Fat Wreck Chords style pop punk bands inchurch basements.I stayed the course ‘til around Januaryof last year, when Larry from HopelessOtis started promoting shows in Brooklynand invited me down to one. I got thereearly and he had this explosive pop punkband, Gone By Friday, that opened the showand just blew me away. I got to talking tothem, found out they were from Queens,and were basically playing that style of musicthat got me into going to shows in thefirst place (bands like Blink-182, Lagwagon,MxPx, Ataris, etc.), and I just felt reborn.They got to telling me how there was no allagesscene left in Queens and they’d heardstories of how it used to be. I thought tomyself, “Well, (and no offense to Larry) buthere’s a band that is waaaaaay too talentedto be playing in front of 10 bored adultsin a hipster bar in Brooklyn.” If this were2003, I’d have died to work with a band thatsounded like this; in my hometown no less!So after a few months of getting to knowGBF better and scouting other bands atshows in the area, the bug started to comeback.So I decided the next thing I produceis gonna be for my enjoyment, my benefit. Iwanna put something into the world againwhere I’m not just a gun-for-hire and haveto wait months to see it again (I’m terriblyanxious as it is). So still not having a job,but a lot of free time on my hands (and aSpotify account) I decided that I wanted“being punk rock” to be my job. Like, howawesome would 8 hours a day of just listeningto music and going to shows be? And Itell you, it’s just as awesome at 29 as it waswhen I was 19. Maybe even better now becauseI think I understand people and howto deal with them a little more than I did.I think its really great that TBQ is promotingas well booking shows to keepthe underground music alive in Queens.Who else is part of the TBQ staff ?Well, I retain Larry and the Gone By Fridayguys as my immediate booking consultants.They talk me out of doing a lot of stupidthings with lineups and, being in bands,they’ve already done a lot of the researchI needed to do to really find myself caughtup again. Then there’s Lorina and Piercewho help me with various logistics whovolunteered their time on an on-call basis.They help run our social media accounts,work the door, print things out, run to thestore when I realize at the last minute Iforgot something super important (likegetting singles so you can give change aftercharging an $8 cover -- I seem to alwaysforget this). Past that there’s my best friendChristine who gives up her Saturday nightsjust to sell pizza and soda even though shecouldn’t care less about the music. Andthen we have Hal, Amelia, and Chris fromthe Windows of Opportunity organization,who actually “run” the space at the HollisWoods Community Church full-time.A percentage of the draw of each show isdonated to WOO in lieu of a fixed rental-- and goes into things like soundproofingthe room, upgrading PA equipment, andsome decorative changes coming soon -- sothe three of them have been quick to lend ahand and contribute. During shows, Chrisruns the mixing board, Amelia stage managesand troubleshoots any maintenance/building problems, and Hal plays the responsibleadult so I don’t always have to.[laughs]You’ve been gaining quite momentum?Yeah, so far so good. We haven’t sold outthe place or anything, which is still a bit ofa white whale for me (I want a turn-awaycrowd dammit), but I’ve been happy withthe turnouts. I think there’s been a generalunrest, for lack of a better term, onthe part of the musicians in Queens whohave the tools to be breakout artists but areotherwise “geographically undesirable.”Queens has never really had a dedicatedchurch basement/legion hall scene likeLong Island does, and we don’t have tooHabits performing at a recent TBQ show.“I don’t think I’m that cool. If anything, it’s the factthat I’ve never been cool that caused me to gravitateto most counter-culture things like punk rock...”8 LATENCY MARCH + APRIL 2013
many trendy bars on every corner with livemusic every night like Brooklyn. Yet we’respitting distance away from both areas?That doesn’t make sense to me. Punk rockis finding a place with four walls, a ceiling,and making shit happen. And of course, apositive attitude and a sense of pride whenyou play in that space, as that shit’s contagiousand it’s the only way you can convincethe kids in Queens that those shows are theplace to be.Do you attend all the shows you book?Is it important for the bands whoplayed at the gig to stick around andsupport the other bands?Absolutely. I feel if you book/promotea show, it should be a given that if youweren’t on your own guestlist you’d be thefirst one standing in line, cash-in-hand,waiting to get in. You’re