JUMP Winter 2015

KING BRITT

ISSUE #16

WINTER 2015

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INSIDE: JEFF ZEIGLER, WEEKENDER, PROPERTYOFZACK, SUBURBAN LIVING, PROJECT POSITIVE, LA PEG AND MUCH MORE

CONTENTS | Issue #16

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WINTER 2015

THE JUMP OFF Weekender, PropertyOfZack, The Underwater Sounds, Suburban Living, Hurry, DJ Sega, The Bul Bey, GASH, TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb, Folk by Default, Project Positive, Marietta, Spirit of The Beehive, the Philadelphia Bike Rescue and What Scene?

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MUSIC & EDUCATION The Georgia E. Gregory Interdenominational School of Music began because there was a need for church musicians.

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MUSIC & POLITICS Councilman David Oh organized PHL Live, a music fest/ competition that wrapped up in December. What's next?

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THIS PLACE ROCKS The Lancaster Avenue Autonomous Space houses activist groups and throws shows with a message. If you are looking to dance and witness debauchery, go to Voyeur in the Gayborhood for late night.

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COVER stories Philly DJ legend King Britt takes his skills and experiences to The Village of Arts and Humanities in the heart of North Philadelphia, launches Playback Musik and hands down a legacy.

Jeff Zeigler has produced music for The War on Drugs, Kurt Vile, Purling Hiss, Lantern, Amanda X, Steve Gunn and countless other amazing acts. On the side, he performs with Arc In Round and he recently dropped an album with harpist Mary Lattimore.

Every year, around Halloween weekend, the modern punk world convenes in Gainesville, Florida for FEST. This year, there were more acts from Philly than from anywhere else in the country. At least 20 bands claiming Philly roots performed at the event.

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FOOD THAT ROCKS La Peg offers brasserie-type fare in a beautiful space - the renovated high pressure pump station along the waterfront, in a building they share with Fringe Arts.

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INSIDE VOICE Philly artist Gudda God gets around. So we asked him to document his world in images and share them with you.

FRONT COVER: King Britt and the Playback Musik team, by Michael Bucher. BACK COVER: Jeff Zeigler, by Jeff Fusco.

CONTENTS PAGE: (top to bottom) Suburban Living, by Chris Fascenelli; DJ Sega, by Sean Kane; Ma Jolie and Cayetana at FEST, by Jessica Flynn.

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publisher G.W. MILLER III managing editor CHRIS MALO deputy editors MICHAEL BUCHER, BETH ANN DOWNEY contributors TONY ABRAHAM, LISSA ALICIA, KYLE BAGENSTOSE, RACHEL BARRISH, TIMOTHY BECKER, VINCE BELLINO, CHRIS BROWN, CARY CARR, CHARLES SHAN CERRONE, JUMAH CHAGUAN, GABI CHEPURNY, ASHLEY COLEMAN, RICH COLEMAN, ANEESAH COLEY, KEVIN COOK, DARRAGH DANDURAND, CHESNEY DAVIS, RACHEL DEL SORDO, GRACE DICKINSON, KEVIN DORAN, JUSTIN DOWDALL, LAURA FANCIULLACCI, CHRIS FASCENELLI, JESSICA FLYNN, JEFF FUSCO, JESSICA GRIFFIN, DAN HALMA, SHAWN HILEMAN, TYLER HORST, LUONG HUYNH, PAUL IMBURGIA, GRETA IVERSON, JENNY KERRIGAN, MINA LEE, MATTHEW LEISTER, MORGAN JAMES, JENELLE JANCI, SEAN KANE, RICK KAUFFMAN, DONTE KIRBY, MEGAN MATUZAK, KATE McCANN, TERESA McCULLOUGH, JASON MELCHER, NIESHA MILLER, TIESHA MILLER, DAVE MINIACI, BRENDAN MENAPACE, SARAH MOORE, TIM MULHERN, BRIAN MYSZKOWSKI, ED NEWTON, TIM O'DONNELL, URSZULA PRUCHNIEWSKA, ABIGAIL REIMOLD, MARIE ALYSE RODRIGUEZ, CHAD SIMS, ADAM SMITH, BRIANNA SPAUSE, KEVIN STAIRIKER, BRITTANY THOMAS, JOHN VETTESE, JARED WHALEN, BRIAN WILENSKY ZAKEE VAUGHN (R.I.P.)

WE PRINT 10,000 FULL-COLOR ISSUES FOUR TIMES PER YEAR, IN MARCH, JUNE, SEPTEMBER AND NOVEMBER. WE DISTRIBUTE THEM FREE AT PHILLY AREA MUSIC VENUES, STUDIOS, RESTAURANTS, RECORD SHOPS, BARS, CLOTHING BOUTIQUES, GYMS, BOOK STORES, COFFEE SHOPS, UNIVERSITIES, CLUBS AND OTHER PLACES WHERE MUSIC LOVERS HANG OUT. IF YOU WANT MAGS AT YOUR LOCATION, EMAIL US AT JUMPPHILLY@GMAIL.COM. JUMP is an independent magazine published by Mookieland Inc. We are not owned by Temple University nor anyone else other than Mookieland, which is a company named after the publisher's dog.

The company was created in 2010 specifically to launch this magazine.

We have no money. We need your advertising dollars to print this mag, which promotes the local music scene. By supporting JUMP, you are supporting the local music scene.

This is a full-on, DIY, community effort. If you want to get involved, if you have story ideas or if you just have something to say, email us at jumpphilly@gmail.com, tweet us @JUMPphilly and find us at facebook.com/jumpphilly.

Philly rocks. Spread the word. facebook.com/JUMPphilly

Publisher's Note

The Grand Tour My mother went to the bathroom, leaving me alone in my New York apartment with her new boyfriend, Bob Tharpe. I had barely known the guy existed and here we were, left to find some common ground.

"So, George, you like NASCAR?" he asked in a North Carolina accent so thick that I'm pretty sure bits of cornbread flew out of his mouth as he garbled those words.

It was the day of my graduate school graduation ceremony and I had never seen a fraction of a second of car racing in my life. I don't remember whether I stared blankly at him or laughed out loud but it was a dubious start to our relationship, to say the least.

He turned out to be a very decent man - warmhearted, with a folksy sensibility that made me laugh a lot. A former career Navy medic, he had a second career as a general contractor.

He helped me build bookshelves in my home and then taught me to do other carpentry and repairs on my own. He diagnosed me whenever I had health issues and then suggested treatments.

He married my mother and then put up with her idiosyncrasies, of which there are many.

I had little to offer in return, other than fixing his computer whenever he accidentally trashed all his applications, email and operating system (though he did that surprisingly often). I also taught him how to find George Jones on YouTube, which lead to him watching country music videos for hours and hours on end.

Over the summer, Bob began having memory problems and conversations became incoherent. Dementia pounced upon him and within weeks, he no longer recognized his home, my mother, his daughter, me or anything else. He died on December 2.

Shortly after first meeting Bob 17 years ago, I found myself talking to a colleague, Jim Nicholson, who was among the country's finest obituary writers. Jim had the ability to make everyday Philadelphians sound amazing, despite not having been celebrities or public figures of any kind. He humanized people, recognizing that everyone has something that makes them special.

I complained to Jim that I was going broke because I was at that age - my mid-20s - when all my friends were getting married.

He replied, "It's better than being at that age when all you're doing is going to funerals."

Whoa. I stopped complaining.

As I approach my mid-40s, I think about Jim's words often. In recent years, I've lost a few folks who were very special to me. I'm not at that age when all my people start dying off but losing Bob has me in a funk. It feels like the start of something bad and I'm not sure what to do about it.

I find myself taking refuge in music a lot these days. I find myself listening to lyrics so much more intensely, finding connections and wondering how the artists knew exactly what I was going through.

And on my drives to see my now-widowed mother, I've been listening to George Jones and Hank Williams and singing along, thinking Bob would enjoy the ride.

- G.W. Miller III JUMPphilly.com

Photo by Charles Shan Cerrone.

WEEKENDER WARRIORS: drummer Alex Ocko (L to R), frontman Derek Sheehan, guitar player Tom Anthony and bassist Joe Grillo.

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facebook.com/JUMPphilly

The JUMP Off

INSIDE: WEEKENDER p. 8 / PROPERTYOFZACK p. 9 / THE UNDERWATER SOUNDS p. 10 / SUBURBAN LIVING p. 12 / HURRY p. 13 / DJ SEGA p. 14 / THE BUL BEY p. 15 / GASH p. 16 / TJ KONG AND THE ATOMIC BOMB p. 18 / FOLK BY DEFAULT p. 19 / PROJECT POSITIVE p. 20 / MARIETTA p. 22 / THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE p. 22 / PHILADELPHIA BIKE RESCUE p. 24 / WHAT SCENE? p. 25 /

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The JUMP Off

A Shared Interest in Fuzz It's a sunny Saturday afternoon in Fairmount, just two blocks from Eastern State Penitentiary where Derek Sheehan and two other members of Weekender are sitting at the bar inside London Grill. They mention that they're moving in low gear because of hanging out late the night before.

Sheehan, the band’s lead songwriter, bassist Joe Grillo and guitar player Tom Anthony get a table outside when it's time to switch from a liquid lunch to an actual meal. Each of them are laid back and seem rather carefree this afternoon as they start explaining how the hook-laden, yet prone-to-drone psych pop band works from the inside out.

Sheehan has been at the helm of the band's writing process since its infancy back in 2012 under the moniker, The Tweeds. He starts with an idea and records all parts of the song - drums, bass guitars and all - even recording it, before presenting it to the rest of the band. But he doesn’t come into their practices with a totalitarian outlook. In fact, the way he comes in with tunes ready is actually welcomed by the band.

“I think having a primary driver is an effective way to work,” Anthony says.

“Because when he brings songs in I put something over it and bounce ideas off Derek.”

Between the shared interest in fuzz that bounces before floating to the top of the skull and Sheehan’s penchant for hooks, Weekender has been able to work and write efficiently with their current lineup. But personnel is something that wasn’t solidified until last summer, when Grillo and drummer Alex Ocko joined. Their lineup had been in flux for the better part of the band’s existence. Until this summer, Sheehan’s brother held the drumming role but they mutually decided it wasn’t working anymore.

“It just turned into being too much ‘bro time,’” Sheehan says. “We were doing everything together even when we weren’t playing together. We even date sisters. It was just too much.”

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However, the rhythm section changes posed no threat to the band’s sound.

Their first EP, Spanish Peaks, features an earthy title track and the dense “No Help from Jesus,” which is right in line with their next, still unnamed, sixsong EP. It’s expected to be out in early 2015 on PaperCup Music and will have the other-worldly, “No Time to Waste.” “‘Spanish Peaks’ was the last song recorded for that EP and I sort of feel like that was the first Weekender song,” Anthony says about how they’re now moving in the right direction. “Derek had written the others before the name change and before I was even in the band.”

