made the most sense to publish it myself, so I formed a publishing company by just filling out some paper work. That book did OK and I made back the investment so I was just itching to do something else. I still really love that time period of the hardcore scene, documenting it in book format just appeals to me. I think I have every book about punk and hardcore that has ever been published, books are just cool. So I wanted to do another book and somehow thought about Making A Scene. I decided to try and find Bri just to see if she'd be interested and if so, did she have more photos than what was in the original publication? Let's face it, the original is cool, but it does not have a ton of photos, some are pretty dark, and it's pretty thin. I just figured Bri had to have more, and I was right. I scanned more than 1,300 negatives that she had shipped to me from San Francisco and Czech Republic.

Bri Hurley: I had felt burned a bit by Faber & Faber. I know I was lucky to get the original printed, but I had no interest in another of the same kind of contract, even though that contract was standard for a first book. Chris has been really patient and flexible in this new project. He has done great work with the new material. I am very happy with how it's come together. I have had binders of negatives stored in my parents' house for years. There was very little call for these images. I literally have thousands of images, many of which were never printed.

Order Making A Scene directly from Butter Goose Press and be sure to RSVP to the book release party at Santos’ Party House on October 22.