Stu Brundy runs the coolest underground concert spot you’ve never heard about. The Hammer House, located in a nondescript junkyard in North Las Vegas (you’ll have to figure out exactly where for yourself) has been home to local hardcore since its creation in 2001 and shows no signs of slowing down, having hosted national hardcore acts including Terror, Champion and Death Threat with little to no problems.
We caught up with Brundy, who doubles as the frontman for the longtime hardcore band Folsom, to talk about the house and its place in the scene.
You’ve said the reason this place works is because it’s in the middle of nowhere and it’s underground. Why else does it work?
Well, yeah, that, and there’s no drama. It’s not like a rock club where you’ve got anyone that’s overreacting to kids stage-diving or moshing. You don’t really have any fights or anything out here.
What’s been the biggest show you’ve had here?
It’s hard to say, but we’ve gotten maybe 100 or 150 kids at this place [at its peak].
Over the years, what have you done to spruce up the Hammer House?
It’s kind of a full-time job to keep the walls from coming off of this place. You’ve got kids kicking walls in and running into them and moshing—it just blows ’em out. So we put a stage in and let the kids mosh it up in the dirt. It’s cheaper that way.
The hardcore scene has had some rough experiences with the local media. Why do you think the scene keeps getting hit with these stories?
It’s because it’s violent. It’s a violent subculture, and when you’re in the outside looking in and you’re used to shows being in a contained environment, you see chaos. You might see kids punching each other in the face, but the next week they’re at the same shows, and they’re hanging out.
It must be stressful as hell to keep it going. Why do you still do it?
It’s hard. But we’ve been here so long, people know not to mess around. We don’t condone kids out here raging, partying and getting in trouble. It’s not what this place is about. If some kid who doesn’t know anything tries to tag someone’s wall, we’ll [kick ’em out] and tell them to go spray-paint their own neighborhood.