That raises the question of why there was so much time between releases.

Basically, life just got in the way as each member works full-time. Or the fact that over those two years, Sheehan recorded eight new songs but they decided to can all of them “We decided to take everything in a completely different direction,” Sheehan says. “So we scrapped the whole thing. This time we wrote seven, but we’re going to use six.”

This fall, Sheehan took an entire week off work to record the new songs. But getting that kind of time to spend recording isn’t always going to be available.

Now that it’s almost ready, Weekender’s got their eye on bigger things later on the calendar.

“Right now, I’d say we’re about 60 percent complete,” he says about finishing the new record. “And with the next chunk we finish, we’ll probably be at about 90 percent. So, we’re almost there. Sometimes I feel like it never stops between work and the music and that I’m spread thin. But it’s what you’ve got to do if you have the ambition.”

- Brian Wilensky NOT TWEEDS: guitar player Tom Anthony (L to R), bassist Joe Grillo, frontman Derek Sheehan and drummer Alex Ocko. facebook.com/JUMPphilly

Weekender photo by Charles Shan Cerrone. PropertyOfZack photo by Rachel Del Sordo.

Weekender used to be called The Tweeds. The band has changed lineups and evolved over the years but now they've found their sweet spot.

Online Punk Pioneer PropertyOfZack has been spotlighting punk bands online since 2009.

Zack Zarrillo looks up between bites of his Honest Tom’s burrito when he hears his name called. It’s more likely he thinks someone is addressing him in the West Philly taco joint due to the fact that he’s in the Drexel student’s neighborhood, where the majority of his friends live.

However, he probably never knows when he’ll be recognized for the creation of one of the most well respected punk music blogs, which also happens to bear his namesake.

Zarrillo started PropertyOfZack.com when he was a 16-year-old high school junior attending what he openly refers to as a private, all-boys “Gossip Girl” school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

“I never really had anyone to talk about music with,” he says. “My best friend [who lived in New Jersey and] was three years older than me showed me Sum 41 and Blink-182 when I was 9 and that was it for me. But in New York, no one I knew liked my music.”

So Zarrillo found people to talk about punk music with online. When his favorite forum closed down, he decided to create his own blog. With 300 initial Tumblr followers, Zarrillo posted the first band interview to PropertyOfZack on November 8, 2009, which he considers the birthday of the site.

“There was no model,” Zarrillo says. “There were sites like AbsolutePunk and Punknews and Alternative Press, but in 2009-2010 there were no music blogs. There were no other websites like PropertyOfZack – just small blogs with a very specific purpose. So I had nothing to model off of. I slowly stumbled upon this model.”

PropertyOfZack remains a Tumblr site to this day, but with a few more followers – more than 85,000, to be exact, Zarillo says. The site now generates millions of pageviews a month.

“That’s our secret weapon,” Zarrillo says of Tumblr’s social nature and reblogging feature. “I think for a few years I was always like, ‘Well maybe we’ll have to go to Wordpress one day.’ But eventually, I was like, 'Why would I ever leave? This is us.' Tumblr doesn’t inhibit us from doing anything because we’re not some crazy big site or platform, we don’t need some crazy intricate design. We’re just a blog. That’s what Tumblr does best.”

PropertyOfZack started covering bands like Man Overboard, Transit, Modern Baseball and The Wonder Years well before other online punk outlets. In return, those bands

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allowed the site to premiere albums and music videos, which ultimately contributed to the popularity of both the bands and the site.

“All these kids grew with us,” Zarrillo says of POZ fans. “I hope, or I think, the website is a routine in peoples’ day. They check on it because that’s where they find these bands and through these bands, they go to shows and meet other people in the community. Yeah, we’re on the Internet and that’s a lot different than meeting someone in person but I think it facilitates a lot.”

In 2012, Zarrillo was approached by Buzz Media with an offer to buy the website and fold it into an online punk conglomerate while he continued to run it. He was heading into college and saw the offer as an exciting opportunity for the website to grow, so he accepted. However, Zarrillo describes working with Buzz Media for the past two years as a “miserable experience.” He was able to buy back the site this past November on its fifth birthday.

“The site is my identity,” Zarrillo says. “All I do every day is the website.

I’m tired but it’s what I do. Truly, waking up and posting news is no different for me than brushing my teeth. I’m better at doing the website than I am at brushing my teeth. It’s no different than breathing to me. It’s more of my life than anyone else I’ve met whose work is their life. It’s an extension of me. So to get it back, and to not see it be ruined, was important.”

Jesse Richman, one of PropertyOfZack’s first staff members who has contributed hundreds of reviews, interviews, features and editorials to the site, said it’s been incredible to see POZ take off the way it has, as well as to see Zarillo gain back control of the project.

“I don't think any of us imagined it would grow to be as big or influential as it's become and I think the credit falls squarely on Zack's shoulders,” Richman says. “He's an absolutely relentless workaholic, knows how to navigate his way through an industry controlled by overgrown kindergartners, and isn't afraid to pivot the site when that's what it needs.”

Zarrillo has become a workaholic far outside of his responsibilities to PropertyOfZack. He’s now a band manager for Light Years and Knucklepuck and a co-founder of local label Bad Timing Records. He also helped his Drexel professor resurrect 24-year-old Delaware record label Jade Tree Records, so they made him a label manager.

“I’m 21-years-old and I’m a label manager at Jade Tree, which is kind of dumb because the label is three years older than I am,” Zarrillo says. “Eighteen months ago, all I was planning on doing was the website. Now I’m doing a lot of stuff, and it’s weird. It’s spurred into all this stuff and it’s like a dream.

Sometimes I have no idea what I’m doing and it’s great. It’s very weird. It’s because of Philly though. All of that stuff has just come because of Philly.”

- Beth Ann Downey

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Photo by Jessica Flynn.

The JUMP Off

Legendary Misfits of Sounds It's hard to categorize the music from The Underwater Sounds but they throw a real fun show.

As Sean Youngman drives along Grays Ferry Avenue toward Southwest Philadelphia, he notices a disheveled youth standing by the roadside, asking for change. He stops his car and roots around the back seat that is occupied by laundry baskets filled with freshly pressed albums and promotional posters.

“I knew I had them in here,” he mumbles as he tosses items around. Youngman locates a box of granola bars, quickly rolls down the window and waves the beggar over. He hands the vagabond a bar with a smile, stating, “I like to keep them around and hand them out to people on the streets. I think it’s good karma.”

It seems that karma has really paid off for Youngman and his fellow musicians in The Underwater Sounds, a West Philly band on the brink of launching into exciting endeavors. The Sounds’ newest release, Visions of Love & Light, Part 1 - recorded at Fishtown’s East Room Recording has just been pressed in time for a tour.

Youngman approaches the dead-end of Paschall Avenue and hops out of the car. His fellow band members - vocalist Sonni Schwartzbach, bassist Kenny Shumski and guitarist Billy Campion come out to meet him.

Inside Campion’s home - an industrial building he converted into a living/practice space - the bandmates set down boxes of albums and posters,

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grab a few bottles of Goose Island beer and collapse on the couches in the practice area. The walls are covered with psychedelic tapestries, and the corners of the room are crowded with band merchandise, amplifiers and instruments. This is a rare opportunity for everyone to relax before launching into another busy stretch. But they’re accustomed to it, ever since forming in 2010.

“It was just me, Sonni and Sean at first, writing and playing [Sonni’s] tunes,” says Shumski. “But eventually, more members came aboard and everything kind of shifted in a different direction.

We started exploring collaboration as a group.”

Campion’s addition brought a touch of jam to the unit. But that’s just one element of the package.

“Space roots, world-bop, psychedelic groove…”

Schwartzbach lists as she tries to categorize the band.

“I like to say reggae soul,” chimes in Campion.

“Reggae is a cool box to be in but I don’t necessarily think we fit inside a box,” counters Schwartzbach. “We’re not going to be stuck in one scene. We’re misfits.”

Labeling aside, the band coalesced into a distinct sound over the years, with each member providing an element of his or her own.

“Sean and I come from more harder-rock backgrounds, Sonni always played in reggae bands and ska bands and Billy played all sorts

of stuff,” says Shumski. “It’s not like we’re consciously trying to create a unique sound. It’s just happening.”

That is the mentality which makes The Sounds so accessible, even to those who normally won’t bother listening to reggae or jam music. Their live shows are legendary, with live art, stilt-walkers, hula-hoopers and fire-spinners complementing the trippy tunes.

“We have a lot of friends with really unique abilities that they’ll contribute to our shows,” says Youngman.

After years of handling live acts and two records on their own, the band has recently signed on to locally-based Rising Pulse Productions - home of Philly funk outfit Swift Technique - allowing them to concentrate strictly on the music.

Although The Sounds have invested plenty of time traveling, they still call Philadelphia specifically West Philly - home.

“The music scene is accessible,” Schwartzbach remarks. “There’s a community here that’s not typical of East Coast cities to have this homey feel.”

“And nobody complains about the music!” notes Campion in regard to practices.

“It’s cool that we can park the band bus out here, too,” says Youngman with a laugh.

All told, the band’s core ethos is simply summed up in one line.

“It’s a party and we want everyone to have a fucking good time,” says Schwartzbach. “No matter who they are.”

And that’s a party you don’t want to miss.

- Brian W. Myszkowski facebook.com/JUMPphilly

Photo by Rachel Barrish.

The JUMP Off

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Photo by Chris Fascenelli.

The JUMP Off

Yours to Interpret Wesley Bunch, of the dream pop band Suburban Living, resides in the big city now.

In this life, Wesley Bunch is the creative force behind Suburban Living. Not that he thinks that is what he has always been.

“I think everybody has a past life and something embedded in them,” Bunch says. “I think that in a past life, I was a writer, like a storyteller or something.”

Originally from near Virginia Beach, Virginia, Bunch moved to Fishtown after deciding that Philadelphia would be the best place to cultivate his musical interests. No longer living in the suburbs, Bunch is settling in nicely to the big city.

“I just moved to Philly three months ago,” Bunch says. “I love Philadelphia. I think it’s a great town and a really great music scene. I just got tired of Virginia Beach. I love it there. It’s home. But the city life is more for me.”

The 23-year-old Bunch is sitting in Interstate Drafthouse in Fishtown. He talks excitedly about his musical project and throws around words like “rad” liberally.

“I got a guitar for my 11th birthday,” Bunch says.

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“I basically got down playing a guitar and after that, it mostly became a songwriting tool. I’m not very good at guitar but I thought I could use this thing to write music.”

After playing in a few bands in high school, Bunch decided that it was easier to simply make music on his own.

