Moving to a new place is hard. Moving to a new music scene is even harder. This is especially so in punk. Punk kids like to hide, keep things DIY and typically lurk in the underbelly of big cities. Finding your first few shows with no connections can certainly be a trying experience. In Richmond, hardcore shows are relatively easy to find out about but on every flyer or facebook event invite the location is listed as “ask a punk.‰” It’s rumored that in some cities the crusties only use myspace to communicate and promote shows. I’ve even heard whispers of DC wanting to start promoting shows through flyers only.

In every new city simply finding the scene can be the hardest part. Being a school filled with students from every corner of the globe, almost every AU student can relate to starting over and having to find a new crowd to fit in with. For most of us coming to DC was our big move away from home. For Will Hoffinger, who grew up around these parts, his big move was to Burlington, Vermont for his first few years of college.

TC: What do you study here at AU?

Will: I am majoring in Film and minoring in video journalism.

Where did you transfer here from?

Burlington College in Burlington, Vermont.

What was your first experience/adventure into the music scene there?

I immediately got an internship at a local non-profit that supported local music and an independent local radio station. I was a part of their videography team and my first experience was filming a metalcore band play a concert at a skate park.

How did you get involved?

I kept working, interning at the non profit but I also started working on a local cable show that focused on interviewing and filming the concerts of alternative acts that came to Burlington.

What’s going on there music-wise? Genres, Cool bands, etc..

The scene there is mostly jam band music because that is where the band Phish came from. Also funky bluegrass and basically any type of stoner music because it is Vermont. I would recommend listening to some of the post-hardcore and hardcore punk bands there though because they have a few good ones with so much to prove. My Revenge and Get a Grip are my favorites.