Hardcore for Husvar is a benefit concert that celebrates the life of Neil Husvar, godfather of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre hardcore music scene and a positive influence to many.
Photo Credit — Submitted by Hardcore by Husvar
Hardcore for Husvar takes place Sunday, May 25, at St. Mary’s Center with a full lineup of hardcore bands to honor Neil Husvar’s life and legacy.
Photo Credit — Submitted by Hardcore by Husvar
SCRANTON — Hardcore for Husvar is a benefit concert taking place at St. Mary’s Center over Memorial Day Weekend to honor the life of NEPA-native Neil Husvar as well as raise funds for Suicide Prevention.
Doors for the concert open at 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 25, featuring the bands Strength For a Reason, BURIAL GROUND, OPTION, Side Over, Fools Game, CHEATED and SoughWutt. This lineup is a mix of bands from years ago reuniting as well as younger bands all playing to support this cause close to their hearts. The proceeds from the concert will go to helping Neil’s family cover his final costs and 10% will go to Suicide Prevention.
Husvar was known as a mover and shaker in nurturing our local hardcore/metalcore music scene. His influence can still be heard here today, with our lasting love of metal shows that lives on.
Neil Husvar worked at Marc’s Tattooing for many years, was part-owner of The Diamond Club, not to mention, played in several hardcore bands over the years, including Side Over, The Way Down, Option, Stalemate, and Soulace. He was a father, a friend, and a graduate of Scranton Central High School.
“He always preached unity. He always wanted people to get along and unite, so I think this show is part of his legacy, for doing that,” said Kristin Martelli, Event Organizer.
Event Organizers and friends of Neil, Steve Gulbin, Aaron Ferranti, and Kristin Martelli said he touched people wherever he went — up and down California, into the New York hardcore scene, and all across Northeastern Pennsylvania. He seemed to know everybody, and he always went out of his way to help people and spread positive energy.
“He was all about always being there for your friends and family; he always had that in him. I honestly don’t know why –- I’m still wondering why this happened, but he was always that person that would be there for you.” said Aaron Ferranti.
All three Event Organizers had long friendships with Neil. Friends and former bandmates, Aaron and Steve knew him since 6th grade at North Scranton Intermediate School and he was in their lives ever since. Kristin met him at her first hardcore show in 1992. “These guys are all like my big brothers,” she said.
“He was an all-around great guy, always helping people out. He was always one to be a forefront in things –- like ‘Come on! You’re going with me, and you’re going to learn this’” said Aaron. “He was always a good friend and always had your back. He was a brother to me, really”
“He was a trendsetter,” added Steve. “He brought a lot of things into the area. He would always search out new things. He was one of the reasons I got into the hardcore scene.”
Neil was always ahead of the curve. He headlined the straight edge lifestyle in the area, a subculture in the hardcore punk scene that emphasizes clean living and abstinence from alcohol and drugs. He’d root out new music and trends that he brought to the area that still remain a cornerstone of NEPA’s night life to this day.
“Being that we were all kind of the misfits — he didn’t like bullies! He would never allow anyone to bully any of his friends, or anybody he would see on the streets. Literally, he didn’t have to know you, if he saw you getting bullied, he would be right there. He was always the one to stand up for people,” said Kristin.
The hardcore scene can often be misconstrued as about being “bad,” because we wear black and scream angsty lyrics, but bullying, fighting, and doing drugs is generally not tolerated and Neil embodied those values. You pick each other up in the pit, literally and figuratively.
“It’s nice to see all these young kids too that come into it and look at it in a good way, in a positive way,” said Aaron.
They hope Hardcore for Husvar can be a way for everyone to come together. Everyone can reunite as friends in a safe space to let it all out and just be themselves.
“This is our way to heal, this is how we do it,” said Steve. “There’s still a memorial on Friday before the show for the average person, but this is our memorial. This is the way we heal, this is the way we’re going to get through this. We came up together and we’re going to go through it together.”
In addition to the concert, a celebration of Neil’s life will be held at Solfanelli-Fiorillo Funeral Home Inc. on Friday, May 23, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Aaron added, “Hopefully too, this brings awareness to mental health and suicide, to call a friend and let them know that there’s something’s wrong. Hopefully the people there will take that out with them and take that back to their families. Anyone will listen to you, I guarantee it.”