“I kind of always played music by myself throughout high school,” Bunch says. “I joined a band that was, like, super ambient post rock stuff and in the middle of that, I kind of started to really like pop music. I became enthralled with really great pop bands and indie pop kind of stuff, so I wanted to make music that I really liked listening to.”

Heavily influenced by the likes of Sonic Youth, Bunch started making music on his own that has pop sensibility but still has a weirdness and dissonance to it. If he had to categorize it, he chooses “dream pop” as a genre, but doesn’t like to pigeonhole himself.

“I’d like people to take away just a sense of being able to interpret it on their own terms,” he says.

“People always ask what my songs are about and stuff like that. What I’d really like is the listener to interpret it on their own and just enjoy it, really. If it’s one of the more upbeat and poppy songs that you can dance to, then dance.”

Bunch recorded his upcoming self-titled LP in Virginia with Mae’s Mark Padgett. For live shows, he recruited drummer Michael Cammarata and guitar and synth player Chris Radwanski from Night Panther.

“I met Wes through Andy from the band Cruisr,” Cammarata says. “Wes moved to Philly looking for some new people. We practice at a spot a couple of minutes from where Chris and I live in Doylestown. We can play all hours of the night.”

Being that he’s no longer living in the suburbs, Bunch says that the sound might change as he assimilates further into the Philadelphia music scene.

“I’m a firm believer that the environment you’re in can completely influence the type of music you make,” Bunch says. “I think living in the suburbs of Virginia really influenced the sound of Suburban Living. I think the sound is going to change on the next record now that I’m living in Philadelphia.

When I live in a certain place, it totally affects how I write music.”

- Brendan Menapace facebook.com/JUMPphilly

Steve Jobs & The Wozniaks

Photo by Chris Fascenelli.

The self-deprecating guys in Hurry can't help but keep making music.

The guys in Hurry want to make it clear that they do not take themselves too seriously. That said, they take their music incredibly seriously, but not so much so that they get conceited.

They want listeners to know that.

Hurry began as a creative outlet for guitarist/ vocalist/songwriter Matt Scottoline, who also shares bass duties for Philadelphia’s Everyone Everywhere. He writes all the songs on his own and sends demos to drummer Rob DeCarolis and bassist Joe DeCarolis.

“Everyone Everywhere played more infrequently over time,” Scottoline says. “So I continued writing songs and I decided, because I wanted to keep playing in bands, that I had to start focusing more energy into Hurry.”

“You’re the idea man,” Rob DeCarolis says.

“You’re the Steve Jobs. And Joe and I are the Steve Wozniaks.”

It’s not a far-off comparison. Scottoline does have a few Jobs-like qualities. He has a bit of a receding hairline hidden under a baseball cap.

He’s tall and skinny, dressed in a sweater and jeans. He’s quiet but speaks with certainty and he’s not sure what would happen if he stopped

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creating things. Unlike Jobs, Scottoline is sure to not take himself too seriously.

This attitude of not taking themselves too seriously is obvious in their merch. One shirt says “I saw Hurry open for a band I like.” Another has Charlie Brown peeing on the word “Hurry.”

“A lot of the merch is sort of selfdeprecating , which is kind of a reflection of that mindset,” Scottoline says.

“From playing in bands so long and being in bands who have had moderate success, I’ve come to realize that none of it really matters that much. I just never want anyone to think that we think more of ourselves than what we actually are.”

“People like to laugh,” says Rob DeCarolis.

Scottoline looks at him and reassures everyone that they are not doing a comedy show.

“No,” he says. “But it goes back to the lighthearted aspect.”

“Realistically, everybody who is coming to a show to see a band like us, I feel like they all come from similar backgrounds regardless of where

they live,” Scottoline says.

It’s a mindset that comes through in the music as well. Their latest album, Everything/Nothing, recorded at The Headroom and released by Hot Green Records, is catchy and memorable. But in the vein of their influences like Yo La Tengo and Pavement, the record has that constant fuzzy drone throughout it all. There are poppy melodies wrapped in heavy feedback and distortion.

Scottoline doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon after having released the album.

“I’ll always make songs, so there will always be albums,” Scottoline says. “That’s just the way I am. It’s the thing I like doing. I don’t want to say anything cliché or cheesy, but I can’t help it. So there will definitely be more. Unless I die.”

No band wants their art to become a chore. With all the self-deprecation and self-induced stress, one would have to ask if all this is worth it.

“Is it worth it?” Scottoline asks, confused. “I don’t think that matters because I can’t stop myself.”

- Brendan Menapace

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Photo by Sean Kane.

The JUMP Off

The Artist's Experience DJ Sega travels the world playing music and making people dance. He's gone from homeless to Hella and back Robert Taylor Jr. sits on a chair in the living room surrounded by clothing, bags, empty cigarette boxes, a laptop, a lamp covered in plastic and an aquarium that houses two pet snakes, Hidley and Kane. This is where he lives at the moment, in a house but it's not his home.

Better known to the world as DJ Sega, he sits in a cozy chair, alternating between taking sips of Yellowtail sangria and taking drags from a cigarette. Locks of hair spill over his face to the black Mad Decent Block Party II shirt he sports.

Dark denim jeans extend to the orange and green Pumas on his feet. A gold pendant is splayed on his chest. The chain was his father’s but the medallion that states “I AM SO IN DEMAND” was a gift from a fan in Australia, a place he lived for three months. He developed his penchant for the aromatized wine from down under.

“The original experience I was going for was always a fusion between breakbeats and club music, and the experience that you get from a live performance,” Sega says about creating his latest project. “There’s no irony that a lot of DJs are being looked at as all-stars. When I’m on stage, you’re not just seeing a DJ. You’re not just seeing an artist pressing a bunch of buttons. You’re getting a real, genuine live experience. But the sound itself is an experience.”

The cadence of his delivery is thoughtful, purposeful and with conviction, almost preacherlike, without any trace of a pontificating element.

Getting here, to this living room, to this chair, has been a process he has invited the world to see.

But only recently have people become entirely aware of how drastic things had become.

It started when Sega used to watch his father DJ at the Baby Grand Lounge in Nicetown - a place where Sega now spins every Thursday night.

But it was at Rolling Thunder skating rink on Roosevelt Boulevard where he saw DJ Dee Square spinning that Sega first became Sega. They worked together, recording his first live set at the rink. That became Sega’s first mixtape.

“Him and I sat down and politicked and were discussing things aside from music, on a personal level,” remembers Dee Square after meeting Sega that first night. “And it kind of started a little bit of life mentoring. He was going through some really

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rough times. We kind of built a friendship behind a combination of music and me just being there for him.”

For years, in videos and interviews, Sega had been talking about and showing the world the awful condition of the house his family rented at 5001 Irving St. in West Philly. It should have been condemned, which eventually happened this past spring. Sega, his disabled mother and uncle were forced to vacate the premises immediately, becoming homeless.

“Imagine laying in bed, looking up at the ceiling.

You have a drop ceiling,” Sega recalls about the house he lived in for a decade. “And you see something running back and forth over your head.

You can hear these creatures. Eventually you get used to it, just so you can get to sleep. But it's a bit hard to deal with because you don’t want to close yours eyes in case something falls on you.”

They were temporarily housed in various hotels by the Red Cross. It wasn’t until recently that he got his mother and uncle an apartment in Northeast Philadelphia, in part from the money he raised from friends and fans through a GoFundMe campaign. A friend and her father were nice enough to open their doors to Sega.

Having recently dropped his latest mixtape, HellaSonix 8.666, Sega is in good spirits. He's taking life’s trials and tribulations in stride. The latest music harkens back to the sounds and blistering energy that first got the basement of the Ukie Club and mausoleum at 12th and Spring Garden streets jumping during Mad Decent’s Philly heyday, before that guy who shall remain nameless sold the sound to the world. Sega’s

latest project takes rock and metal anthems and flawlessly drops in thumping basslines to transform tracks from head banging to head nodding.

“It’s supposed to reach into your conscience and pull out old memories and things you forgot about,” says Sega about the mixtape.

“Old moments that people remember from their teenage years. So much so that it manifests right then and there.”

Adversity or beef be damned and after a decade in the game, Sega has no plans to slow down. If these things never stopped him in the past, why would they now?

In the near future, Sega plans to release a video version of HellaSonix, drop the next installment of his Sixers mixtape series and create new material for Is That Your EP Too. “One word, and that word is endurance,” says Dee Squared when asked to describe DJ Sega. “He has never given up. The average person would have tried to hurt themself or slid into a depression but he’s always endured and held on to his integrity.”

“Throughout life, you come across different moments, like you come across different music,” Sega says. “I take those moments and capture everybody’s memories within one song, or within my execution of that sample in that song. I like to say, 'Not only do I pick the songs but the songs pick me.'”

He hopes to secure a place of his own in the near future. There are bigger forces at work here. Sega is well aware of this.

And he's also aware of the fact that he is a force - Chris Malo of his own to be reckoned with. facebook.com/JUMPphilly

Essence of Philly

Photo by Jason Melcher.

Rapper The Bul Bey makes music that is steeped in Philly but is playful enough to be approchable by all.

At one point or another, Philly MC The Bul Bey, has called many areas of Philadelphia home. Over the years, he has lived in Southwest, West Girard and Germantown neighborhoods. Currently the artist, also known as Amir Richardson, is coming up with feel-good rhymes in his apartment that is only a hop, skip and a jump away from the 52nd Street El station in West Philadelphia.

After releasing singles ‘Where I’m From’ and ‘On,’ 26-year-old Bey is getting significant buzz from fans who are awaiting his upcoming project, Shaking Hands And Kissing Babies.

Bey looks nothing like a stereotypical Philly rapper - no beard, no visible tattoos and a smile. His charming demeanor and positive attitude allow him to serve up unexpected crafty bars and a playfulness that is comparable to Will Smith.

The Bul Bey began rapping at the age of 7 while growing up on South Southridge Street, a small block in the Kingsessing neighborhood of Southwest Philadelphia. Much of his inspiration came from his older brothers after seeing them rhyming.

“One of my brothers was really into Tupac, so he would really try to sound like a thug,” says Bey. “I would just try my best. I don’t even know what he used to rap about actually, now that I think about it. I think I used to rap about the park - Myers Playground.”

Bey is currently signed with Illvibe Media, created by the DJ and production crew Illvibe Collective. Illvibe DJ Matthew Law, formerly known as DJ PHSH, has been friends with Richardson for a few years.

“With the push that we are trying to give this project and the shows that will come out of it, I think it’s going to be a solid introduction” says Law when speaking about the upcoming album. “And a solid reintroduction to people who already know.”

The first single, “Where I’m From,” isn’t just an ode to cheesesteaks and the Wu-tang dance. It offers a glimpse into the rougher side of Philly that many try to ignore. A feature by Camden MC Davon gives the track a more relatable quality. The entire song brings back memories of kicking back on a West Philly porch with a few brews.

