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| Photo of Next Step Up by Kate Frese |
"Where has it gone?"
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There are 30 years of Baltimore hardcore kids who know that it's about to go OFF when that question gets asked from the stage. They may not be the most famous band from Charm City hardcore, nor the most coolest, but Next Step Up might be the most beloved. Of all the bands from their heyday, they're the ones I revisit the most, mostly on the back of their second and final LP, "Fall From Grace".
Tough guy hardcore wasn't super attractive to me, in spite of how many shows I went to in that scene. But there's something magical about NSU. Is it how many times I'd end up in a dog pile with my friends in front of J.R.? Is it their underdog status, reflective of the prevailing opinion of Baltimore's scene throughout the 90s? When I moved to town in '94, they not only were the top band; they were the ones that'd play in the youth center, in the VFW. They were us, just a few years older, and there was no rock star bullshit to them. So that's why we traveled to see them: west to the 180 Club in Hagerstown, down to Dundalk and Golden Ring, and to the Capital Ballroom in the sketchiest part of DC. It's why we were willing to give veganism and Krishna a chance, and where we got the bravery to stand up against neo-Nazis. They set an example to emulate, if not to follow, even if they sometimes scared the shit out of me.
I often think about what I'd do if I had some money to blow on restarting my label. I believe that reissuing NSU's catalog would be foremost on my mind. Their recordings deserve to be remembered, remastered, and shared. That's as high praise as I can offer.
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