About calihardcore.com:
Sometime around 1996 or 1997 I started to become interested in website design and website programming after signing up for a free website and hosting. For whatever reason I picked up HTML coding very easily and the first page I wanted to make was something music based. More specificly I wanted to make something that showcased the local San Francisco Bay Area hardcore scene which I had discovered a few years earlier in 1994. For the first few months as I sharpened my HTML programming skills, the site was only focused on O.B.H.C bands (Oakland Brand Hardcore) which most of the Bay Area bands were considered even if they weren't exactly from Oakland. I decided that was too small of a scope so I then expanded the site to include all Northern California bands. That lasted another couple of months and then I decided to open the site up to all hardcore bands from the state of California.
The first year or so the site resided on the free website host (angelfire.com [no longer active]), followed by the domain name of my record label and distro, True Strength (truestrength.com [no longer active]). By 1998 the site transfered over to where it has sat since, www.calihardcore.com. Officially, the name of the site is Calihardcore.com however it is also known as, "California Hardcore."
The content of Calihardcore.com has always basically been the same but sometime around 2002 I added the archive of old and current show flyers which has turned out to be one of the most popular sections of the site. A listing of bands, shows, news, photos, reviews, etc. has been a part of the site since the begining.
About creator/editor/writer/designer Nick Martinson:
Well, the somewhat short version of my life as it pertains to the hardcore scene is this... in 1994 at the age of 15, I was a big fan of metal bands like Slayer, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Obituary, etc. and had not yet been exposed to hardcore or punk music. I had been to been to a few concerts like Metallica, Pantera and Danzig but hadn't been to small club sized show. In March of that year a friend of mine got free tickets to see D.R.I at the Berkeley Square on University Avenue in Berkeley. That night changed my life because an unknown band to me called Powerhouse opened up and introduced me to hardcore. I bought their demo and nearly wore the cassette out from playing it so much. From there on out I went to every Powerhouse show I found out about and from going to those shows I discovered more and more hardcore bands.
Around 1996 I started taking a lot of photos and writing for various local zines. In 1997 I started True Strength Records and Distro which lasted until 2002. I could often be seen at shows selling merch and if I wasn't selling stuff I was up front screaming along to whoever was playing. I went to nearly every hardcore show in the San Francisco Bay Area from 1995-2002 having tons of fun in the process and meeting many cool people. Also in 1995, I decided that “straight edge” was the path for me and I have proudly remained “true” to this day.
In August of 2002 I made the huge decision of moving from my home in Concord, CA to New Orleans, LA where I still live today. The January prior I had ended True Strength Distro, selling off the last of the records, zines and CDs I had on eBay. With no job lined up or any friends, relatives, or contacts in New Orleans off I went... the only thing making me think twice about leaving was the hardcore scene and my close family.
It's 2010 now and I hardly consider myself part of the hardcore scene any more. I am merely just a witness and documenter of what is still going on. I have nothing but great memories of my life in the hardcore scene. To me, the most important part of the hardcore scene is going to shows and being a part of them. It doesn't matter if you're in a band, a photographer, a writer, a casual listener or whatever, if you're not at the shows singing along and being involved somehow, you ain't a part of the scene.
