Florida Rules Fest coming to Tampa in June!

After the success of the "Florida Rules!" compilation, Tampa Bay are promoter Significant Recs is putting together Florida Rules Fest 2013 on June 14th and June 15th at The Orpheum in Tampa. One of the current highlights of the fest is the reunion of Actions Speak Louder (Featuring Jesse of xKISS THE BARRELx and Until The End). 28 bands have already been announced for the event with more bands to be announced at later date. Personally, I am hoping to see the addition of Out Of Sorts, Old Habits, Coldside and Terrorist to this event. Im an encouraging all fans of the Florida local music scene, no matter where you are located to make it out to this event. Significant Recs has been putting together some great shows in the area (especially the Harvest show at Transitions Art Gallery), so get to this even and support your favorite Florida band since they are likely going to be performing. Stay up to date on information for Florida Rules Fest 2013 by going to their Facebook event page at: http://www.facebook.com/events/164892113657225/?fref=ts

The current Florida Rules Fest 2013 lineup is:
Actions Speak Louder (Reunion)
Aversion
Betterment
Blacksmith
Blistered
Brain Bust
Cold Hearted
Escapist
Fortitude
Forty Winters
Harbinger
Hardware Youth
Landbridge
Losin' It
Losing Vision (Reunion)
Our Kind
Rotting Palms
Set Free
Slow Burn
Strengthen What Remains
Suitcase City
Super Mutant
Ten Fifty
Vices
Weight Of The World
We're Not Dead
With Increase
Worn Out

My first and fondest memory in the Florida Hardcore Scene

Back when I was a teenager, I used to go to Spankys and Rays Downtown Blues on a weekly basis for local shows. Usually I would go with my buddy Christian but this night in 2003 I went alone for probably the first time. I was still new to the hardcore scene so I didn't really know all the bands playing. I saw 2 kids from school there, Josh Simkowitz and John Park and remember them telling me their bands were playing. Keep in mind I was still fairly new to the hardcore scene but I remember thinking to myself "these guys don't look like hardcore kids, I came to the wrong show", I stayed anyway to support these guys because they were cool guys and they were the only guys in Forest Hill who would talk to me since I was more of an outsider. Josh's band went on first, they were called So I Say Goodbye(who went on to become known as Hearts Over Rome) and when they played their first song "James Is A Sinner", I was blown away! I remember thinking "Wow man! We have bands like that in West Palm Beach?". Immediately after their set, Josh came up to me, patted me on the back and asked me what I thought of them and I went on to say I was blown away. He laughed and said "I bet when you first got here, you looked at me and said what the hell are these emo kids doing here". That performance and how cool Josh and the rest of his band was with me set the tone for the night and set the tone for what made me a proud fan and supporter of the hardcore scene for the next 9 years and beyond. John's band "The Hatchet Lady" went on next, and again I was blown away. I remember thinking how much their sound reminded me of ZAO which was one of my favorite bands at the time. The next 3 bands are the bands that locked me in as a hardcore fan for life, Remembering Never, Target Nevada and All Hell Breaks Loose. Remember Never hit the stage next, this was not long after they released "She Looks So Good In Red", their first album with former guitarist Mean Pete taking over on vocals this was still more than a year before they would release "Women And Children Die First" which garnered a lot of recognition for them. I remember being amazed by these guys and spent about $40 at their merch booth getting music and shirts while talking to Pete and introducing myself to them. Next was Target Nevada, another very heavy band whose vocalist also reminded me of ZAO, I picked up their 2 song "Something Nasty EP". What happened next is a moment I would never forget. All Hell Breaks Loose was getting ready to perform and suddenly Spankys went from half empty to completely packed then a huge pit opened up in the center ith about 20 to 30 people pacing back and forth as all you can hear was the feedback from CHIPxSEM's guitar building up more and more before one simple power chord hit and the crowd erupted. For the next 30 minutes I stood there watching in awe as AHBL tore the venue down. After their set I thanked CHIPxSEM and Alex from AHBL for putting on such an amazing show, I know it must have meant nothing to them but to me, that was the night I became a hardcore kid and a life long fan and die hard supporter of this scene. Seeing the kids at these shows with such a strong sense of camaraderie and unity made me feel at home during what was probably one of the most difficult times of my life. Shows and memories like that are the reason I support local bands and do what I can to get these bands as much exposure as I can give them.