“I realized that when I was writing it, I didn’t want it to be bound,” says Bey. “I wanted it to have the elements of growing up in Philadelphia the block party, the SEPTA bus, the unpaved pavements, the really sweet and wonderful, incredible women. I wanted to have all those elements in there but I didn’t want to be handcuffed to just my city. I wanted anybody to connect with it.”

The Bul Bey is straight-up Philly, down to his name. Although his music is getting mad buzz from all stretches of the city, his heart resides in West.

“What I love about West Philly is the eclectic essence of this neighborhood,” he says. “I feel like there is no place in Philadelphia where you have Ethiopians, Hispanics, Central Asians. Philadelphia is very historic. I live around the corner from the Paul Robeson House. I get kind of geeked out when I get off the 21 bus at 50th and Walnut and I am in front of the hose that Paul Robeson lived at. I think that its dope and very neighborhood-ish.”

- Lissa Alicia JUMPphilly.com

Photo by Michael Bucher.

The JUMP Off

The Fetish of The Floggers

Go to a GASH show but be prepared - there might be audience participation.

The practice space of Philly S&M punks GASH is tucked away in an easily overlooked alley one block south of South Street and decorated with mural-sized naked ladies, close-ups of vaginas included.

It’s perfect for the six-piece group - vocalist Tibbie X, guitarist Hit Cunningham, guitarist A.J. Delinquent, bassist Travis Travesty, drummer Atom Riot and dominatrix Mistress Stephxecutioner – whose relationship began when Cunningham and Tibbie X met via Craigslist.

“I was playing bass in Reagan Youth and that was awesome,” Tibbie X says. “But I really wanted to write some new songs and somehow Hit came through Craigslist. It’s actually really sleazy that we met on there.”

Cunningham knew Delinquent from music theory class at the Community College of Phladelphia. The two started talking, began playing music together and writing a bunch of new material, as both axemen wanted to start a new band. The rest of the factors soon fell into place, including the band’s name.

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“I was trying to think of something that made sense for what we were trying to do,” Cunningham says. “This was around the time that we started thinking of the whole S&M thing and the style that we were trying to go for. I mean honestly, ‘gash’ just is slang for pussy.”

Halloween 2013 marked the release of SUBSPACE, the band’s first EP. What followed was a series of live shows with performances that developed organically and became something not many see when they go to a concert.

Tibbie X and Cunningham started with the initial idea of making it into a live BDSM performance.

Then Tibbie X decided to bring in Mistress Stephxecutioner.

“I’m just a fetishist and everything came out naturally,” Tibbie X says. “I never really had the idea to do fetish performance or anything like that. It’s a part of who I am. So when I’m on stage, I separate from my regular life and stuff just comes out.”

GASH shows feature heavy moshing and random flogging. Don’t be surprised if Stephxecutioner pulls more than a few audience members over to dance with – or get flogged by – her.

“There’s just this natural flow and I feel like we’re sort of influencing each other in a way,” the domme says. “There’s very good chemistry on stage. We have a very base idea of what we’re going to do on stage. We run with it and it gets better every time.”

The success of their live shows doesn’t mean that

some people wouldn't be offended by the band's actions. But band members don’t see any problems.

“Honestly,” Cunningham says, “we’re just doing the shit that people think about but they never will do because society tells them they can’t do it.”

“We’re playing around with the elephant in the room,” Riot adds.

The Philly natives are set to start recording their full-length record, Astral Liberation, a continuation of SUBSPACE, and hope to release it sometime early next year.

“I like to call it an Akashic record because I was just reading about how the entire universe is held in these Akashic records where everything that is to come and has been before,” Tibbie X says. “SUBSPACE is the four songs that are the introduction to the full length and subspace is a mental state that you get in as a submissive when you’re sexually playing in S&M. So Astral Liberation is like the freedom point, when you break from reality and you’re entwined with your lover.”

While the band loves knowing that fans blare their music from car stereos, Travesty admits that a recording is just not the same as a live show.

Riot often passes out between songs because he puts so much into it. Tibbie X and Stephxecutioner perform their live domme/sub show. Cunningham jams on guitar and Delinquent jumps all over the place.

“We bring this energy that cannot be reproduced on a record,” Travesty says. “It’s a good time.”

- Gabi Chepurny

facebook.com/JUMPphilly

JUMPphilly.com

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Photo by Michael Bucher.

The JUMP Off

Confessions of a Storyteller?

The members of TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb pile into a booth at The Dew Inn, a friendly, neighborhood-y, no-nonsense diner on Girard Avenue in Olde Kensington.

They’ve come here in search of cheap Sunday brunch fuel and won’t be disappointed, save the disproportionate boiling of bassist Josh Machiz’s soft-boiled egg.

As a smattering of eggs, bacon, scrapple and toast take over their table, the TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb bandmates discuss why they enjoy living in a working class city like Philadelphia, with all of its grit and grease. The same characteristics have also kept the local Americana scene, of which the band is a part of, both relevant and thriving.

“Folks come here to live on the cheap and work and find their way in the world,” says frontman Dan Bruskewicz. “It’s a great place to live in order to find what you want to do because you can live for cheap, you can find work, you can drink for cheap, eat for cheap. It’s easy to get around town.

It’s a great place to live in your 20s and find out what you want to be. I just feel like folk music is a very nice soundtrack for that.”

The band is named for a character in the black comedy “Dr. Strangelove.” With its folk-style narrative lyrics and foot-stomping, rabblerousing, attitude-driven music, TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb is a band particularly skilled at providing another kind of soundtrack - one for a great party.

“Our friends would come and dance around and get drunk,” Bruskewicz says of his band’s early

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days as a two-piece that he started with drummer Dan Cask. “It was fun.”

After being accepted into the 2009 POP Montreal International Music festival out of the blue, they decided to add a bass player to the band and redirect their focus.

“We were like, ‘Well maybe we should think about doing this in a more professional capacity,” Bruskewicz says.

His detailed storytelling in every TJ Kong song may make you quick to dub his stage presence a persona but Bruskewicz says he’s not really putting on or acting. Despite this, he still has a way of making audiences think he’s speaking about real-life experiences, no matter how outlandish they may be.

“You never know if they’re autobiographical or confessional,” says lead guitarist Josh Olmstead of his bandmate's lyrics. “Has this stuff really happened or has he observed it happening?

How theatrical is it versus how autobiographical it is. He always treads this nice line. The only way you can be describing this so vividly and making people connect to these lyrics is to have experienced it in some way. But at the same time, it’s like, I don’t know how one person could have experienced all this and still be alive, in a sense.”

“That’s actually a good way to think about the band too - it’s a vehicle for the stories to be told,” adds Bruskewicz. “It’s a fun way to experience folky storytelling songs rather than a sit-andlisten sort of way. It’s in an interactive and strange theatrical sort of way. We make a different

atmosphere for people to experience lyrical blues and folk music.”

Even in the context of a studio recording, TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb tries to capture that in-themoment feel of a live show. Nowhere is this more evident than the band’s most recent five-track EP Kong, released last March and produced by goto scene favorite Bill Moriarty. Bruskewicz says the band barely rehearsed the five songs before entering the studio. They recorded the session all in one day and that actually helped them capture the raw sound they were hoping for.

“There are definitely parts of it that aren’t perfect and parts of it that are really, really good,” Bruskewicz says. “But it just feels more like what we’re trying to do. So we just found a good way to finally communicate what we’re doing. I think that that communication is very much in the moment and very alive. It’s just, like, letting all the different personalities do their thing without having to think too much. Just letting them run around.”

TJ Kong will release music videos for each song on the Kong EP in the coming weeks. They plan to release a full-length some time in 2015.

Until then, the band will continue to donate their talents to the robust local Americana scene and entertain live audiences with the unexpected.

“Basically we’re like an Americana band that’s scared of being bored and is very easily bored,” Bruskewicz says. “That’s a good way to think about it. We just write songs that make you dance - Beth Ann Downey around.” facebook.com/JUMPphilly

Photo by Kara Khan.

TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb will entertain you with foot-stomping music and stories that come to life through song.

Everyday People

Photo by Darragh Dandurand.

Neither the artist nor the band, Folk by Default, is easily categorized.

Kayla Raniero clutches a cup of Starbucks coffee while poking out from under a mountain of schoolbooks. At this moment, you would never know that Raniero’s brainchild, Folk By Default, is in the midst of its biggest shift yet.

Raniero is not just a musician but also a visionary and a voice for the queer community. After coming out as agender, thus identifying with they/them pronouns, Raniero realized there was an opportunity to do something beyond playing music.

“It has opened my eyes to the importance of using your platform as a musician,” Raniero says. “It’s important for me to just be a musician and show that I’m a normal person doing things ... and just happen to be queer.”

Raniero never had a non-binary role model while struggling with identity issues. The artist wants to be that for people who might not otherwise have one.

Folk by Default has taken on many forms and ideas throughout its existence, morphing from a folk project to a pop-punk group to its current form, what Raniero describes as a solo folk punk project.

Folk by Default, however, refuses to fit into any single mold.

Playing with just a synthesizer, Raniero sings and challenges others’ perceptions and expectations of the music.

“I just get to go in and out of the genres, be whatever [genre] I’m feeling,” Raniero says. “I get to embrace punk culture without being strictly punk.”

Having moved here from Wilkes-Barre to attend Temple University, Raniero is reinventing Folk by Default again. The plan is to do that with big ideas and memorable songwriting.

“Every day, I write at least one stream-of-consciousness and whenever I see something interesting in a stream-of-consciousness, it usually turns into a JUMPphilly.com

song,” Raniero says.

The people who have seen Raniero’s evolution say that the act has always had a knack for songwriting since the start.

“Many high school-aged musicians naturally emulate their influences but have a difficult time finding their own style,” says Katrina Lykes, Raniero’s former voice teacher. “That was never an issue for Kayla.”

Over time, songwriting naturally became for Raniero a way to voice struggles as well as lend support to the queer community.

“A lot of those songs were written when I was closeted and struggling with self-esteem,” Raniero says.

Knowing how it feels to struggle with gender identity and being closeted, Raniero strives to make Folk by Default something that those who may still be struggling can relate to. Raniero reaches out to the queer community throughout Philadelphia to create a safe environment through music.

“It’s a fellowship of people who are different, who question standards and who value embracing the individuality of yourself and everyone around you,” Raniero says of Folk by Default’s fans.

Raniero found a group of likeminded people but Philadelphia has also given Folk by Default a place where they feel welcome.

“So far my music's been received really well,” Raniero says. “People seem to like the individuality I bring to the table.”

