Rough Copy of Introduction

Okay, I really should be heading to Pastels right now but I'm having trouble keeping my head up (literally) so I think I'll put this up first. And I will think of a better title.

On Music, the All-Ages Scene, and Why I Want to Take This Trip...

Music is one of the most important aspects of cultures all over the globe. It permeates our lives, young and old, rich and poor, and it's everywhere we go. Although there are many ways to enjoy music, there is nothing that compares with a live show or concert. Here in the U.S. and Canada we have thousands of bars, clubs, and other venues dedicated towards live music, from the large halls like the Carnigie in New York to tiny coffeeshops like Luna's in Sacramento. With all these shows and concerts, it's bewildering that there's a stark age discrimination present in the live music business. A common thread woven throughout the U.S. is the struggle of all-ages clubs and venues, while bars and 18+ venues thrive. Why, in such a vibrant musical culture, would those who sought to bring music to youth come under fire?

I have firsthand experience with this peculiar phenomenon. When I was 17 I first started promoting all-ages events through an email list. This lead me to a group called The Placebo, an all-ages collective run venue in Eureka, California. I immediately was entranced and started helping as much as I could, booking, promoting, managing shows, and even learning how to run the PA. After that I was offered a column in a local weekly paper to talk about all-ages events, furthering my skillset as a promoter. I loved it. So I didn't really understand when things started to go wrong. We kept getting noise complaints, even though we were operating in an industrial neighborhood. I had to end a few shows early when the cops would show up. I knew about The Placebo's rotten luck in the past, but the whole thing just felt unfair. Then our neighbors, another all-ages venue, were shut down for want of proper permits. We followed suit by closing our doors, to be safe.

What happened over the next couple months was hard. I attended city council meetings, not only in support of my club, but another that had been shut down in a different city. I experienced yet another all-ages show getting shut down by cops. here we were, attempting to provide a drug and alcohol free space for kids to see music, and due to busts by police the scene was moved to houses where kids would routinely get too drunk to stand up straight. It didn't make any sense!

Then I had my epiphany. I was trying to book a band I was friends with a show north in Oregon or Washington, and discovered that in those places there were venues just like the ones in my area facing similar problems. I thought to myself, "Maybe if we stand together and share with each other, we can all become stronger and overcome this." Of course I'm not the first person to get this idea, there are actually a couple groups out there like the All-Ages Movement Project currently run out of San Francisco that have the same aim as me. There are a cople bands out there that have at least attempted all all-ages tours, a surprisingly difficult feat. But for the most part, a good majority of all-ages clubs are struggling to stay in business themselves, and frankly don't have time to help other clubs. So instead of having venues send me information I intend to go to them for it.

My goal behind this trip is simple, I ant to see how I can help the all-ages scene across the country. I intend to find out why places like The Vera Project succeeded where others like Yes Yes Alliance failed. What are the stories of those involved? One of the things that all-ages venues tend to have universally is people involved who care more than a little about music, youth, and doing something positive for the community. What is it about the all-ages scene that makes them passionate to keep fighting? I want to see if I'm right, see if the best way to win is to unite and fight together.