Ivan Belcic at The Black Box within the Williams Center in Rutherford, N.J. as taken by Max Guseva.
Harm Reduction has always been a controversial way to deal with drug abuse without resorting to imprisonment or even abstinence. We all knew that “just say no” was too naïve a solution. Point is, if a junkie’s gonna stick a needle in his arm no matter what, there should be some way to treat such individuals with respect, dignity and compassion.
Enter writer-tattooer-musician-harm reductionist Ivan Belcic from Bergen County who left New Jersey after college to live in China and the Czech Republic for years. He’s back. A longtime drummer with a penchant for prog-rock before tumbling headfirst into hardcore while living in Shanghai, he saw drugs from the inside out and wanted to do something about it.
So he started Burden of Being. As he told us, “Harm reduction is the practice of radical, non-judgmental compassion. We work in the scene to give people the supplies, resources and education they need to keep themselves and each other safe. When you make it home at the end of the night, you make it back for the next show. It's the people that come out over and over again, because they love the local bands and the local community, who keep the scene alive and breathing. We all have our learned coping techniques to deal with the pains and pressures of life, and we all deserve to be safe."
Thus he’s out there. A lot. At shows. Educating his peers. Setting up information booths. Talking to kids. Tomorrow, Burden of Being will set up shop at the Bridge and Tunnel Brewery in Ridgewood New York for a five band Halloween Ball. Sunday, at Trans-Pecos, also in Ridgewood, at a seven-band orgy of noise, he’ll be there. Other dates include November 7 at The Meadows in Brooklyn, Nov. 8 at Cinco De Mayo in New Brunswick, Nov. 10 back at The Meadows, Nov. 13 at Chi Phi Mu where they’ll have a “Deathcore vs. Metalcore” night (should be loud) and Nov. 14 at Colab Arts in New Brunswick and The Broadway in Brooklyn.
For a full list of events, visit https://burdenofbeing.com/#about.