The willingness to try new things to stand out has been one of Folk by Default’s staple traits since day one.

“Stage fright was never an issue [for Kayla] either,” says Lykes, remembering what Folk by Default was before it was just Kayla. “Folk by Default played everywhere.”

Raniero finds open mics wherever they pop up and plans to play every possible venue while settling into Philadelphia.

With a new single, Folk by Default’s first professional recording, coming soon, Raniero will continue to challenge perceptions and ideas about their music and the queer community.

- Vince Bellino

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The JUMP Off

Flipping Inspiring

Monday through Saturday.

“Since my spiel on the train, we have been leveraging our networks because we understand that there are people who don’t know about us and our message,” Holley says. “I’m thankful that

Project Positive uses breakdancing to inspire young Philadelphians, build confidence and create a stronger sense of community.

Damon Holley moved to West Philadelphia when he was 14. The shy Rhode Island transplant wouldn’t even ride the train for the fear of being mugged. And now he’s dancing on one.

His boisterous dance troupe, Project Positive, rolls around moving subway cars and onto crowded street corners. Loud enough to grab attention and friendly enough to incite a smile, Project Positive raises awareness of their program through public breakdancing performances.

Spare change donations are invested back into the program that Holley and a few longtime friends started, which engages and inspires young people through hip-hop dance.

The plan started off small in 2010 by making dance accessible in their own neighborhoods through workshops for children age 6 and older.

Project Positive exploded when Holley, now 26, was arrested in March on the Broad Street Line, charged with disorderly conduct and defiant trespassing while dancing. The charges were later dropped.

Since then, the program has expanded to six locations around the city, offering $5 workshops

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this turned into something good because they really tried to slander what we were doing and I don’t think they took the time to find out what it really was.”

The misunderstanding generated interest that landed Project Positive a partnership with Villa

TV and Rising Sons, another community project.

Jamila Abdur, site supervisor for West Philadelphia’s Christy Recreation Facility, has watched Project Positive grow from an idea into a movement.

“In this neighborhood, it has brought a lot of positivity,” Abdur says. “They bring so much positive energy to the facility and stability for these young kids. It’s crazy that Damon chose that name for the group because the kids are definitely living up to the expectations.”

“What’s the name of the game?” Holley shouts to a small class on a Thursday night.

“Pay attention!” the students cry in unison, their young eyes fixed firmly on Holley.

Stiff movements become fluid and focus never falters as the eight-counts fly by.

“I’ve learned things about myself that I would have never imagined by working with kids,” says Holley. “I have yet to find anything else in the world that brings people together like hip-hop dance.”

Naiteshyia Bennett, a 17-year-old who has been dancing with Project Positive for two years, noticed something different about the group immediately.

“What a lot of crews around here lack is teamwork,” says Bennett. “They [Project Positive] never leave anybody behind. If you fall, the whole team falls. Even if I’m the only girl out there, I appreciate the way they treat me as one of them.”

A teammate silently approaches her from behind, adjusts her shirt and leaves without a word.

“It’s things like that,” Bennett continues. “Project positive reminds me so much of the family that I facebook.com/JUMPphilly

Photos by Jason Melcher.

always wanted. From dancing, to taking care of me, Project Positive is my life.”

Holley expects that Project Positive will continue to grow as rapidly as it did in 2014, due to the expansion grant the program was awarded by the Knight Foundation, when Holley was named a Black Male Engagement Leader of 2014.

He hopes to secure studio space to centralize workshop locations and maybe offer transportation to students sometime in the future.

For now, he's taking everything one step at a time.

JUMPphilly.com

The current focus is on perfecting routines for upcoming performances and expanding horizons through dance.

“Project Positive could be anything,” Holley says. “It could be inspiring youth through DJing, through graffiti, playing basketball, doing the dishes or cleaning up trash in your local park.

That’s Project Positive. It’s taking out the time from yourself to something positive for someone - Brianna Spause else.”

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Photo by Jessica Flynn.

New Spirit With Old Roots The Spirit of The Beehive formed, released an album and toured the country within a year, largely because the band is made up of young veteran musicians.

Marietta's Biggest Fans

Marietta went from high school band to basement regulars. Now they're playing big stages.

Despite the overcast weather and their killer hangovers, the members of local emo band Marietta remain cheery and upbeat while sitting beneath the mounted deer head hanging in the living room of frontman Evan Lescallette. The guys have been friends for a long time now. In fact, bassist Ben Johnson and drummer Andrew Weigel were bandmates before the formation of Marietta in their high school pop-punk band, The Putdown.

“We were pretty bad ass. Check us out on Bandcamp,” laughs Weigel in a jokingly cocky tone, followed by chorus of “Oh mans” from the rest of the group.

Marietta started as a three piece until Johnson came out to see Weigel’s new band with Lescallette and guitarist Ethan Willard, fell in love and “snuck his way in.” Now, they call Johnson “band dad” and swear he’s the one who keeps them on track. Like many Philly bands, they got their start in sweaty, packed basements that reek of old beer. Now, they’re playing larger venues with green rooms and free alcohol, alongside big-name bands like Braid and A Great Big Pile of Leaves.

“We had to actually think of what to say on stage,” jokes Johnson, referring to the most intimidating aspect of tour.

They all agree that it is definitely a different environment than playing house shows.

“There’s just a different mentality about the band,” says Lescallette. “If you’re watching a band on a stage you’re like, ‘This is the band.’ If you’re in a basement, you’re on the same level and you’re like, ‘Here’s that guys who’s going to be upstairs drinking a beer later.’”

Through these experiences, the band has made various connections within the Philly music scene. They recorded their first full-length album, Summer Death, partially in Michael Jordan House and partially in a place they call “Ron’s House.” Michael Crino of Soft Speak Records liked their album so much that he personally contacted them and asked if he could press it on vinyl. In October, they pressed Summer Death for a third time. Marietta is finishing up recording their new album at Sleepless Sounds Studio in Germantown. The album will be released early next year.

“Marietta wouldn’t be where we are today had we not started in Philly,” says Lescallette.

Marietta records its music by tracking the individual instruments first and leaving the vocals for later, as opposed to recording live. They write the lyrics at the very end of the process and record vocal as the last step. Johnson and Weigel don’t know what their songs actually sound like until they’re mastered. When they listen to a new album, it’s almost like hearing new music to them too. It is a process where the bandmates joke that they are “Marietta’s biggest fans.”

Lescallette says he feels confident that the new record will reveal a more realized Marietta.

“I think we’ve really settled into our writing styles,” adds Willard.

The guys describe their new sound as more “party rock” and less progressive and “twinkly” than Summer Death. “I just hope we get big enough so that I don’t have to have a real job,” Lescallette jokes.

Marietta has come a long way in the last four years. They swear, despite Summer Death’s popularity, that they had no idea what they were doing in the beginning. Now, they’re planning a national tour, releasing a new album and settling into their individual styles.

“I just like playing music with these guys so if I could base my life around this band that’d be so awesome,” says Johnson. If it doesn’t work out however, the guys have a back up plan.

- Jenny Kerrigan “We have a bunch of stand-up on Netflix,” Willard says with a shrug.

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Members of The Spirit of the Beehive, including guitarist/ vocalist Zack Schwartz, drummer Pat Conaboy, guitarist/ keyboardist Justin Fox, guitarist Tim Jordan and bassist/vocalist Rivka Ravede, are situated in a corner of the basement of the North Philadelphia home where they hold rehearsals. The space is cluttered. Low ceilings expose pipes and harsh lighting.

In less than 24 hours, they will depart on a 10-day tour of house shows, out to the Midwest and back, and this is how they're getting ready.

“This is the preparation for the tour,” jokes Jordan, referencing the time they spend rehearsing their set before packing the van and hitting the road.

“I have directions to all the shows,” adds Schwartz.

The members of the band gravitated toward Philadelphia due, in part, to the bands they played in prior to forming The Spirit of the Beehive. Conaboy came to Philadelphia to study and stayed for the music scene. Schwartz arrived in Philadelphia while playing in Glocca Morra.

The Spirit of the Beehive formed in early 2014 as a three-piece comprised of Schwartz, Conaboy (formerly of Kite Party) and Ravede, a Florida native. Later, former Kite Party members Fox and Jordan were added to the lineup when Kite Party announced it was dissolving.

“We’re pretty much starting from the ground up,” Schwartz says.

“We are trying to make it so that nobody knows that we came from other bands. I’m not trying to leave it behind. It’s just a new band that happens be members of those bands.”

Schwartz notes that a solo project that fizzled out early led to the initial lineup of the band coming together.

“I had a solo project that I was doing for awhile and it wasn’t really going anywhere because I couldn’t get anyone to play with me,” Schwartz says. “I was bored at home, so I wrote a couple songs. I asked Rivka if she wanted to play bass in the band and I asked Pat to play drums. And that was it.”

Fox mentions that he joined the band after the recording for the album was finished. The group released their self-titled debut LP in August. The record is a dense, moody mix of post-punk, shoegaze and fuzzed-out rock.

They began writing material in February and continued through June and then recorded from June to August.

“All of the songs were written pretty quickly,” says Schwartz.

“Not that I rushed to write them. They just formed quicker than I thought they would. I had a lot of time at home. I smoked a lot of weed. We recorded once a week, for a couple hours every week. It wasn’t very linear at all. There was a lot of space and time between those sessions.”

The group hopes to release a physical version of the LP in early 2015. Ranch Records and Ice Age Records are teaming up for a split-label vinyl release of the record.

Schwartz does not stray far from the DIY ethics of the Philly music scene. The guitarist/vocalist booked the 10-day tour with the help of tour mate Pat Brier, of Three Man Cannon and Queen Jesus. Schwartz hopes to plan another tour in support of the release of the album on vinyl.

As the band begins to load equipment into their van, they laugh at their own jokes and pose, Starbucks coffee in hand, for pictures.

Seriousness aside, the future looks bright for The Spirit of the Beehive. - Tim Mulhern facebook.com/JUMPphilly

Photo by Jessica Flynn.

The JUMP Off

TEAM SPIRIT: Pat Conaboy (L to R), Tim Jordan, Rivka Ravede, Justin Fox and Zack Schwartz.

JUMPphilly.com

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Photos by Rachel Del Sordo.

The JUMP Off

The Rescuer

Philadelphia Bike Rescue brings together bicycle enthusiasts and music lovers.

With the logic of capital devouring the subculture bike market (to the point that fixed-gear bikes have become a punch line to the trust funders who buy their personality at “that store” in Rittenhouse), there is a new way of thinking about bike culture that is both meaningful and exciting, and that recycles and refurbishes bikes, not ideas.

At center stage of this new way of thinking sits the Philadelphia Bike Rescue and its owner Dave Kazarov. The shop is gaining momentum as it emerges as an authentic voice in Philadelphia cycling and, as of recently, a strong supporter of the underground music scene.

