NJ Bloodline have publicly accused Joe “Hardcore” McKay, founder of This Is Hardcore Fest and vocalist of Shattered Realm, of being involved in bootlegging the band’s merchandise. The allegations center around a Shopify store called “Die With Your Boots On”, which had been selling unauthorized Tiger Style t-shirts.
The band first called out the bootleg on social media on January 3rd, warning fans:
“Livebytheboot Instagram page and their bootlegging ass website ‘die with your boots on’ still has the fake ass Tiger Style t shirt on their site.
Do not buy from these grifters. You aren’t supporting NJBL by buying from them.”
By January 4th, NJ Bloodline confirmed the shirt had been removed from the site, posting:
“The bootleg Tiger Style tshirt has been removed from the ‘die with your boots on’ website.
It’s never cool to bootleg IP from artists. Don’t buy bootleg shit.
Bootleggers… you are parasites that devalue art.”
On January 6th, the band went further, directly accusing McKay of involvement:
“As it turns out, the bootlegger of our Tiger Style shirt is none other than Joe ‘Hardcore’ McKay.
After finally talking with him he says this is normal in the scene today. He blamed us for not making our own merch. His friends run the site and do the printing. We got him to pull the thumbnail on the homepage but the shirt page is still active.
He’s avoiding us now and won’t respond to repeated texts and calls to remove the shirt.
Do not support Joe Hardcore, as he is a lying grifter. This is as unhardcore as it gets.”
The band also emphasized their case further:
“Joe hardcore is a bootlegger. If he had nothing to do with it, then he wouldn’t be able to get the thumbnail on the homepage of the fraud site pulled down.
We had an agreement that he would pull it down on Sunday before 6pm. Judge for yourself on whether he is a lying grifter.”
NJ Bloodline concluded with a social media post tagging McKay and calling out the alleged bootlegging:
“Proof Joe clowncore is a bootlegger. How can you have the site remove the shirt by an agreed upon time if you ain’t involved? Shady bitch. #joehardcore #thisishardcore #njbloodline #njhc #bootleggers”
The controversy highlights tensions in the hardcore punk scene over merchandise ownership and artist rights, with NJ Bloodline taking a strong public stance against what they describe as exploitation of their work.
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Soooo is Rick ta life forgiven