Provided by David Sankey
Audio By Carbonatix
When the DJs of Arizona Hardcore started blasting high-octane beats in 1996, the Phoenix rave landscape was a far different place.
Warehouses, desert spaces, psychedelic flyers, infolines and whispered directions fueled a ’90s EDM underground where raves thrived. David Sankey, AZHC’s co-founder, says the local rave promoter and collective was just one part of a vibrant party scene.
“Those were the epic years. You had like Swell Records as an epicenter and a lot of crews back then throwing raves every weekend,” Sankey says. “Looking back, those were the greatest times, in my opinion, for the Phoenix rave scene.”
Back then, you could bounce between multiple parties on a Friday or Saturday night. The iconic Icehouse in downtown Phoenix. The Nile Theater in Mesa. The Vortex, tucked inside an old warehouse. Some nights, you didn’t know the address until hours before doors.
Arizona Hardcore Junkies began less as a corporate entity. Sankey credits his mentor, DJ Spitfire, with sparking the whole thing.
“We had bonded over a mutual like for hardcore music and he just said, ‘Hey, we’re going to start a crew and it’s going to be called the Arizona Hardcore Junkies and that’s our thing that we’re going to do,’” Sankey says.
It started as a name tied to one DJ. By 1998, AZHC was throwing its own events at spots like the Vortex and a thrift store with a side venue at 43rd Avenue and McDowell Road. Half a dozen parties before Y2K, by Sankey’s estimate. Then things shifted.
In the late ’90s and early 2000s, the bust of Sammy “The Bull” Gravano’s ecstasy ring and the glare of “Dateline NBC” cameras at the Nile put heat on the scene. Warehouses went quiet. Promoters went cautious.
Provided by David Sankey
“With many people getting busted for drugs in the early 2000s, the scene really took a hit and everybody went underground,” Sankey says.
Underground meant smaller spaces, last-minute warehouse rentals and rolling the dice instead of dropping thousands on established venues.
“We weren’t paying $4,000 to use the Icehouse anymore,” he says. “We were finding out where our venue was the day of and paying $1,000 to a certain person that could get warehouses.”
Through it all, AZHC kept going. The early 2000s brought collaborations and bigger shows. By 2002 and 2003, Sankey says, things were “really, really strong for us” as EDM ebbed and flowed in popularity.
Provided by David Sankey
“EDM has forced itself into the mainstream and that’s a good thing,” he says. “But hardcore as a whole is known to be epic.”
Hardcore never had the elevator-friendly polish of commercial EDM. AZHC embraced that, blasting the high-energy, four-on-the-floor genre at its events.
“We do it for the love of the music and it’s not about making money, but after you’ve lost a certain amount of money doing something that you love, you get tired of losing money,” Sankey says.
In 2016, after a 20-year run, they called it. Earlier this year, a friend pointed out the looming 30-year milestone. Sankey couldn’t ignore it.
This weekend, AZHC marks its 30th anniversary at The Fillmore with one final throwdown with sets by CIK, K.O.R.E., Noise Suppressor, Dope-E and more than a dozen other DJs.
As for whether this is truly the end?
“I mean, we could just go ahead and say, ‘Hey guys, it’s been fun. Thanks for the ride.’ This is our final show,” Sankey says. “But as of right now, this is going to be our last show.”
AZHC XXX: Arizona Hardcore Junkies 30th Anniversary. Saturday, Feb. 21, 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. at The Fillmore, 2130 W. Fillmore St., Phoenix. Tickets are $45.24.
