It was Halloween night. I found myself at the front of the room in the middle of a group of 10 or so energetic punks fist-pumping the air and shouting lyrics along with Grace Ambrose, who was masquerading as singer Colin McFaull of the punk band Cock Sparrer for the evening. I was in the dark, packed basement of a collective house in West Philly called The Mitten, which I had never been to before. Having recently moved back to the Philadelphia area from Boston, I knew practically no one at the show. By all accounts, I shouldn’t have known about the show at all – but thanks to DIY PHL, a print and online calendar that lists independent music and art events in and around the city, I found out about it. That night, five ad hoc bands performed as Rudimentary Peni, Rob Zombie/White Zombie, The Lemonheads, Avail, Cock Sparrer and Kiss for more than a hundred twenty- and thirty-somethings, some of which were in full costume, face paint and stage personality, meanwhile raising $1300 for the Philadelphia Student Union.
DIY PHL is the burgeoning passion project of friends Ramsey Beyer, 28; Mikey Cantor, 27; and Ambrose, 24. On Saturday, November 9 at 7pm at PhilaMOCA, DIY PHL will present First Time’s The Charm, a show inspired by Not Enough Fest in Portland, Oregon that will feature 17 new bands performing for the first time. Their aim is to break down barriers to participation in the DIY community, encouraging people from underrepresented groups and musicians playing instruments for the first time to make bands and get involved. Proceeds from FTTC will be used to purchase a PA and create an open-access, member-based PA Share program. In addition, Black Orchid will be selling vegetarian and vegan dishes at the event. I recently caught up with the DIY PHL crew at Ambrose’s house in West Philly. We talked about how DIY PHL came to be and how it’s changed over time, why DIY’s thriving in Philly right now, what distinguishes Philly from other cities, the story behind FTTC, and much more HERE.