This small shop located in East Kensington’s Viking Mill building is the perfect place for a bike rescuer/music promoter to operate. The space that the shop occupies is as much a reflection of the ideology of the shop as of its business model.

To visit the space, you to have to take either an old freight elevator or an old set of wooden stairs to the third floor, all the while passing exposed brick, drywall and random artistic residue throughout the halls. Surrounding you on all sides are nondescript doors that house intellectuals and artists in residence. There is even a recording studio down the hall, hammering out new artists and ambient noises. In truth, the environment is quite electric. When you find your way into the shop, you

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confront a hand-picked collection of old bikes that hang from the ceilings, a beautiful sight for any bike enthusiast to behold.

Over the summer, the shop made a splash in the music scene when it started its collaboration with local bands by hosting shows in an undisclosed warehouse down the road.

The frequent shows were the result of a partnership with the recording label Magic Death Sounds. These events included bands such as Banned Books, Exar Kun, Tygerstrype and Son Step, among others.

“Dave just has a communityoriented mindset,” says Tony Montagnaro, co-founder of Magic Death Sounds. “I know for Dave, this is about fostering the incubation of community.”

This has been a fruitful partnership for the shop and Kazarov plans to continue to cross promote with more local bands, artists and of course local brewers, year round.

Unlike what some have critiqued as “exclusive” house shows, what is important to Kazarov is how the music engages the community as a whole and brings a diverse group of people together. When chatting about why music and community has been so important to his vision, Kazarov spoke

directly to the scene in Kensington.

“It’s different in Kensington compared to the other neighborhoods in the city,” Kazarov says.

“It has been a mind-opening experience. I still have a place in my heart for say South Philly but what’s happening down there is what I would call dry gentrification, or a kind of soulless gentrification. It just seems hermetically sealed in that area. We are a little off the beaten path - maybe even a little more dangerous.

It may be that it’s that feeling that attracts young people and artists who are more accepting of the existing community.”

What has emerged from his vision is apparent. Kazarov is redefining boundaries of what owning a bike shop means, while creating a soundtrack that speaks directly to the positive aspects of the scene building in Kensington as a whole.

One leaves the shop with an understanding that the bikes are not just used objects and events here are not just shows.

For Kazarov, they are two sides of an ideological move toward community building that stand against the stale hegemonic mainstream consumer - Justin Dowdall culture.

facebook.com/JUMPphilly

Photo by Mina Lee.

The JUMP Off

The Entertainers The guys behind What Scene? know how to throw a party.

What Scene? is the closest thing Philadelphia has to Project X. Open bars, moon bounces, free barbecued ribs and baked mac and cheese are just a few of the tools that founders Matthew Silva and Brandon Potter use when throwing parties of the most epic proportions.

The multimedia and event production entity began as a blog where Potter would share new music and movies he thought were dope.

“Back then it was basically a free-for-all site, with music, movies, TV shows, YouTube videos,” says Potter. “I just liked spreading cool stuff. I ran the blog for about two years. Then I wanted to make it into something more and figured events would be a good way to start.”

That's when Silva became involved. Ever since then, the two have been making an impact on how young Philadelphia gets down.

What Scene?’s event Yacht Jaunt, for example, made it possible for hundreds of 20-something-year-old Philadelphians to live lavishly for one night. After brainstorming about what they could do to throw the illest party ever, Silva and Potter decided to rent a boat and take guests for a ride on the Delaware River. Everyone on the yacht was considered a VIP and was able to indulge in complimentary cigars and vodka.

Both Silva and Potter are originally from Wilmington, which is also the home of the first Foxtail Fest, an annual music festival that showcases underground hip-hop and rhythm and blues acts. This year, What Scene? decided to bring the Foxtail Fest to Philly. The show featured performances by local rappers such as Chynna Rodgers and Theodore Grams, as well as international artist like SZA and A$AP Ant. “It was about showing some really dope underground artists that people may not have heard of and creating something new,” says Potter.

“The name itself was inspired by the actual foxes that live in the area.

It was great to start Foxtail Fest there but it’s been awesome to get involved in the Philly scene and to bring it here for year two. There's a huge amount of talent here and we've gotten a ton of support.”

Besides raising the bar when it comes to partying in Philly, the What Scene? founders deem it highly necessary to boost the notoriety of talented, under-the-radar artists. What Scene? is currently working with a handful of rappers and singers, helping them to refine their craft.

“We want to grow further than a multimedia event coordinating company,” says Silva. “We have a couple artists who we work heavily with, so pushing their music and kind of developing this into a music label is something that we are focusing on.”

As far as next moves, the What Scene? crew is already planning a sequel to both Yacht Jaunt and the 420-friendly Hamsterdam Party.

This likely means more underground music, more free booze and more overall supreme badass-ery.

Currently, Silva and Potter are working on a party at Walnut Street sneaker-head heaven, Ubiq.

“I am definitely putting a focus on creating more music of my own, supporting my friends' music and other talented artists in the area,” says Potter. “There's a lot more I’d like to touch on. I’m excited to keep - Lissa Alicia the movement going and see it unfold.”

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Sunday Services?

The Georgia E. Gregory Interdenominational School of Music started as a way to create church musicians. But it's now so much more.

In 1996, Joyce Drayton ran a for-profit business that didn’t charge customers anything. The business connected musicians with churches and other groups looking for faith-based music.

“I wanted to preserve the profession,” says Drayton (pictured at right).

“There were so many churches without musicians and still today, there are a lot lacking.”

She was having trouble filling all the requests. There just were not enough church musicians, not even bad ones. A pastor looking for church musicians himself then told her she had to do something about it. And she did.

This past summer, the 67-yearold Drayton celebrated the 15th anniversary of the non-profit Georgia E. Gregory Interdenominational School of Music, a place where children and adults of any background can get inexpensive music lessons from classically trained musicians. Although the school started with an emphasis on faithbased music, it has since evolved into serving a wider, secular need in the community.

The school might not have solved Philadelphia’s shortage of church musicians but for students who stick with the program, it has been the answer to building a foundation to succeed in life.

“To see music enhance their growth, and to see the positive development, that’s what it’s all about,” Drayton says. “The success to see the kids go to college, not prison.”

The Gregory School, located in a Victorian twin building owned by Thankful Baptist Church on the 1600 block of Allegheny Avenue, has seen better days. A broken window blind hangs diagonally and parts of the linoleum floor are cracked. Drayton has to show up an hour before students on any given day so the heater has time to kick in. She says a group of students from Villanova are coming in January to help weather seal the drafty windows but, on this cold November Saturday morning, she’s worried that won’t come soon enough.

Other more pressing issues like finding scholarships for students, paying instructors a competitive wage, following up on absent students, writing grant proposals, assessing last years summer camp curriculum and even attending a class to improve her social media skills keep the director

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of operations busy.

It’s only the first week of class for Tyhira Vorn’s two eager children and she’s already seen Drayton’s commitment firsthand.

“She’s been helping me with everything,” says Vorn, speaking specifically about financing. “She wants to fundraise for scholarships and sell dinners to put towards our scholarships. She’s been really supportive.”

When students begin to buzz the front doorbell to be let in, she greets them with a smile and asks how they are doing today or how their parents are holding up. She speaks in a quiet and sweet tone that rises sharply when she unexpectedly finds humor in what she’s saying. Her office, where she meets with parents and instructors, is a few feet from the front door and separated from the waiting room by a clear window. Hanging on the wall, across from the waiting room’s entrance, is a framed photograph of Drayton’s mother, Georgia E. Gregory, the school’s namesake and the catalyst for Drayton’s 57 years playing music for the church.

On the opposite side of the building is a large practice space used for piano classes with rows of chairs still set up from this summer’s camp. Upstairs is a dance room lined with a wide mirror and free-standing ballet barre, a keyboard classroom with 11 Yamaha S08s funded by a grant from The Philadelphia Cultural Fund and another room for drum practice decorated with bright illustrations of guitars and maracas on the wall.

The classrooms are all used on Saturdays, with music and people bouncing everywhere. On the first floor, Crystal Dunston, a high school senior and four-year Georgia E. Gregory School student, practices the hymn “Fairest Lord Jesus” with piano instructor Dennis Charles Stevenson. Dunston will perform the song at the school’s Christmas recital in December.

“I used to get real nervous and just stop. Just freeze,” says Dunston, an Allegheny West neighborhood native. “Now I keep playing.”

Overcoming performance anxiety isn’t the only satisfying reward for her hard work.

“When I play at my house, I know my mom and dad are happy because I’m learning something,” Dunston says.

“I’m learning how to play and every time I learn something, it makes me happy because I’m not wasting my time.”

With the number of success stories growing, Drayton makes good use of her time too, and she still isn’t worried about being paid for her work either.

- Michael Bucher facebook.com/JUMPphilly

Photos by Michael Bucher.

Music & Education

Photo by G.W. Miller III.

Music & Politics

Philly Takes Center Stage Philadelphia made an investment in its music scene with the hopes of finding the next itartist. Councilman-at-large David Oh is pleased with the success that emerged from PHL Live Center Stage, a music initiative/ competition he created that is dedicated to providing opportunities to the local talent pool.

More than 500 video submissions flooded in at the end of the summer, which were narrowed down to 50 finalists in 10 categories - rock, jazz, hip hop, world, country/folk, R&B, DJ, pop, gospel, classical and people’s choice. Finalists competed at venues around the city, culminating with an award show at The Trocadero. Winners in each category won $10,000 each.

Our Brianna Spause caught up with the councilman to discuss the results of PHL Live’s first crack at becoming Philadelphia’s own local music festival.

How did the inaugural year of PHL Live Center Stage unfold?

I am not from the music industry but I wanted to do something as a councilman on behalf of city government where we could begin to demonstrate the value of music through Philadelphia’s job market. This collecting of assets and venues was something that we could do to open the opportunity to anyone - no matter how rich or poor, with formal music training or no music training. If you sing in the shower and someone says you have a good voice, you can submit a video.

It cuts across music genres and age. There is really no limitation to what people can do.

PHL Live Center Stage was a concept that could not work without the support of the venues and Grammy Award-winning/nominated music industry folk (like Carvin Haggins, pictured above with the councilman). It was a volunteer effort.

I went to each performance and I think a lot of people, judges included, were impressed with the talent and diversity of the music that was being played at each venue.

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What were the goals of the music festival and competition?

I thought that if we did a music festival like a film festival, people could simply submit their videos and it would be free. What we had to do - which was the challenging part - was get talented judges to review them. From Oct. 21 to Nov. 10, we presented 10 different categories of music at nine venues and had the judges select a winner. The winner in each of the categories received $10,000, including the People’s Choice Winner - that’s the 11th category.