This is a beautiful chance to come together with like-minded individuals to support a meaningful cause and honor such an important person in the local scene. If you’re having a tough time, please reach out and get that support. We all have our difficult moments, but in moments like these we need to talk about it too.
“It’s okay to not be okay, you don’t have to have all your sh** straight,” said Kristin. “There might not be something wrong with you, there might be something that happened to you and you’re having a normal trauma response to that!”
Everyone came together to put on this show. Hardcore for Husvar has mended relationships, bands, and has created so much unity surrounding this show. Steve, Aaron, and Kristin just knew they had to do this for his family, the idea for this show came naturally for them and they went to work.
“I don’t think he knew how much he did. He affected everybody’s life in a positive way, here anyway, I know that,” said Aaron.
Aaron Ferranti, now 52 years old, started melodic post-hardcore band Side Over in 1989 with Brian Craig who’s also since passed away. Then, Neil joined up and they all became close friends. They were just a bunch of kids having fun and they’re still doing it, as Side Over came out of hiatus just last month. It’s as good a time as any to reunite and come back together!
Steve Gublin was in most of his bands with Neil, and they have a long, rich, musical history together. They started off as Positive Energy (while Aaron had his first band, American Youth) and then they became hardcore band Option in 1991. Then, Neil and Steve started The Way Down in the late 90s. They played for a while as The Way Down and even got a call from Stillborn Records. Neil couldn’t be involved anymore at that point, but they went on with Stalemate and did some touring. When Stalemate broke up, they reformed with Neil and Brian Craig and did another version of Stalemate.
“We always had a love/hate relationship. You know how brothers are, brothers tend to butt heads a lot more. We got into our fair share of shall we say, ‘disagreements,’ but we always found our way back to each other. It always worked out,” said Steve.
Steve Gublin said they are grateful for all the bands coming together for Hardcore for Husvar this weekend. He said Strength For a Reason even cancelled a big show with national acts just to play this one for Neil and he’s excited to see all that positive energy from this diverse lineup of bands of all ages. He said this is the first time he’ll be on stage in 20 years and it’s Option’s first time playing in 25 years.
“There’s so many people reaching out and asking what they can do to help. It’s been not only cathartic but just completely therapeutic. It’s just been wonderful, my heart has been beaming with gratitude,” said Kristin.
Proceeds from Hardcore for Husvar at St. Mary’s Center will go to covering the final expenses for Neil and his family. 10% of the proceeds will go to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
“It’s amazing how people are responding to this, you can feel the love,” added Aaron.
Bring your positive attitude for this concert to honor Neil Husvar’s legacy. There will be raffles and shirts for sale, as well as shirts for pre-sale on Facebook. They’ll have all kinds of merch, including a memorial shirt for Neil as well as from bands such as Less Than Jake, the Dropkick Murphys and more. If you can’t make it, you can still donate through the Hardcore for Husvar Facebook.
“It sucks that this is why we’re doing this but in the same token, this is why we’re doing this,” said Steve. “It’s a time and a place to heal, get all our emotions out, get all our aggressions out. Leave all the bulls*** going in the world behind and just focus on this and just laugh, yell, scream, sweat, cry, whatever the hell we gotta to do get it all out — ”
“I hope everyone gets to heal from this,” said Aaron. “I hope everyone realizes we’re all here for them, any one of them. They could call me if they want, anybody if they have a problem and if I can help them, I will. I want it to be known that we care about our friends and our family and our scene.”
They care about their whole scene, young and old, and want everyone to know there are mental health resources available in many forms. If you’re not ready to talk, there are other ways to make yourself feel good; movement, yoga, breathing, and coming together in safe spaces like these. They hope they can normalize that kind of mental health awareness too, especially for men who are often less likely to take to self-care methods.
“Make it weird, tell your friends you love them and make it weird,” said Kristin. “We assumed because he had so many friends that he knew how much he was loved, so don’t hold back. You never know what someone is struggling with inside. Say it.”
Neil was one of the godfathers of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre hardcore scene mixed with that positive mental attitude. This benefit concert is proof that Neil’s influence is still felt today and appreciated by so many from all walks of life.
“I really truly believe that the hardcore scene, the way it is today in Northeastern Pennsylvania, would not have been when it was and it might not have been as big as it was if it wasn’t for him. Neil had a large, large part of that,’ said Steve. “That’s one of the things I want these younger kids going to shows to take out of this that this guy — he brought a lot of it to us and we kind of all ran with it.”
