HardLore Podcast Episode Summary

Episode Title: Nancy Barile: The Godmother of Straight Edge, Award-Winning Author, Remembering Al Barile
Date: November 6, 2025
Hosts: Colin Young & Bo Lueders
Guest: Nancy Barile
Podcast: HardLore (Knotfest)

Overview

This deeply engaging episode pays tribute to Nancy Barile—hardcore punk lifer, “Godmother of Straight Edge,” and award-winning author of I'm Not Holding Your Coat—and to her late husband, Al Barile, frontman of SSD. The conversation travels from Nancy’s formative years in Philly punk through her role in the Boston scene, to her pioneering teaching career. The episode balances hilarious stories, personal reflections, and gripping punk history, while honoring Al’s impact and legacy.

Key Topics & Discussion Highlights

1. Remembering Al Barile & The Origins of Love

• First Impressions:
  • Nancy recounts Al’s intimidating exterior: “A lot of people don't like Al when they first meet him because he's like kind of scary looking...” (00:00)
• Meeting Story:
  • Legendary quote on quitting smoking for Al:
    • Al: "Do you smoke?"
    • Nancy: "Not anymore." (00:14)
  • Bo: "You could put that in a movie and people would think it was like two on the nose. That is one of the most incredibly witty things you could have done." (00:27)
• True Love: Colin remarks, “It’s true love.” (00:35)

2. Nancy’s Philly Punk Roots

• Early Influences:
  • Marine dad, Catholic school upbringing, and a hunger for “dangerous” music (03:55–07:41)
  • First punk show: Iggy Pop with Blondie opening, Bowie on keys—"That was really the door that led me right into punk." (04:44)
  • Embraced as “Blondie” in the scene: “If you were a girl with blonde hair in the punk scene back then, you wanted to be Debbie Harry.” (05:26)
• Pivotal Shows:
  • Ramones at University of Pennsylvania: “I was just all in after that.” (05:55–06:11)
  • Euphoric sense of community and access in punk: “Being at a show where somebody came out and talked to you, I was like starstruck, you know, that was so cool to me.” (29:21)
• Early Rebellion and Musical Attraction:
  • Attraction to darker music: “I definitely gravitate towards the harder, darker side of music from a really young age...” (07:00)

3. From Punk Shows to Punk Teaching

• Tattoo Lore:
  • First tattoo: anarchy A, “fight back” added later; heavy love for Discharge—"I legit wore that record out." (08:21–09:09)
  • Early 80s tattoo story: scarring, cover-up tales (“I used to tell people I got bit by a shark.”) (10:31)
• Teaching Through Punk:
  • “In my classroom, punk rock lives.” (18:22, 18:30)
  • New book: Adventures of a Punk Rock Teacher (18:48)
  • Connection with marginalized students: punk as a bridge for empathy, community building, and activism: “I just kind of used what I learned through punk rock to help reach these kids. And it worked, you know, to a certain extent...” (18:48-21:43)
  • DIY ethos in underfunded schools: “That was all punk rock... If I didn’t have that experience, I don’t think I would have made it.” (19:56)
• Continued Relationship with Former Students:
  • “The people that come and visit me here at my apartment are all former students.” (21:59)

4. Punk, Politics, and Social Media

• Values:
  • Lifelong anti-fascism, anti-racism, activism, and standing up against the “old punk rockers out there, like, you know, touting MAGA.” (23:00)
  • “How is it possible? I don’t know, but it really drives me crazy.” (23:12)
• Resilience Around Mansplaining and Trolls:
  • Describes rampant mansplaining in online punk spaces, condescension, and the impetus to write her book: “I figured, you know what? I'll write this book and tell my story, and then you can come at me. I don't give a shit.” (63:22)

5. Anecdotes from the Scene

• McDonald's as Teenage HQ:
  • “Everything happened at my McDonald’s... If there was a fight, it happened at my McDonald’s.” (14:10)
• Catholic School & Tommy:
  • Nun-teacher introduced class to Tommy by The Who. “It was the first time anything ever, like, connected with me about religion... and it took The Who's Tommy to do it, I guess.” (16:15)

6. Women in Early Hardcore

• Coat-Holding Myth:
  • Nancy dispels myth that early scene women “held coats”: “That was not my experience at all... Women are up front. We're right up front. We're doing, like, we're making shit happen.” (62:36)
  • Motivated by Facebook-era mansplaining, not lived reality: “I never heard this holding my coat thing till Facebook.” (63:17)

7. Managing Bands & Promoting Shows

• Managing Sadistic Exploits:
  • Leading Philly’s mid-‘80s all-ages shows (34:39)
  • “Wanted to bring all-ages shows to the kids... There was nothing like that.” (34:42)
• Hardcore Tribe Gatherings & Famous Shows:
  • The epic Buff Hall show: “The best hardcore show I’ve ever, ever seen in my life... one of the top five of all time, in existence.” (81:09–81:11)
  • Incidents, danger, and DIY camaraderie: managing violence, getting support from the Ghetto Riders, and post-show shenanigans. (76:12–83:42)

