Chris Daily’s “Everbody’s Scene” is a remarkable book that revisits the history of Anthrax, the famed Connecticut art and music venue from the early and mid 80s. Daily is no latecomer, as he formerly owned the hardcore label Smorgasbord Records, which got its start as a zine in Stamford in 1986 and turned to records in 1988.  Unlike books that have set out to document particular bands (like Michael Azerrad’s must-read “Our Band Could Be Your Life,” or 2009′s very excellent “Burning Fight” by Brian Petersen), bands are not the primary focus with “Everybody’s Scene,” and it’s a refreshing change of pace. Club owners Brian and Shaun Sheridan are the main protagonists to the story of Anthrax and their heroics in keeping an all-ages venue alive despite three different locations, a shady landlord, and the lopsided fight against the teeth of small-town local politics, makes for a compelling and emotional read. If you’ve ever been to a show at an all-ages DIY-oriented club or have experienced the loss of one, especially a “scene defining locale” (and that likely includes everyone reading this), “Everybody’s Scene” hits home with wistful appreciation.

Daily’s in-depth recounting of the club’s history brings out some heavy hitters, with Moby providing the foreword, and generous story telling from hardcore luminaries as Kevin Seconds, Ray Cappo and John Porcelly, as well as detailed entries from club attendees, photographers and volunteers. YOUTH OF TODAY flourished at Anthrax and there’s no doubt that the straight-edge hardcore movement of the mid-to-late 80s gained steam from this venue, which filtered downstream into the realm of New York Hardcore and was the early ground-zero for Revelation Records. At least half of the 208 page book is made up of high-quality photographs from various shows and of images of kids just being kids… hanging out in front or in back of the venue, lining up in the parking lot, and just capturing the time and place of something special. What’s amazing to me in looking at the photographs is just the general youth of everyone involved. It’s not hard to figure out where “youth crew” got its name from. When I started going to shows at 14 on Long Island, I never thought about how young I was or the age of everyone else involved. We just went out to catch bands, revel in our own myopic ‘underground’ and have fun with it. The innocence radiates though the eyes of almost everyone involved… it’s gotta be a trip for some of the people featured in this book to revisit these photographs.

Notably, the layout to “Everybody’s Scene” was done by Jon Field, former guitarist for the NY straight-edge hardcore band UP FRONT. The clean and classy layout will have you speeding through the book in no time. Music venues inspire because they usher in the creation of art and help promote the existence of a counter-culture. We never tend to appreciate them until their gone. The heartbreak of losing a trusted space hurts for years and years. “Everybody’s Scene” does its part in putting in a word for the past, with a subconscious instruction on what must be preserved for the future.

Everybody’s Scene