In the late 90s and early 2000s, there was a strong straight edge movement which was spreading across the schools in Salt Lake and Provo. Being a small town boy from Kamas, I hadn’t been exposed to the ideas or music until my freshman year of college when I met my roommate who was active in the Salt Lake scene. I gravitated to early punk music and punk culture based on the exposure to some Rhino DIY compilation albums which included the Jam, Television, X-Ray Specs, and the Ramones. I thought I was pretty hip to what punk music was until David introduced me to hardcore bands like Sick of It All, Minor Threat, H2O, and local bands Triphammer and xClearx.

It’s no wonder why an aggressive movement like straight edge had a strong appeal in Utah with a strict adherence to no Drugs or Alcohol. As a self-identified misfit, the thought of a tribe where you could belong regardless of how you looked, dressed, or acted; with the only condition to live a clean lifestyle resonated strongly with me. Also, as Mormon boy, I already qualified to the clean lifestyle. Lord knows I welcomed a support system with the incoming pressures of drinking and pot seemingly all around me. To further increase the appeal, there was a counter culture music scene which involved bazaar mosh pit rituals.

While I still identify with the straight edge ideas, I’ve never really became active in the straight edge movement.  However, I enjoy the strong imagery of marking X’s on hands. Marking Xs came from the practice of club owners marking underage patrons with an X to indicate to the bartender, no alcohol was to be served. This symbol was adopted by the straight edge as a symbol of clean lifestyle. 

Like other young movements, zealots and extremism led to some dark episodes. Observing from afar, I was impressed how mob mentality, youth, and violence can take seemingly righteous idea and turning them on their head.  After returning back to school from a weekend break, David recounted a story of a state street encounter, where some words were exchanged because one kid was smoking or made some off color response to a straight edge kid. This quickly escalated into fighting which left the non-straight edge kid dead from extremely violent stab wounds and a returned Mormon missionary facing a life of prison. As the years continue on, many of the most influential Straight Edge kids would be seen at parties drinking and doing drugs. These once important ideals that they treasured and killed for were soon eroded by time.

The song Drawing X’s and the song Run from the last album are looking back at those times, and the feelings that were so charged. In today’s climate of liberal and conservative views, I see and feel how people are ready for a fight to defend their tribe. I understand it. However, sometimes we’re just kids working it all out. There is real danger and consequences when civil discourse and kindness ends.  When I look back at the Straight Edge scene in the late 90s, the vitriol has now subsided.  Straight Edge continues, however there are few remnants from the late 90s scene other than some choice tattoos, and a one or two paragraph article in the tribune.  To the boy who is dead, and the man who is likely coming up on his 20 year parole. Their unyielding hate xclearlyx wasn’t worth it.