This year marks the 25th anniversary of the East Coast F U tour. In 1999, hardcore band H20 from New York and punk band The Bouncing Souls from New Jersey embarked on this tour, which helped spread their name and music along the East Coast.
The Bouncing Souls formed in 1989 and H20 formed in 1994. Both bands are integral to shaping the sounds of modern punk and hardcore, with many bands and artists citing them as influences. Three decades later ,and they both still draw legions of fans to see them perform.
On the first iteration of this tour, they came to Fort Lauderdale. Twenty-six years later, they return with a local musician opening for them who's also one of the many artists they inspired.
"[The Bouncing Souls] were the first punk band I ever heard, and I saw them on my 17th birthday at Revolution [Live]," Jeremy Andrew Hunter said. "So it's kind of one of those full circle moments where I'm like, 'I can't believe I'm playing this stage with one of the first punk bands I ever heard.'"
Jeremy, better known on stage as Jer, is a multi-instrumental musician from Pembroke Pines in Broward County. They grew up as an active member of South Florida’s do-it-yourself music scene.
Alongside their musical project Jer, they also play trombone for the Michigan ska-punk band "We are the Union," and they reimagine popular songs as ska songs on their cover project Skatune Network.
Fans online nicknamed Jer the "CEO of Ska" due to their fervor in not only uplifting the genre's current acts but also teaching listeners about its roots and history.
Their parents made them play with their middle school band even though they didn’t want to at the time.
“ They did not let me quit until at least my sophomore year of high school,” they said. "But by then I was already super into making music.”
Around that same time in 2010, Jer saw live music for the first time. They attended Florida Supercon and saw Gainesville's ska-punk legends, Less Than Jake, which was their first time seeing live music. It completely changed their perspective.
At this same show, they were introduced to South Florida’s local scene by two local Miami and Broward bands — Enrique’s Revenge and Cerveza. These two bands led Jer to their second-ever show later that year, a show in Weston.
It was a backyard show thrown by Jared, and he wasn't even in a band. He just wanted to host a show in his mother's backyard.
“ That was going into my sophomore year … My friends still talk about this show,” they said. “The show had probably like 200 kids in that backyard. Some people that I still play music with to this day, I met in that backyard."
These experiences led Jer to where they are now. They play trombone in the Michigan ska-punk band We Are The Union, and they have a project where they make ska covers of popular non-ska songs. With Jer’s solo project, they aim to bring a fresh take to the sound of ska-punk.
Jer’s band is ever rotating, as members change depending on where in the country they play and who can take the time off work to join the tour. This band, made up of musicians from across the country, represents Jer’s belief in diversity and fostering community and growing together with the people around you.
None of Jer’s songs are performed the same way live twice because they have different members playing live each time.
“ That's something that I really love, like, you could see a different lineup of the band playing the same exact song, but they're all putting their different flavor on it,” they said. “ We have members of the band who come from Latino-Caribbean backgrounds, Mexican backgrounds, very Afro-Caribbean backgrounds … And every single person kind of brings their own to the band, and they float their ideas in."
In August, Jer released their second album, Death of the Heart. Part of Jer’s mission is to reimagine ska and ska-punk, and on this record, they mix a variety of sounds.
READ MORE: Miami ska-punk trailblazers celebrate 25 years of prescient 'Resistance'
From hardcore, indie pop, hip-hop, jazz and more, the multi-genre album provides an introspective look at community, empathy and apathy through its sonic landscape.
From L-R: Guitarist Ricky Weber, drummer Elwood Bond, saxophonist Emily Williams, Jer and keyboardist Estaban Flores
Jer screams, sings and raps all over Death of the Heart, fully expressing their artistic identity.
“ There was a period in a version of this record where I kind of got stuck because I was trying to hone in the genre a little more, like I need to make ska music, this is a ska record, a ska project,” they said. "And I realized the project is named Jer, I am Jer, and it'd be disingenuous to me as an artist to not include parts of my artistry.”
During the album’s production, they were listening to hip-hop artists like A Tribe Called Quest and jazz artists like Charles Mingus, which helped their creativity flow. Jer said that this lets the album jump between 10 genres in 15 minutes without feeling disjointed.
Moral apathy is one of the album’s biggest themes, as highlighted by the James Baldwin quote that plays at the end of the song “The Way You Tune It Out”. You can hear James Baldwin saying:
“I'm terrified at the moral apathy, the death of the heart, which is happening in my country. These people have deluded themselves for so long that they really don't think I'm human. And I base this on their conduct, not on what they say. And this means that they have become in themselves moral monsters.”
The album is rife with political and social themes, indicative of the tension in the U.S. at the moment. Jer questions those who hold moral apathy towards the plight of others.
“ Collectively as a country, we might not bat an eye at the mass amount of death that could be happening to groups of people because of the people that they are, because of what group they belong to,” they said. "And when you allow yourself to not care about other human beings dying is when you yourself kind of give up your humanity … and that's kinda what James Baldwin is saying.”
The answer to this, Jer said, is compassion, and getting to know the people who seem different to you at first glance. Through their shows and through this album, Jer hopes people realize they probably have more in common with those around them.
“ Compassion is humanity, and I believe at the end of the day, hate cannot overcome hate. Love can overcome hate … Love is not an ambiguous noun; love is a verb, and love takes work, love takes effort,” they said. "Sexism, ableism, transphobia, these are all things that are rooted in fear and anger and hate, and that's what allows people to have their hearts die."
IF YOU GO
What: East Coast F U Tour - The Bouncing Souls, H20, Jer, The Smoking Popes
When: Saturday, Sept. 27
Where: Revolution Live
Cost: $40.50 on Ticketmaster Here
Information: Here