What is up next for PHL Live in 2015?

I have started a conversation with PECO, who sponsors music events at Penn’s Landing, looking to begin an all-day festival with our 10 category winners. It will be an event for the surrounding region to come in and enjoy live music.

We know the WXTU and Dell Music Theater events will happen in 2015. The winners in country/folk categories will open for the WXTU anniversary show. Also, the Dell will contact a world-class headliner, and we will have 11 acts to incorporate into a long day of music where they will all share the stage. Then, the submissions start up again in August and we will continue this annual event.

What steps can city government take to encourage the Philadelphia music scene?

I introduced two pieces of legislation which have been assigned to committee but haven’t had a hearing yet. One bill will introduce a new

commercial parking category which would grant performing musicians free parking for loading and unloading at venues. Performances are an important part of our economy and we respect that. We want to see more live music venues in Philadelphia so that overall, we will have more people coming to the city to support the arts.

The second bill was directed at festivals like the Made in America and Wawa Welcome America.

If the city is sponsoring a large event with public funds, there should be a preference for local musicians. We have superbly talented folks in the music scene who are not being contacted for these opportunities. Therefore, we are not supporting our rising stars in Philadelphia.

What was Philadelphia lacking that encouraged the idea of PHL Live?

I think the Philadelphia music scene was lacking recognition and respect from Philadelphia city government. The talent, history and ability in Philadelphia is such an important part of our economy. I think it is important that the city of Philadelphia have policies, strategy and legislation in an effort to coordinate money and corporate sponsorships to support local artists.

This whole percolation of ideas and sounds and music happening is part of the magic of being in a big city. People communicate and move with each other. I think Philadelphia is missing a lot of live music and culture that a city like ours should have.

As a city, why shouldn’t we offer one of our best assets, which is the talents of our people?

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Photos by Michael Bucher.

This Place Rocks

Radical City Music Hall

The Lancaster Avenue Autonomous space houses activists and live music with a message.

Three floors of poster-cluttered walls, stacked bookshelves and various workshop areas make up LAVA, the Lancaster Avenue Autonomous space in West Philadelphia. The three-story building is a community center and activism hub, and has become home base for several activist groups as well as a shared space for community events.

Located at 4134 Lancaster Ave., LAVA currently houses six organizations and has been home to many more over the years. Launched in the early 2000s, the space was founded by groups such as Food Not Bombs, an international social activism group, and the former radio station Volta Radio. Since then, more than a dozen groups have operated from within its doors.

“The whole thing with LAVA is that they want to cross-pollinate so that activist groups support each other,” says Mahdi El, founder of Young Broadcasters of America, which operates out of LAVA. “It took a whole decade for that to happen.

Groups used to not mingle. Everyone was in their corner, just doing their own work. But in the last three years, it’s been very healthy.”

Active LAVA groups include Human Rights Coalition, Food Not Bombs, Defenestrator newspaper, Young Broadcaster of America and the LAVA Library. All these groups are either dedicated to community engagement and empowerment or toward regional activism.

Outside of housing organization offices, LAVA space acts as a public art and music venue, often

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hosting shows featuring local and touring bands.

A frequent stage for punk and alternative bands, shows often combine an element of philanthropy and activism, such as nonperishable food donations and social issue awareness. Artists having performed at LAVA include Radiator Hospital, Reign Supreme and Boroughs (above).

The Human Rights Coalition is committed to empowering prisoners and bringing to light injustices in the prison and judicial system. The group is predominantly prisoners' families, ex-prisoners and supporters. They host meetings and service projects out of LAVA space.

HRC also holds letter writing nights where they go through prisoners’ letters, mostly from those in solitary confinement, that report abuse and inhumane treatment.

“We bring in volunteers and catalogue the abuse that people are reporting,” says Andy Switzer, an HRC member. “When we have resources we try to step in.”

Several groups actively engage the local community. These groups include Food Not Bombs, which holds regular free meals for the community protesting the United States’ military budget, and the LAVA Library, which offers a wide array of educational literature on activism and

social issues.

Young Broadcasters of America actively works with youth to give them experience and exposure in the field of broadcasting.

“We mainly do broadcasting for children,” says El. “We actually train them and put them on TV. We work with a lot of after school programs, summer camps, that kind of stuff.”

LAVA space is heavily volunteer based, typically having 25 nongroup members volunteering for various jobs and events.

“We constantly have parties here, and we constantly have workshops and we need volunteers,” says El. “There’s a lot of members from LAVA from over the years. People will float in ‘cause they’re back in from like, Oakland or Cali or Seattle.”

Fueled by its forward thinking environment, LAVA’s reputation has developed among activist and fringe circles.

“LAVA has a huge constituency across the country. That’s why I think bands come here a lot,” says El. “They heard about the LAVA over the years because there are these radical spaces, or liberated spaces. So people will hear on the West Coast, ‘When you go to Philly, go to LAVA.’” - Jared Whalen

facebook.com/JUMPphilly

Photos by Charles Shan Cerrone.

Where All Flags Fly The revelers at Voyeur tend to let loose and there are plenty of places at the Gayborhood club to watch the debauchery.

Gates and a table cut off Saint James Street from 13th Street as a line forms around the corner and down the block. Under a tent, wanna-be patrons huddle in the rain, waiting for their cue to pay their way and pass through the first threshold.

And true to form - not only because it is Halloween, various cops, sailors, Waldos, a kid dressed like Pharrell (replete with a red Adidas track jacket and that now ubiquitous hat) and football players wait their turn. Maybe because it is Halloween, there are also superheros, werewolfs, Flintstones and two people dressed like Nerds candy boxes.

In the heart of the Gayborhood, at 1221 Saint James St., Voyeur Nightclub is one of the city’s few and far between spots for nightlife after 2 a.m. The building that houses Voyeur is owned by the Mayfair Social Club, which also owns Woody's. The club also has an interest in Transit, Palmer Social Club and Bump.

Inside, partiers pack the club’s three floors. After passing the coat check, you can either venture underground or continue onto the main floor. As if someone is pulling back the curtain, however congested you thought the hallway was to navigate, it pales in comparison to the main floor, where bodies gyrate, sweat flows and people lose themselves letting their flags fly be it gay flags, freak flags or American flags.

“They have the best overall staff, the best DJs in Philly, the most bang for your buck,” says Katie K Rex, who has been DJing at Voyeur as a part of Factory Girls since October 2012. “Everybody in Philly is going to Voyeur, regardless of age, gender or orientation. It's an all-inclusive environment.”

There are various reasons that people have and continue to flock here. There is a freedom that is hard to put a finger on but easy to witness, as expectations and inhibitions are lost in the cacophony of sound and movement. DJ Tripp is this particular evening and early morning’s maestro. It is impossible, even sober, to notice if people are on or off rhythm, as the state-of-the-art system pulsates through your ears and a light and laser show assaults your eyes and keeps you slightly off balance, unable to focus on any one thing for any length of time.

“I go because I enjoy the crowd, the bartenders are fast and pour stiff drinks,” says Tracy Washinsky, who has been going to Voyeur a few times a month for the past eight years. “And I can enjoy a cig while at the bar.”

The Ruby Lounge, one floor down, is exactly what one might imagine - low hung ceiling, an island bar in the center surrounded by red, sparkley vinyl couches and an intimate dancefloor on the far side. Between the dim lights and lingering smoke, it makes things seen difficult to discern, intentional or not.

“The Ruby Lounge has great vibe late night on Wednesdays,” Washinsky says.

Traversing the stairs up from the main floor leads you to a horseshoe shaped JUMPphilly.com

balcony where one can overlook the main floor.

Sofas and chairs offer patrons a place for respite and the bar in the corner offers spirits for those looking to wet their whistle. Two doors peek into another room, where those looking to break up their EDM/club beats with some hip-hop flavors can get their Shmoney Dance on. But along the mezzanine is where the club earns it name as gawkers line the railing to take in the debauchery beneath.

A chandelier hangs in the middle with sashes of cloth streaming off of it to the railing for effect. There is an elevated box in the middle of the dance floor that people clamor to claim space on to be seen. If there's not enough room, there is always the main stage where magazine-worthy muscled men move to the beat, adorned in nothing but Diesel Speedos. The DJ booth hangs above the main stage, looking over the pulsating and undulating crowd.

"Voyeur will always be classified as a 'gay bar' but, Voyeur has always been welcoming to every demographic and thats what makes it special," says club manager Matt Ricciotti. "Male, female, transexual, drag queen, hipster and everything in between. Voyeur has some really gay nights and we also have some really straight nights."

Its patronage certainly isn’t all gay. LGBTQ-friendly? Sure. But people of all races, colors, creed and sexuality show up to have a good time.

And from the view overlooking it all, it looks as if they are. - Chris Malo

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Cover Cover Story Story

Playback

payback DJ legend King Britt takes his skills to the heart of North Philadelphia, launches Playback Musik and hands down a legacy.

Story by G.W. Miller III. Photo by Michael Bucher.

T

amara Dill and Joi Ross sit on the second floor of a North Philly rowhome with microphones in their hands as Alicia Keys bumps through the speakers. The two teens, collectively known as “The Queens,” both roll their heads with the music, occasionally singing along.

“Don’t be mad, it’s just a brand new kind of me,” Tamara harmonizes, soulfully sounding like she’s felt the same pain as Keys. “And it ain’t bad. I found a brand new kind of free.”

“Sing it, girl,” Joi offers.

It’s women’s appreciation week on their brand new radio show, called Playback Radio, and this is their first-ever live performance. They’ve played Etta James, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Miami Horror, Amy Winehouse and more.

Now, the show is coming to a close.

King Britt, the internationally renowned DJ who has been sitting a few feet away from the duo, interrupts, “After the next chorus, you can say thanks for tuning in and come back next week.”

But Alicia Keys is hitting the crescendo and the girls jump to their feet, bouncing around, emoting and crooning along with Keys.

“I’ve taken one too many excuses,” they wail, “and one too many lies.”

As the song ebbs and then fades out, Joi gives a shout out to the Playback Musik crew, ending the broadcast.

“I feel like it’s the start of a new beginning,” says Tamara, a 16-year old who performs under the moniker Muzical, after they go off air.

“I feel special,” adds Joi, 16, who performs as Classi J. “You always feel special,” Tamara teases.

“I do,” Joi concedes.

The girls pack up the Numark mixer, fold up the table and put everything in its proper spot in the modest studio that is loaded with professional equipment – Telefunken mics, Akai keyboard, Ableton Push Suite, Critter & Guitari synths and more. They collect their bags full of schoolbooks and dash out to the unpredictable streets.

“It was so perfect,” says King, who remains beaming, like a proud father.

He shakes his head, thinking about the talent he’s fostered while serving as an artist-in-residence here at The Village of Arts and Humanities.

