General Violence Conference Brings the Brutality in its Third Year

Returning for its third year, General Violence Conference (GVC) is a communal celebration of punk in all its iterations. The fest has been growing every year, with hardcore heroes Racetraitor headlining this year’s second night. Other acts, such as Tacoma’s Wake of Humanity, are GVC veterans. Hard to place sonically, their music is a mix of hardcore, metal, some grind and some D-beat, and it’s exactly this sonic variety that’s drawn them back to Salt Lake for another year.

“All of a sudden, post-pandemic, there’s so many people booking tours, booking shows, booking fests,” says Wake of Humanity vocalist Chris LaPointe. “But the thing that I like, that’s happening a lot now, is we’re being asked to play shows in fests like GVC, where it’s not your typical hardcore lineups. And I love what they did like last year. There’s punk bands, there’s hardcore bands, there’s crust bands and grind bands, metal bands, doom bands… and that’s the kind of stuff that I’m into, mixed bills and bringing different facets of our wider community together because we’re always stronger if we’re working together.”

“There’s punk bands, there’s hardcore bands, there’s crust bands and grind bands, metal bands, doom bands… and that’s the kind of stuff that I’m into, mixed bills and bringing different facets of our wider community together because we’re always stronger if we’re working together.”

Drawing from lessons learned in previous years, GVC 2024 is two days—April 26 at The Art Garden and the 27 at The Beehive. This marks a departure from previous years, where GVC was just one day. “Last year, we had a pre-show event at Aces High Saloon … and then we had a full day: doors at 11 [a.m.], and I think it went to 11:30

at Art Garden. That were two stages, so every local, non-headlining act had 15 minutes on each stage, and I found that it was way too fucking much to organize all these bands—especially touring bands—when they’re just getting into town… I just thought it was too chaotic and touring bands didn’t get enough time. So this year, the average day will be doors for music at 5:00 p.m., one stage, both days,” explains Anderson.

When I ask what it was like wrangling last years’ conference, Andrew Earley of The Beehive and AAMP Utah succinctly tells me, “I was losing my fucking head. I was fucking dying.”

“I think we all did a really good job of keeping each other in check,” says BeanKat Aleman, an event organizer and founder of Yallt Entertainment who is instrumental in making GVC a reality. “So if one person was freaking out, another person was calming that person down and vice versa, you know, so I think we all worked really well together as a team to make sure that nobody was absolutely losing their mind.”

“I think we all worked really well together as a team to make sure that nobody was absolutely losing their mind.”

Aleman is one of the village of friends and allies involved in bringing the event together, a crew that spans everyone from bartenders to medics. Not dissuaded by our two seemingly irreconcilable schedules, I interviewed Aleman over the phone while they shopped at Trader Joe’s.

“I’m the kind of person that there’s an idea proposed to me, I just say, ‘Alright you son of a bitch, let’s go,’” she says. “There’s not really ‘no’ in my vocabulary, which sometimes can be my downfall, but I also think that’s why [Anderson] and I work so well together. We both have a hard time saying no, and if there’s a will there’s a way, so we really strive to make it happen.” Passion, independence and commitment to the hardcore community are what keep GVC going, a refreshing change in ethos in the era of mega-festivals and entertainment giants.

“It doesn’t turn a profit at all. In fact, I lost last three or four hundred dollars last year and a lot of fucking time,” Anderson says. “I do it because it gives me something to get sucked into. I mean I’m touring and I work, but I just like bringing these bands to Utah and providing something for an all-ages event where you wouldn’t be able to see these bands at any other point, y’know?”

When I ask what Anderson’s hopes are for future General Violence Conferences, he expresses that mostly he would like to see some of the same bands, such as Wake of Humanity, continue to come through. He hopes to keep it a show of camaraderie while growing sustainably and not sacrificing their values. He also says he wouldn’t mind breaking even next time.

“Since we don’t have that ‘no’  in our vocabulary—as ambitious as it is—why not go even harder?” ponders Aleman. “It’s always been something I’ve been passionate about. Even [in] the brief moments that I thought I’d sell out and get a real job—there was no fucking way. I just went back to doing this because I feel like my life doesn’t make sense, and I don’t make sense, without art, music and culture.” 

General Violence Conference takes place on April 26 at Art Garden and April 27 at The Beehive. Get tickets to this year’s festival to catch Whatsdysmorphia (CA), Polish (CO) and Wake of Humanity (WA) on Friday here and to see Racetraitor (IL), Slut Bomb (OH) and Blacktracks (WA) here.

Read more about community in the local hardcore scene:
Mike Farnsworth: Building Community Across Two Worlds
Transfeastival 11.19 @ The Beehive