By Alex Kantarelis

Typically Up & Comers is reserved for bands who are doing everything they can to make a name for themselves. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that it’s the people behind the scenes are just as important. Without them, bands would be lost in the abyss of the Internet, with no exposure to the rest of the world.

Sam Yarmuth is one of those guys behind the scenes. The recent college grad runs Triple B records, a Boston-based record label that is quickly becoming one of hardcore’s best. He is a true hardcore fan, releasing records that he loves, and he doesn’t do it for the money or the power or the fame but simply for the love of hardcore.

Yarmuth got his start as most hardcore kids do. Growing up in Florida, he spent his high school years going to shows in Daytona and crossing paths with bands like Have Heart, Verse and Ceremony. He loved records and had already put together a collection that most vinyl nerds would salivate over, including some early Revelation first-press records from Warzone, Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits, to name a few. He decided to take his passion to the next level by releasing a record himself, and with a little help from Larry Esteem, of Thinkfast! Records, Yarmuth put out his first release under the name Triple B Records. Suddenly, at 17, Yarmuth had made a splash in the hardcore scene, and it kept happening. From 2005-07, Yarmuth put out three releases, all on vinyl, and was about to put out his first CD. Yarmuth then made the move to Boston, where the label suddenly took off.

In 2009, Triple B began to accomplish big things. Yarmuth went on tour with Have Heart and was able to travel the world with one of his favorite bands. More and more, people were hearing about Triple B, and the label was getting a very good reputation.

Enter Worcester’s most legendary hardcore band, Bane.

“I was in Florida to hang out with my parents one last time before tour, and I got a call from Aaron Bedard from Bane, and he asked if I was willing to put out a new 7-inch [EP] for them,” Yarmuth remembered. Bane being one of his favorite bands, this was literally a dream come true for Yarmuth and his small label. “That’s what makes hardcore so cool ~ the craziest [stuff] can happen. After that, bands started taking me more seriously.”

In the next few years, Triple B added hardcore heavyweights Fire and Ice and Free Spirit and continued solidifying its excellent reputation in the hardcore scene. What started with three small releases in Florida had become a full-fledged label, running out of his dorm room in Boston. After releasing the new Bane record, Yarmuth got the chance to reissue Bane’s Give Blood LP on vinyl for the first time since its release in 2001, along with many other great records for bands all over the country. Now, Triple B is up to 40 releases.

Yarmuth’s love for hardcore has kept him involved in the scene at a time when most people “grow up” and move on. Yarmuth is still straight edge and still collects records, adding some incredible additions to his already stacked collection, including the holy grail of records, Judge’s Chung King Can Suck It, and a Judge Brigin’ it Down test press (yes, he really has that). This December, he will have his fourth Triple B Showcase in Boston, featuring all bands from his label, creating one of the best shows of the year. More information on that will coming out in the next month or so.

If you are a hardcore fan who grew up in Worcester seeing some of the old shows at the Space or Trance Buddha or the QVCC, then Triple B is the only label you need to know about. All of hardcore’s best bands are on the label, and it couldn’t possibly be run by a cooler dude.

To order records, buy MP3s or stream everything for free, visit bbbrecords.bandcamp.com.