8. Inter-Scene Politics, Straight Edge & Cultural Shifts

• On 'Straight Edge':
  • Initial skepticism (DC scene), eventual embrace in Boston: “Wasn't a requirement for me to be straight edge when I met Al...” (49:43)
  • Al’s lifelong (until medical necessity) commitment. Important discussion about pain, medication, and authenticity: (51:31–54:08)
• Change in Hardcore:
  • Nancy “aged out” in 1985 as the scene became more “aggro and stupid,” but loves seeing new bands like Turnstile evoke “that energy since 1982.” (84:00–86:18)
  • On Judge’s lyric about Boston-New York tension: “As far as we were concerned, New York was a second home.” (41:38)
• Bad Brains Love and Moral Reckoning:
  • “I loved the Bad Brains... but then the homophobic, misogynistic lyrics... That was the first time I had to navigate something like that as a young person.” (65:35–67:56)
• Enduring Impact:
  • Al was most proud of “emails from people that... said, you saved my life, or Straight Edge saved my life...” (94:57)

9. Past, Present, and Legacy

• On Al:
  • “His kindness and warmth to generations that came after... impacted us.” (104:48)
  • Nancy shares stories of humor, devotion, and enduring connection—including after Al’s passing:
    • “I got some unbelievable signs that are indisputable...” (108:24)
    • The “jacked mourning dove” visiting her as a sign from Al. (110:14–111:50)
• Community & Healing:
  • “The punk rock community is so freaking good to me... I would have jumped in the ocean if not for my friends.” (115:35)
• Philly’s Place in Punk Lore:
  • Nancy pushed for Philly’s due credit: “I thought they did Philly kind of dirty, you know, in their [American Hardcore documentary]... My book exists now.” (113:43-114:09)
• Still Teaching, Still Punk:
  • “I’m not holding your coat” spirit continues in band management, teaching, storytelling, and inspiring the next wave.

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Love:
  • “Do you smoke?”
    “Not anymore.”
    (Al & Nancy, 00:14)
• On Punk’s Energy:
  • “I just got goosebumps... That’s how I know that something’s good.”
    (Nancy, 08:02)
• On Punk Teaching:
  • “In my classroom, punk rock lives.”
    (Colin quoting Nancy, 18:22)
• On Punk Values:
  • “You and Al are, and were, very kind of famously liberal people. A lifetime of subscribing to just a little bit anti-fascist, anti-racist, anti-homophobic ideals...”
    (Colin, 23:00)
• On Women in Hardcore:
  • “Women are up front... That was not my experience at all.”
    (Nancy, 62:36)
• On Hardcore’s Impact:
  • “Al realized this is a cultural phenomenon that’ll live forever. And that made him really proud.”
    (Nancy, 94:01)
  • “What made Al proudest was emails from people that said, you saved my life, or Straight Edge saved my life...”
    (Nancy, 94:57)
• On Legacy, Love, and Signs:
  • “There’s nobody—there was just nobody like him.”
    (Nancy, 106:36)
  • “If you’re Al, look at me. And it turned around and looked me right in the eye. I took a picture of it.” (Describing the mourning dove)
    (Nancy, 110:28)
• On Community:
  • “The punk rock community is so freaking good to me... All my friends, almost all my friends, except a handful, are punk rock people.”
    (Nancy, 115:35)

Timestamps for Essential Segments

• Nancy’s Entry to Punk: 03:55–07:41
• Iggy Pop Show & Punk Epiphany: 04:44–05:19
• First Tattoo & Discharge: 08:18–09:09
• Managing Bands/Promoting Shows: 34:39–41:41
• Buff Hall & “Gathering of the Tribes”: 75:28–83:42
• Hardcore’s Transformation – 1985 & On: 83:43–86:18
• Women in the Scene / Debunking Coat-Holding: 62:36–63:22
• Bad Brains & Navigating Morality: 65:01–67:56
• Al's Health, Straight Edge Nuance: 51:31–54:08
• Legacy, Grief, and Mourning Dove Story: 108:24–111:50

Tone and Style

The conversation is intimate, direct, passionate, and full of street-level humor and “real talk”—it stays true to the DIY punk ethos Nancy and Al embodied. Nancy’s voice is warm, wise, and defiant, blending wit (“I used to tell people I got bit by a shark”) with candid vulnerability about loss and legacy.

Further Reading & Listening

• I’m Not Holding Your Coat (Barile’s book)
• SSD reissues (Trust Records)
• Upcoming: Adventures of a Punk Rock Teacher

Final Word

This episode is a must-listen for anyone passionate about punk history, social change, and the power of community. It vividly honors Nancy Barile’s incredible story—and ensures that Al Barile’s legacy, both musical and human, continues to inspire.