ENTROPY / ENTHALPY
116
The Golden Years of DIY in Philly
Do-it-yourself ( DIY ) garage rock may have started in New York City , but that ’ s surely not where it ’ s ending up . In recent years , the hiking prices of rent , the gentrification of artist hotspots , and the prevalence of labels have done all but physically push DIY artists out of the city . The question remains : where are they going ?
There isn ’ t one definitive answer ; there are , and have always been , pockets of artist-friendly spaces across the country . But perhaps one shines a bit brighter than all of the others . To insinuate that Philadelphia ’ s music scene is bursting at the seams because of a decline elsewhere ( read : New York ) would certainly be an oversimplification . But to say that this is not what ’ s happening would also , in a way , be false . Through no fault of their own , New York seems to be succumbing into the natural order of things . Order becomes disorder , and vice versa . There ’ s a basic chemistry happening between these two cities — it ’ s entropy and enthalpy . Both are necessary for DIY culture to continue .
As artist-run venues like The Silent Barn close their doors in Brooklyn , Philly staples — like First Unitarian Church and PhilaMOCA , among others — are holding their ground . Not only that , but there aren ’ t enough grouchy neighbors or finicky landlords in the world that could take down the city ’ s vibrant house show culture .
Matty Klauser — owner of house venue the Tralfamadore , booking manager at Connie ’ s Ric Rac , co-founder of Paper Scissors Media , and general jack-of-all-DIY-trades — attributes this to a few factors : affordability , access to spaces , police activity , straight-up exhaustion . “ I think New York has become too demanding while giving too little to the artists . I don ’ t think there ’ s any time to build a community ,” they said . “ I think that people are so exhausted that the community is hard to build . And then , when you do build a cool DIY space , what ’ s it gonna last ? A year , tops ?”
Klauser grew up in Brooklyn not too long ago (“ I ’ m thirty-one . I ’ m not young , I ’ m not that old ,”) and remembers a much different environment . One where “ there were weird DIY venues … there were underground places , there were places you could be seventeen and drink .” There was a certain unpredictability — a disorder . “ There were weird things to still be found .” Like a Balkan dance club where they “ didn ’ t check IDs and … sixty-two year old Russian women [ walked ] around serving vodka .” New York didn ’ t always play the role of the big , bad wolf of the emerging-arts world . For a while , “ it was very wonderful . It was a beautiful time . There was just like this air of circus and fun and who gives a shit .”
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Now , things have changed — and rather unceremoniously at that . Klauser spoke extensively about licensing laws and the immense burden that inflated rent and gentrification have placed on New York ’ s once-thriving DIY scene . “ What helped support the art scene was the crime , the lack of police presence , was the fact that it was expensive , but it wasn ’ t unlivable ,” they explained , stopping themselves in the early steps of a good rant . “ I think when New York started to bounce back really hard in its economics , and the money moved in , and the corporations moved in , and the rents went up , those little places that were doing this suddenly were under the eye of the policies and under the eye of the current licenses .”
Philadelphia , a city filled with spaces that scream venue-potential , appears a haven when compared to the symptoms of the DIY-apocalypse described by Klauser — lack of funds , heightened supervision , noise complaints , monopolization of space . A classical-opera-singer-turnedpunk-performer , they moved to the city roughly seven years ago after beginning to feel a bit suffocated by the “ buttoned-up ,” dog-eat-dog world of classical music — where “ your best friend might be singing a role that you ’ re their understudy , and if they get sick , you succeed , and shit like that .” They noted that , when deciding to move , “ one of the things that really caught [ their ] attention were the arts communities in Philly ” and the fact that the city “ was very down-to-earth and bare bones .”
Something important to know about Matty Klauser is that , as a teenager , they used to host a yearly “ mini-music fest ” for their friends from high school called “ Klaus-fest ,” using a mixer given to them by their parents at age fifteen . An organizer since birth , they quickly became involved in booking shows at Philly favorites like Kung Fu Necktie , The Fire , and Connie ’ s Ric Rac . So , three years ago — once they moved out of an apartment and into a house — the Tralfamadore was born ( using the very same mixer , which still works nearly fifteen years later .) Named after the home planet of Kurt Vonnegut ' s fictional alien race , the venue is the logical conclusion to Klauser ’ s journey as an artist . It marries the order with the organic — carving out a unique space in DIY for hyper-organization , cleanliness , and consistency quirky . And it ’ s run by someone who understands what it is like to be on both sides of the microphone .
It also serves as one of the primary locations of good how are you ? fest , a three-year-old music festival started by the media company / artist collective / record label / unstoppable force Paper Scissors Media . The name comes from an inside joke with Secret Nudist Friends bassist Andy Slepman , who “ instead of saying ‘ hello ,’ he would just
ENTROPY/ENTHALPY
116
The Golden Years
of DIY in Philly
D
o-it-yourself (DIY) garage rock may have
started in New York City, but that’s surely not
where it’s ending up. In recent years, the
hiking prices of rent, the gentrification of
artist hotspots, and the prevalence of labels have done all
but physically push DIY artists out of the city. The question
remains: where are they going?
There isn’t one definitive answer; there are, and have
always been, pockets of artist-friendly spaces across the
country. But perhaps one shines a bit brighter than all of
the others. To insinuate that Philadelphia’s music scene is
bursting at the seams because of a decline elsewhere (read:
New York) would certainly be an oversimplification. But to
say that this is not what’s happening would also, in a way,
be false. Through no fault of their own, New York seems
to be succumbing into the natural order of things. Order
becomes disorder, and vice versa. There’s a basic chemistry
happening between these two cities—it’s entropy and
enthalpy. Both are necessary for DIY culture to continue.
As artist-run venues like The Silent Barn close their
doors in Brooklyn, Philly staples—like First Unitarian
Church and PhilaMOCA, among others—are holding their
ground. Not only that, but there aren’t enough grouchy
neighbors or finicky landlords in the world that could take
down the city’s vibrant house show culture.
Matty Klauser—owner of house venue the
Tralfamadore, booking manager at Connie’s Ric Rac,
co-founder of Paper Scissors Media, and general
jack-of-all-DIY-trades—attributes this to a few factors:
affordability, access to spaces, police activity, straight-up
exhaustion. “I think New York has become too demanding
while giving too little to the artists. I don’t think there’s any
time to build a community,” they said. “I think that people
are so exhausted that the community is hard to build. And
then, when you do build a cool DIY space, what’s it gonna
last? A year, tops?”
Klauser grew up in Brooklyn not too long ago (“I’m
thirty-one. I’m not young, I’m not that old,”) and
remembers a much different environment. One where
“there were weird DIY venues…there were underground
places, there were places you could be seventeen and
drink.” There was a certain unpredictability—a disorder.
“There were weird things to still be found.” Like a Balkan
dance club where they “didn’t check IDs and…sixty-two
year old Russian women [walked] around serving vodka.”
New York didn’t always play the role of the big, bad wolf
of the emerging-arts world. For a while, “it was very
wonderful. It was a beautiful time. There was just like this
air of circus and fun and who gives a shit.”
Now, things have changed—and rather
unceremoniously at that. Klauser spoke extensively about
licensing laws and the immense burden that inflated rent
and gentrification have placed on New York’s once-thriving
DIY scene. “What helped support the art scene was the
crime, the lack of police presence, was the fact that it was
expensive, but it wasn’t unlivable,” they explained,
stopping themselves in the early steps of a good rant. “I
think when New York started to bounce back really hard in
its economics, and the money moved in, and the
corporations moved in, and the rents went up, those little
places that were doing this suddenly were under the eye of
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