It was a heather grey Chevy Avalanche that pulled into the parking space to my right. The light pole that was nearest to the center of the parking lot illuminated the driver’s left side of his face: mid 20’s, pale skin, definitive jawline, black and white trucker hat and a jean long sleeve button down shirt. The passengers, including a woman with a big Texas hairdo, 6-inch heels and jeggings, pouring out of the truck and speaking loudly about her friend with bad taste in men. I checked my camera bag a few times to make sure that I have everything I needed. As the loud group walked away from their vehicle, I began fumbling around for my 1 oz bottle of Armani. In the recent months, I reintroduced cologne to my evening outfits, it feels good to know I smell good. The sky was too dark for the night to be so young, the mid to low 50-degree wind didn’t feel as terrible as I assumed walking down Crowdus St. The usual Deep Ellum crowd occupied the sidewalks; lively and festive, on their short evening journey of moderately bad decisions with friends and foes. As I approached Club Dada, I noticed a line long enough for me to have the urge to cut in front of people. Fortunately, Patrick was covering the door. As I approached him, he was in a conversation with an individual. The moment he recognized me; he slapped a wrist band on me without breaking the conversation. Shoulder to shoulder traffic filled the sidewalk and the line grew larger within seconds. I refused to walk all the way to the end, so I stood right where I was, near the door.

Ty Yarborough at Club Dada — Ty Yarborough

I decided to get a smoothie with a friend before entering the show, two hours passed since the last time I ate food and my stomach made sure I was aware. Fortunately, we made back just in time, right before Ozone was about to perform. From an outsider’s perspective, the crowd at the show heighten levels of curiosity to those who are unaware of different subcultures. Amongst the sea of people were eccentric personalities and styles that draped the bodies of colorful individuals that stood idly. Beyond the differences in height and weight, the odd blend of ethnicities, 90’s fashion and band apparel possess a bit of a tribal look to an outsider. The Nikon D750 was cradled in my right hand, waiting just as much as myself as the space became to fill with participants. I began to feel the intensity in that moment, the anticipation rising steadily. The energy began escalating, you were able to tell how the moshers were by the readiness in their eyes. Briefly, I questioned my location; I was standing right behind the row of people that shaped the border of the pit. I took a deep breath and before I knew it, and the energy exploded in the pit. This was a packed show, and the amount of people crammed in with just enough room to mosh was a spectacle to witness. As I began to capture these awesome moments, I moved a bit forward and we ended up behind the 4 1/2-foot speaker that was on the floor, adjacent to the stage. From there I was able to get close up shots on the band members. Watching Ozone for the first time on stage, I was in awe to say the least. It was almost as if they were the headliners and after they were done, it was time to go home. Their stage presence is unmatched, young veterans ripping the stage with experience and prestige. It was difficult to not admire Joe’s fresh haircut standing in front of energetic hardcore kids screaming into the mic. Ty resembled a rockstar from the way he was exercising his flawless skill on the guitar, as if it’s second nature, hereditary. Their set continued to reach a higher level of intensity as it carried on. The pit was becoming too close for comfort, so I walked the barricade that separated the band gear for the standing room area to take better shots. This was perfect because I was able to see what the band member sees, the entire room. This gave me the opportunity to capture goofy mosh photos. There was a detectable level of Texas pride that filled the room while Ozone was on stage, it was unmatched. The intensity behind the riffs, along with the southern style heaviness is signature for a handful of Texas bands. The chaos in the pit contained the “I don’t give a fuck” Lone Star spirit and Ozone was the captain of the troop

The remnants of energy from the Ozone set carried on after they made their exit, which ended up hovering over the crowd like a layer of fog on an autumn morning. The remainder of the night continued to carry on as usual, seeping into my consciousness. I was at home amongst friends in local venue that I frequently visit. It wasn’t long before I noticed I was tracing my steps over and over with a trail of smiles trailing behind. Regional Justice Center began to perform; I never heard of their music, but I was pleasantly surprised their performance. Had I known I was standing 5 feet away from the band members, I would’ve displayed a bit of southern hospitality and introduced myself. The next and final band to perform was God’s Hate. For obvious reasons, there was much to anticipate. If God’s Hate played in North Texas before, I wasn’t aware, but if this was their first time here then it made every bit of sense. Every other moment felt like a scene in the climatic part of an action-packed movie as God’s Hate ripped the stage. Bodies were flying over heads every 30 seconds, moshers were delivering faux MMA spinkicks to each other, wild hooks and windmills were present for any unaware participants. There was so much mayhem taking place, I was unable to keep my head from spinning. Situations are like this are truly for hardcore kids only. What kind of person enjoys being that close to participants losing their minds? Beats me

It felt like a moment passed and within the blink of an eye, the show reached its end. Friends began spilling out of the front door while a large group of others stayed behind to chit chat. The night felt young, and I had more energy than I expected. It was imperative for me to get Ozone together for a little conversation before they left. I ran across the street to drop something off and I hopped back into the venue to head towards the back. Fortunately, all of Ozone was there so our conversation could commence.

