i really started to pick up around 97/98 as far as what youd consider a scene.
everyone was vegetarian/vegan and/or straight edge back then and it was all about running shoes, hoodies, jncos and earth crisis. activism played a huge part in the scene back then and it was common to see tables at shows with literature about whatever causes were fashionable back then.
then around 2000 fashion plagued the scene, everyone was breaking edge and veg and either wanted to look rockabilly or like a bitch and activism and the message took the backseat to vanity, looking "cool" and listening to shitty bands like everytimeidie and eighteen visions.
but traditional hardcore and the message is on the way back.