leading by exampleand if you wouldn’t be caught dead at yourown show, then maybe you shouldn’t bebooking them when there’s how many kidswho would love to have your resources togive it a shot?I recently heard that the best complimenta pro wrestler can get is a return booking.The person who passed on this advice, heequated the way a wrestler conducts themselvesin the locker room and in the ring tothe way someone might approach the act ofhaving sex. If the wrestler is unprofessional,doesn’t protect his opponent, doesn’tshake hands with the boys in the back, andis doing business for himself... yeah, hemight get that one payday and move onlike a cheap one night stand. But if thatsame wrestler is a professional, keepshis mouth shut and ears open, helps theother guys look good the best he can,he’ll be thanked with an invitation tocome back. So ultimately, a wrestler hasto ask themselves are they just lookingfor a quick fuck or a meaningful relationship?And I think you can apply allof that to bands in the scene, definitely.What do you do when somethingunexpected happens?I think this is what actually separatesa lot of promoters truthfully, how theyhandle a crisis. I’ll say one thing, you needto remain as cool as possible. I mean, I’velost my shit and freaked out, but 99% of thetime it does nothing to solve the problemso I’m trying to learn to think on my feetand have some of those answersahead of time. Since wenow run showsevery otherweek,Itry to actually play back the last show in myhead and ask myself, “What did I do when Ifound this out last time?” and then take thesteps to be prepared. But yeah, this is liveentertainment and any number of thingscan go wrong. Remember, man makesplans... and God laughs.I read recently that you’ve embracedSpotify over this past summer. Youwrote that it has, “about 60 percent todo with getting back into shows just becauseany band you’ve never heard of isright there.” Do you feel the shows youbook are more or less a real-life Spotifyfor the kids who attend TBQ shows?Absolutely. Or at least, they could be. Notto get ahead of myself, but my hope is thatif TBQ delivers with a consistent enoughtrack record, kids will be open-minded andjust trust us when it comes to premieringnew acts. You really never know who will bea hit and who will tank. But to quote an oldmentor of mine, I never ask myself, “Willeveryone get this?” but rather I tell myself,“The right people will.”What do you see in the future for TBQ?Any secrets? Any<strong>Latency</strong>exclusivesyoucandrop?Well, the Gone by Friday dudes were reallygood about keeping things going in myabsence with their QueensFest shows overthe last couple of years, so I would absolutelylove to keep that tradition going withsomething the likes of which nobody’s seenhere before. We’re trying to maybe find 1-2more spaces to run all-ages shows regularlyto complement the church (since we canonly get in there 1 day a week, and not everyweek), but a lot of that right now is just inthe talking phase so don’t be surprised if sixmonths from now nothing’s come of that.I’m in the planning stages also to resurrectmy record label, Uninspired Records,as a distro that exclusively sells and makesavailable all the records from bands thathave played for us so if you hear that name,that’s us as well just under an extendedbrand. And lastly, starting in June, we’restarting something called the “Guest Booker”series. Basically, we’re giving the keysand resources to the church to someonewho isn’t me and letting them manage theirown budget and lineup for the evening. Itwill start with a couple of other promoterswe trust, to give them the chance to bringtheir network of bands to the church for thefirst time. But our long-term goal with thisis to actually allow kids who maybe haveideas for really good shows but don’t knowhow to go about the logistics of settingit all up that opportunity. If someonecan rise to the occasion and do abetter job than I’m doing with all ofthis, that’d be fuckin’ awesome!Any last words?I’m not that cool. I don’t thinkI’m that cool. If anything, it’sthe fact that I’ve never beencool that caused me to gravitateto most counter-culturethings like punk rock and prowrestling in the first place. Iborrow a lot from other promotersand try to take a littleof this, a little of that. Literally,ANYBODY can do what I’mdoing. I talked before about theeconomy of punk rock and, just likein real life, you’re only as valuable aswhat you can offer people. Don’t justbe a ticket stub who takes. Find a wayto give. If you can do something to helpthe scene you’re passionate for, do it. You’reonly stopping yourself. •9 LATENCY MARCH + APRIL 2013
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