We huddled around the wood picnic table that sat in front of the outside stage of Club Dada. Throughout the night, I wondered many times how cool it would be to host the smaller version of a festival, occupying both stages. At the beginning of the conversation, Ozone stated that majority of the members came from previous Fort Worth bands, including Sold Short and Survival Method. Outside of those bands, each member has known one another since high school. Things began to click immediately after it was brought to my awareness: those bands were the precursor of Ozone. I was surprised it went over my head, but nonetheless, I treated the information like a vital piece of Texas hardcore history for the future

Pre- Pandemic Beginnings

Joe’s short blonde hair was glowing under a light source above us as he began the brief origin story. He approached guitarist Ty Yarborough about the idea of forming a hardcore band in late 2019, two or three months before the pandemic reached America. They both agreed on the influential sounds of No Warning, Madball, Hatebreed, Snapcase while incorporating a fun, catchy vibes, inspiring catchy choruses. When the describing the direction of the sound that Ozone possesses, he expresses his observation of Texas bands with a prominent, metallic tinge. It fueled his desire to push for a more “true blue” hardcore sound. At first it was Joe, Ty and drummer Blake Mastus. Unfortunately, Blake had to quit the band. Josaf, former drummer of Survival Method, came back to town and Ty asked him to join. It seemed it was inevitably perfect timing for Josaf to drum for Ozone. As far as the lyrics go, they are a true testament to the ethos of hardcore; straight- forward, honest, and relatable.

Positive Feedback, surprisingly

Ozone released their first ep, June 22, 2020 via Bandcamp. Twitter was flooded with the Ozone bandcamp link along with the newest band in Ft Worth Hardcore stampeding in the ear drums of North Texas. There feedback was nothing short of positive. Ozone received nothing less of local, organic love, the love that a newly anointed king would receive in front of townspeople that crowned him. They considered the release a soft drop, considering the fact they weren’t able to play shows at the time.

Over a year later, July 29th to be exact, was Ozone’s first show at J&J’s Pizza. I didn’t attend but from judging by the photos and what friends mentioned, it was an insane turnout. Participants jam- packed from wall to wall as chaos ensued. It wasn’t hard to tell that Ozone had an amazing first show. Afterward they headed out to Chicago and St Louis to show them what Ft Worth Texas was all about. Surprisingly, in both cities where no one knew who they were, they received positive feedback there as well, very similar feedback in comparison to the local scene. “Not to brag or anything, but we haven’t played bad set yet,” Ty says. “Yea, we haven’t played a lot of shows, I’m just overwhelmed at the fact that we are a new band, and we are receiving so much positive feedback from it.”

Coreruption Records

Formally known as Inside Knowledge Zine, Coreruption Records is a San Antonio record label that kept their eye on Ozone and showed interest in the band. As Inside Knowledge, the zine wanted to put out tapes for Ozone’s 2nd ep. Eventually the zine decided that they were going to be a record label, it made more sense to make that move. They proposed the idea to Ozone about being their first band on their roster and Ozone accepted. The decision fit like Cinderella’s glass shoe. Coreruption is just as new as Ozone is and with forces colliding, it would help gain exposure for both parties , concluding a win win. “They are really cool guys and easy to work with”, Ty says., “we are planning on doing something in the future with them".

Hardcore at heart

From the beginning, it was clear to each of the members that are going to keep Ozone hardcore and had no desire to branch out of the genre. It comes from something deeper than the music for them. Members of Ozone had made hardcore apart of their lives, like eating and breathing. Just like me, the spirit of hardcore is embedded within us and it continues to be somewhat prominent in our lives. To Josaf, hardcore is an outlet that propelled him to question and challenge things more. It opened his eyes to a manageable perspective of the essence of a community: family oriented, support, togetherness and lasting friendships. Joe and Ty hold similar views to Josaf. Ty adds in the artistic aspect is one of the other things that grasps him about hardcore and emphasizes hardcore can bring an individual to dig deeper and challenges what’s around you. Mikey was coming from the death metal scene and didn’t attend hardcore shows until he was about 19 or 20. It became a way for him to fully express himself in the way he wasn’t able to at any other show. It became a full outlet for him to release all the pent-up emotions he had for that month. Together, Ozone plans to maintain the hardcore ethos and make it a place for people to engage in a welcoming, communal environment and to have fun.

Check out Ozone’s music if you haven’t yet

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