For many years now, the Bay Area has had one of the biggest and busiest hardcore scenes on the planet. In 2021, just as pandemic restrictions were starting to lift, the Bay Area bands Gulch, Drain, Sunami, and Scowl played an outdoor show in San Jose, and thousands of people showed up. That gig, presented as Real Bay Shit, has become a part of hardcore lore, and the RBS banner has united bands from across the Bay Area's hardcore, punk, and metal spectrum. Now, 17 different Bay Area bands have contributed unreleased tracks to a new benefit compilation that's raising money for Crossthread, a nonprofit that aims to open an all-ages DIY space in San Jose.
The new Real Bay Shit compilation features virtually every important Bay Area hardcore band that's active today, including Scowl, Sunami, Big Boy, Hands Of God, Spinebreaker, Extinguish, Doomsday, Outta Pocket, Foghorn, Field Of Flames, and Natural Human Instinct. Spy have a new song on the compilation even though it's coming out the same day as their own Seen Enough EP. As it happens, many of those bands are playing the upcoming RBS fest, which is coming to San Jose's Club Rodeo Rio and Berkeley's 924 Gilman over three days in April. Below, listen to Real Bay Shit and check out the festival flyer.
The Real Bay Shit comp is out now on Creator-Destructor, with physical copies coming in March or April.
