New Jersey kids will always have a chip on their shoulders. It’s inevitable, growing up adjacent to the number 1 (New York) and 4 (Philadelphia) major markets in the country. Forever on the outside looking in, forever being looked down on. This constant sense of inferiority and alienation, along with some super talented men and women created fantastically fertile fields for the pop-punk scene to grow and thrive in the late 90s – early 00s. It was a beautiful fucking time to be alive. Every scene across the country holds a special place in the hearts of those who lived or witnessed it, but none compare to the talent sprouting up at each of the turnpike gates up and down the Garden State from 94-02. That scene, borne on the floors of places like the Wayne Firehouse, the Garfield American Legion and The Derby Firehouse witnessed the birth, rise and explosion of bands like Armor For Sleep, Bigwig, The Ergs!, Folly, The Gaslight Anthem, Lifetime, Midtown, My Chemical Romance, Saves the Day and Thursday among countless others and for those of us lucky enough to experience it, that scene in New Jersey was our world. (NJPP ARCHIVES)
On 7 June, New Jersey pop-punk is once again taking over the stage at the Derby Punk 25th Anniversary being hosted at Broken Goblet Brewery in Bensalem, PA featuring Jersey greats Catch 22, Humble Beginnings, Boxcar and more. (TICKETS) For one day, the NJPP scene travels back in time to relive the hope, energy and sounds we loved before careers, kids and expectations pulled us out of the New Brunswick basements and into the workforce, drowning.
TGEFM was lucky enough to speak with Travis Williams of SafeSceneNJ about the nonprofit he has helped create, their time in the NJPP scene and SafeSceneNJ’s sponsorship of the Derby Punks 25th Class Reunion.
“The years won’t say what happened to you” – Midtown – Come On
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! What should our readers know about SafeScene NJ? What are your ties to the NJ scene? What was the impetus to you creating the organization, whats the mission?
Thanks for having me! I’ll dive right in, SafeSceneNJ is a nonprofit harm reduction group. We started up back in august of last year with the primary focus of creating safer and more inclusive spaces around the NJ music community. We provide free harm reduction supplies, support, and resources to fans, artists, support staff, and venues around the state.
I grew up going to shows around central New Jersey for as far back as I can remember. In the early 00’s there was a huge boom in DIY punk and hardcore shows, and we were pretty lucky to see some great bands come out of that scene. I played in my fair share of shitty hometown punk bands and filled in for a few here and there, or helped out with shows when I could, but mostly I was just a fan, I loved having an escape Friday or Saturday nights as a kid.
But also from a young age, I got pretty roped into partying, as I got older that party seemed to never stop, we saw tons of our friends and people throughout the scene getting hooked on pills and whatever else they could get their hands on, and pretty quickly started overdosing. I eventually struggled with addiction myself. In 2020 I had made a decision to stop. I struggled pretty hard for the first few years, and when I came out on the other side and started getting involved in the scene, I saw a shift post Covid of harm reduction groups setting up at shows. Eventually volunteering with them, and then last year starting SafeSceneNJ to focus on smaller venues and more DIY spaces.
“Tramps like us, Baby, we were born to run” – Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run
NJ is such an interesting, diverse and generally under-appreciated place that has bred so much amazing music. Why do you think the area churns out so many brilliant musicians and songwriters?
We have it all, and we’re not afraid to mix it up. Diversity plays a huge role in that, we’ve got artists coming together from every community and background you can think of. People here aren’t afraid to experiment and find new sounds or work with artists out of their genre or comfort zone.
“God I Miss You, God I Miss This Place” – Lanemeyer – What A Shitty Summer
You are gearing up for the Derby Firehouse 25th anniversary reunion show. Whats your role at the show going to be? Why do you think 2025 is the right time for these bands to get back together for a night?
We’ll be there as a support vendor. Our main goal is to make sure people are safe, and educate anyone interested on harm reduction. The biggest challenge we try to tackle is breaking the stigma around harm reduction and drug use. We keep a lot of stuff on our table, but the number one goal is to teach people how to recognize and respond to an opioid emergency, and make sure they have the tools and information to help the people close to them and their community.
2024 seemed to really kick off this huge wave of nostalgia shows and reunion tours, it seems like during Covid people got really into revisiting things that made them comfortable in the past, and the fact that none of us had much to worry about 20-25 years ago makes it a perfect spot to go back to. What better way to let the weight of coming out of a global pandemic and into a rollercoaster of ressions and nonstop terrible news than to get together for a DIY punk show with all your favorite Jersey bands?
“We ran into some punky kids bought some beers. They showed us around under a bridge by the river. We got drunk and sang Clash songs we were saved” – Bouncing Souls – Here We Go
What have been some of the most memorable moments or experiences you had as part of SafeScene? What’s been the most unexpected? The weirdest?
We get to meet a lot of really cool people. We’ve been able to celebrate little victories, or cry over loss with fans and artist and really connected with a ton of amazing humans.
We’ve also been able to expand our programs to include more diverse events and even partner with great grassroots organizations for street outreach and community building.
There have been some weird or unexpected situations, but from an anonymity standpoint we’ll probably save that for the future.
“All those nights in the basement. The kids are still screaming” – Thursday – War All The Time
We’re all at very different stages in our lives now but this show gives us a chance to relive and reexperience our relationships with the bands. What do you hope the aging punks – and their kids – take away from the experience, aside from ringing ears and aching joints?
There’s a lot of shit going on in the world right now, and we have a constant flow of negativity on the tv, internet, anywhere we consume media. I think this just like any show is great because it breaks people away from whatever is going on outside of the bubble that the gig creates for a few hours, and reminds people that music is community. Everyone is there for their own reasons, but they have a lot of those reasons in common.
“Theres No Connection, Just Feelings Of Regret” – Bigwig – Girl In The Green Jacket
We’ve all got a few, what is your biggest regret? A gig you turned down, advice you didn’t take, what one thing do you wish you handled differently as an organizer or as part of this scene?
In the past few years I’ve learned a lot about myself, and I was pretty fucked up and angry for a long time. I wish I had the clarity 15 years ago that I have now, and was able to react to how the the community was struggling then, but I’m happy to be here now and be able to share my experiences with others and help them find the right tools to deal with what’s going on in their world.
“We should try to reestablish that connection that we made” – Saves The Day – Hot Time In Delaware
The Derby reunion is a smorgasbord of fantastic acts. Who are you most excited to see? Alternatively, what NJPP acts not on this bill would you most highly recommend our readers check out?
I’m super stoked to see Boxcar and Go Real Slow!
If I had a wishlist of NJPP bands to put on this bill I’d probably go with BigWig, The Youth Ahead, The Ergs!, and The June Spirit. If I could throw a beer band on there I’d say ERRTH, they rip!
“And my legacy will be one that keeps pushing me away” – Lifetime – The Truth About Lars
What do you see as the legacy of the Derby shows and the other countless firehouse and hall shows across NJ, and the artists who played them?
Firehouse and VFW shows literally gave punks their own economy and the bands that were there every Friday or Saturday night gave a voice and a sense of community to a whole lot of people who didn’t feel like they had it. It also gave a jumpstart to a lot of great bands that are still touring full time today. I’m stoked to see so many DIY venues still going and happy to see that bands I grew up with are able to come back for a night, so all of us “old heads” can get together and sing along again.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/