If you ever performed or attended a show at West Philly’s
Danger Danger Gallery, then you probably know what a special place the DIY space is to the local indie music/art community. That’s why when
Grandchildren’s Aleks Martray asked The Deli to present and help promote this year’s “Aquarius Raging”, which is doubling as a fundraiser for the Danger Danger collective, we were happy to pitch in and do our part. But we felt that our words would not quite do justice to the annual event and beloved venue so we wanted to hear from dedicated volunteer Aleks Martray himself reasons why everyone should join us this Saturday to help keep the creative space alive and ragin’!
The Deli: How did “Aquarius Raging” start?
Aleks Martray: “Aquarius Raging” was kind of the origin of what became Danger Danger. February for whatever cosmic reason is filled with birthdays of tons of our friends and so it always took on a life of its own – lots of partying, celebrating, and a sense of starting off the new year with a bang. What was originally more of a dance party among a network of friends evolved into shows that spread in scope and size, really capturing the energy in West Philly at the time. There were tons of emerging bands with not a lot of opportunities to play to real music-loving fans, and there was a desire to bring people together around the music in a casual neighborhood environment. I think the first one was held at a house on Willows Ave. featuring such classic bands as
The Teeth and
Fuck with the Bull Get the Horns (RIP). But by around 2006 everyone in the DDG collective was now living at 900 S. 47th St., the original Danger Danger house, where we were rehearsing, recording, and developing what would become the band Grandchildren. Out of that energy and the success of the “Aquarius Raging” shows, it became the perfect place in West Philly to host shows. Our 2 members Tristan Palazzolo and Russell Brodie in essence became bookers/promoters for this run down Victorian we were renting. The shows began to take on a life of their own, and they could barely even keep up with all the show requests. Soon the event had evolved into 20 band bills that drew hundreds of kids to see emerging and national acts perform round-robin style throughout the 3-story house, in the basement, living room, bedrooms, and even the attic.
TD: What are some of your favorite moments from past “Aquarius Raging” events?
AM: The most memorable “Aquarius Raging” event consisted of the abrasive noise-rock of White Mice in the basement, a packed living room witnessing 80+ year old jazz legend
Marshall Allen of
Sun Ra Arkestra, the debut appearance of
Tickley Feather in Russell’s bedroom where she performed on a wooden bed-frame as a stage. That pretty much sums up the spirit and essence of the event.
TD: This year’s “Aquarius Raging” is also a fundraiser for the Danger Danger collective. What will everyone’s donations go towards?
AM: Danger Danger Gallery is a completely volunteer operation and everyone involved contributes because they believe in it as a one-of-a-kind place for music and art where almost all the money goes directly to the performers. But there’s a lot of upkeep that goes into maintaining the building and hosting tons of shows. When we first acquired the building, it had been abandoned for years and was pretty much in ruin. There was a long period of building walls, installing new plumbing, electricity, etc., just to get the place up and running. The past 3 years since then has been a constant effort to maintain and improve the place in the face of tons of wear-and-tear from so many events. Most people probably don’t realize how much work has gone into the gallery space, but if you look at the walls in the hallway where the bathroom is, you can see what the whole place used to look like. We left the walls in that space raw as a reminder of where it started. So the money raised this year will go directly to making repairs and paying off past debts related to the space. So at the risk of sounding like a NPR pledge drive…if you frequent the gallery or if you’ve ever had a great time there, now is the time to pitch in and contribute to maintaining Danger Danger as a great place for music, art and events. Plus this show is gonna be amazing! We’ve put together a bill of some of the best Philly and NY bands that have been friends of DDG and have been awesome enough to give back to it.
TD: What should we expect to happen at the event this year?
AM: You should expect the unexpected. It’s gonna be a memorable event. The line-up runs the gamut of styles and genres so there is something for everyone no matter what you’re into. We’re doing the old-school basement/gallery round-robin set-up of constant music, reuniting West Philly’s classic band "the Perfectionists" to debut their 30minute rock symphony, reintroducing the video projection room, and they’ll be food and drinks available! What more could you ask for.
– The Deli Staff
