Josh Hurst turned a passion project into something that many online users have come to look forward to. Hurst is an avid connoisseur of all things hardcore, punk and metal. His house in Pawtucket could fit right in at The Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas, featuring some of the original Slapshot varsity jackets (as seen on their Step on It cover), a snare drum from Lucky Lehrer of Circle Jerks, and a used guitar strap from Doyle of The Misfits. Hardcore Legends Trading Cards is the logical next step in his fandom and dedication to music. “The concept started by making digital trading cards of friends from Rubber Chicken Comics,” Hurst says of its origins. “I made the card All Sinners for my friend Roger Chouinard. I posted them on his Facebook page, and their fans wanted the cards to be real. He printed them and began selling them through Purchase Street Records.”
“I have been long-time friends with Josh because of music,” Chouinard says. “I feel this is my fault having him make these cards, but deep down, I know he enjoys it.” The popularity of the All Sinners set gave Hurst the idea of showcasing other musicians by giving them their own trading cards. He wanted to highlight both high-profile musicians, and lesserknown ones, in the punk and hardcore genre. His first card was released in May 2024, featuring Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys. In less than a year, he has made 475 cards and plans to post at least eight more in the coming weeks, hoping to soon reach 500. He has also released 85 All-Star Cards, acknowledging promoters, photographers, artists, and label heads. “I started making them as a fun tribute to people in bands that were important to me, but haven’t gotten much recognition because of their genre,” Hurst says. “I started branching out and taking requests once more people started following me.” Hurst started with lesser-known bands in the genre and has since expanded to include metal, hip-hop, alternative, and artists from other underground genres. Some recognizable names include Fred Armisen, Jordan Knight, Dave Lombardo, Lemmy Kilmister, Darryl McDaniels, and Ice T. The Instagram page has almost 14,000 followers and is averaging 46 new followers per day. He’s currently working with Chris Milnes to finalize plans to print cards on demand and work towards being able to sell limited packs of cards, and accept commissions.
“It’s amazing and overwhelming,” Hurst says of its popularity. He does enjoy seeing a musician follow the page who hasn’t received their own card yet. He also appreciates the camaraderie he sees in the comments. “One of the coolest parts is watching someone I already posted a card of commenting on the card of a peer that I posted. Friends are excited to see their friends included.” RI and the surrounding areas have a plethora of incredible musicians, and Hurst made sure to cover many of those who have contributed to the local scene. He has 14 musicians and another four All-Stars. “It’s pretty great to get some recognition for something you’ve dumped your heart and soul into for many years,” says Greg Chihoski of Death Before Dishonor. “My kids think it’s pretty cool too.” Hurst has accomplished a lot since starting this enterprise. He has spoken online with members of bands he grew up idolizing, debuted new cards to correspond with guests on Drew Stone’s weekly “Hard Core Chronicles Live” show, and worked on individual projects with Riki Rachtman (“Headbangers Ball”) and Haywire (“Boston hardcore”). He is proud to announce that the 300 packages of printed Sick of it All cards raised $5,000, which was donated to lead singer Lou Koller to help pay for his cancer-related medical bills.
Hurst’s obsession with music and its history help make the cards so thorough. The back lists the date of birth, hometown, instrument and photo credit (if known), of the featured artist. There is also a list of all the bands the subjects have played in, along with fun facts and personal trivia. “Literally hours of research go into the card,” Hurst says. “I scour the internet, different websites, books, reaching out to friends and fans of the bands and sometimes the individual themselves for the information that goes on the back of each card.” •
You can find Hurt’s cards at HardCoreLegendsTradingCards.com