The girls just learned how to use the DJ equipment two weeks ago.

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And in a few weeks, the 10-track album that the five-member Playback Musik team wrote, recorded and produced in this studio will be released at a launch party.

“No one knows what we’ve been doing here,” King says. “When they hear the album, they are going to lose their shit.”

D

J legend King Britt began working with this select group in June as part of The Village’s SPACES program, which brings artists to The Village to work with youths and other community members on various projects.

The idea wasn’t to have King come and simply create music. He has his own studio in Fishtown for that. The SPACES program envisioned King bringing his experiences, skills and talent to the 2500 block of North Alder Street and to these people, who will then create their own art and invite others to follow their path.

“It’s about discovery and experimentation,” says Aviva Kapust, The Village’s executive director. “The idea is not for the programs to stop once the artists leave. They build a legacy.”

It’s not just about the freshly built new studio, the weekly Internet radio program or even the album. It’s about access to ideas, equipment, knowledge and even power, all of which add up to confidence and leads to potential for careers.

“Exposing them to new sounds opens them up to new possibilities,” says King.

In an area plagued by crime and void of employment opportunities, without access to decent food, a proper education system or acceptable recreational facilities, the SPACES program fits The Village’s overall mission of inspiring people to be agents of positive change through the arts.

The artists-in-residence are tasked with building the infrastructure for a micro-community economy of sorts.

“Instead of fitting into existing systems,” Aviva adds, “we can create our own.”

King, who was raised in Southwest Philly and has been touring the world because of his music for 25 years, was a perfect choice for the program. He knows the music business inside and out.

“What King has brought,” says Aviva, “is how to be a professional.” facebook.com/JUMPphilly

SONIC ARCHITECTS: (L to R) Joi, Buck, King Britt, Jovi and Tamara.

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Photo by Michael Bucher.

Cover Cover Story Story

T

he day after the first live radio show, however, King sits in the North Alder Street rowhome studio with Playback members Reggie “Buck” Cooper, 43, and Jovi Cofield, 23, but The Queens are nowhere to be

found.

“I gotta go,” he says after looking at his iPhone for about the 20th time.

He has to run to a meeting. Then he’s traveling the next two weeks, with performances in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Houston.

“These are life lessons, you know?” he says, sounding defeated. “I’m not going to be around next week and we have a lot to do.”

Today was supposed to be about planning next week’s radio show as well as the album release party, which happens in four weeks.

King looks at his phone one last time, shakes his head and repeats, “I gotta go.”

He zips up his warm-up jacket and exits the house, walking to the main Village building, where he keeps his bicycle (King doesn’t drive).

“It’s a blessing to be working with him, “ says Buck as he watches King leave.

“He be introducing us to all kinds of different genres of music.”

The son of James “Big Man” Maxton, who helped found The Village with Lily Yeh in 1989, Buck runs the meeting once the girls finally arrive, about 20 minutes later.

“This is our first solo meeting,” Buck bellows as he high fives everyone around the conference table. “It’s on!”

They discuss outfits for their performance and what kind of food to serve after the launch show, and they joke about their pending fame.

“I’m like a real rapper,” Buck boasts. “Imma take a limo home!”

Midway through the meeting, SPACES coordinator Lillian Dunn receives a text from King: “If you aren’t prepared for Monday, I don’t know what to do.”

“Did King doubt us?” Buck asks with a roaring laugh, knowing that the team has been putting in 8-hour days at the studio daily for nearly four months.

“He thinks we haven’t been paying attention since day one!”

They start planning the next week’s radio show. The theme will be “Pray for Philly,” with a focus on crime prevention and a dedication to Lil Rob, a teenager who was gunned down on a nearby basketball court over the summer.

ROYAL FAMILY: King Britt and The Queens (above) at WKDU for the Electronic Music Marathon. The Playback Muzik release party (opposite ).

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T

he Village of Arts and Humanities is a colorful oasis of creativity in an otherwise bleak, post-industrial landscape at the crossroads of three police districts.

It offers the largest, free after school program within miles, serving around 500 children five-days per week, with courses in everything from fashion design and photography to African dance and stop-motion animation, among other subjects.

Most of the teachers have been involved for years and the students return for session after session.

“It feels safe here,” says Aviva. “It’s like family.”

The surrounding community, however, is rife with violence.

“It’s not the neighborhood,” says Tamara’s mother, Sherita Dill. “It’s the people in the neighborhood.”

From Sherita’s 15th floor apartment in the Fairhill public housing high-rise, she’s witnessed people chasing people, with both sides shooting. The pop pops are heard at all times of day, at all times of the year. There were three murders within a few blocks of her home during the summer.

Two of her daughters escaped from attempted abductions on the sidewalks near their home.

“It’s got to be 10 of y’all,” Sherita says. “If there aren’t 10 of y’all, you can’t go out. I barely let them go outside except for going to The Village.”

Her three children are at The Village nearly every day. Tamara, who aspires to work in music production or become a forensics investigator (if her WNBA dreams fall short), has taken music classes taught by DJ Dilemma for two years.

Where Tamara used to be shy, keeping to herself, she’s now a bubbly teen with an incredible voice and the know-how to create her own beats. The Village gave her a place to explore her talents and build her confidence.

On a larger level, The Village has created an inviting campus and activated it with events, which creates a greater sense of belonging for students as well as area residents. They are now building a network of people who will help with a barter system, taking advantage of the skills taught at The Village.

“The SPACES program brings all the work that we’re doing at The Village together,” says Aviva.

After King’s residence ends, for example, the Playback Musik team will run facebook.com/JUMPphilly

the studio, producing and recording local performers. Those local performers will pay for studio time and production by helping out at The Village in some capacity.

“It’s an investment, almost like start-up money,” says Aviva of the Playback studio. “We’re creating an alternative currency and doing work for the neighborhood.”

K

ing returns two weeks later, at midnight, and arrives at the studio early the next day.

“I heard the set,” he says of the show the crew did without him last week. “It was great.

You’re always nervous when you let go.”

He’s jet-lagged but as The Queens start their broadcast, King perks up.

Today is Joi’s 16th birthday and she sports a plastic tiara, which she’s been wearing since she had a birthday party at The Village two days ago. She dances next to Tamara, almost ignoring the fact that King sits behind them at the main studio computer.

“They are killing it today,” he says. “I am learning so many new songs.”

The Queens tend to like music they hear on the radio – today they’ve already played Stevie Wonder and Katy Perry - but since King has been imploring them to discover new music, they have been scouring the Internet.

“I never heard of a lot of the people he talks about,” Tamara says with a laugh.

They play Solange’s “I Decided” and King says, “I did a remix of that and it went to number 3 on the Billboard dance chart.”

He’s getting into the party now and he adds J.J. Fad’s “Supersonic” to the show’s tracklist.

“This is the original party mix!” he says.

Then he adds Daft Punk’s “Around the World.”

“You never heard of Daft Punk before Pharrell?” he asks Tamara.

But Tamara is already introducing the next song, which features her and Jovi from their soon-to-bereleased album.

Afterward, King says, “Yo! That show was so good!

Y’all picked some heaters.”

The energy is high but the girls pack up their stuff quickly and leave. Jovi takes the helm at the computer and starts blasting some new beats he’s been working on. Buck enters with his daughter and King eases toward the couch.

“This place is going to live forever through them,” King says while nodding his head to Jovi’s music.

Photos by G.W. Miller III.

K

ing James Britt, 46, grew up near 56th and Litchfield in Kingsessing and music was integral in his life from an early age.

His father was a barber at Roseberry’s, near 40th and Market streets, and vinyl was always spinning there. King controlled the record player as a child. His mother, who loved jazz, was friendly with Sun Ra and his crew, so King spent days there, surrounded by avant-garde artists. When he was 6 years old, his parents took him to see James Brown at the Latin Casino.

“My parents never believed in babysitters,” King recalls, “so they always took me to shows.”

Thirty years later, he learned that famed producer Larry Gold played cello that night with James Brown.

Because of the access to all sorts of music, King’s interests ranged from jazz, funk and soul, to what he heard on the radio, to what he discovered by reading British magazines. When he was at Central High School in the mid'80s, he was in a Depeche Mode cover band called The Red Team. He also

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began experimenting with a Minimoog synth.

He became friends with Chuck Treece because they kept running into each other at punk shows. He met DJ Cosmo Baker and his sister, artist Zoe Strauss, while commuting around the city.

“We were the weird kids on the trolley,” King says with a laugh.

After finishing high school, he worked at Tower Records on South Street and that’s when everything came together.

One day in 1989, he sold a few records to Josh Wink, who was getting into production with his Roland R5 drum machine. King had just signed to the brand new Strictly Rhythm house-music label that week and he asked Josh to work with him.

They created “Tribal Confusion,” which became an international dance hit. King dropped out of Temple University and traveled to England to perform.

That seed that was planted by his parents when he was young has carried King throughout his life – touring with Digable Planets, spinning around the world to massive audiences, performing at Carnegie Hall with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and constantly pushing boundaries in terms of sounds and dance music.

Working with the Playback Musik crew has been his first experience giving back directly to the c o m m u n i t y, providing the same level of access his parents offered him.

“I just never had the time,” he says. “Now I want to take this model to different cities and set up labels, studios, and bring communities together in ways they never had before.”

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n the night of the album launch party, the Philadelphia Film Society’s sound stage is full of family and friends of The Village and the Playback Musik crew, as well as some of Philly’s top DJs. Before the Playback crew performs their debut album live, Nas’ "Time is Illmatic" film is screened.

And right before King steps behind the turntables, he says, “This means so much to me. I can’t even put it into words.”

The Queens jump in front of the audience and sing their hearts out, strutting in unison to moves they choreographed and practiced for weeks. Jovi and Buck take their turns on the mic and Jamar Dorsey (aka J Harmony), who recorded with the crew over the summer but left in the fall to pursue dancing, belts out his tracks.

The audience roars throughout the entire set, waving their hands when they aren’t snapping pictures. After performing all 10 tracks, Tamara, Joi and Jamar lead the audience in a giant dance party. Jovi autographs copies of the album, titled Strong and Independent.

“They killed it,” King says humbly. “They were so good.”

The Playback Musik team is already putting together their second album, which they hope to release in early 2015. They are selling the beats they create in the studio. They record artists and run production.

King’s residency is officially over though he’s agreed to meet with the crew weekly, when possible. He still texts the members nearly every day.

“It was awesome,” King says of his residency. “I have a whole new family now.”

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The

Soundman

Spotlight takes the

Jeff Zeigler produces some of Philly's greatest talent.

He's also making his own amazing music.

I

Story by Chris Brown.

Photos by Jeff Fusco.

t’s a tired saying but sometimes success really is just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. For producer/multi-instrumentalist Jeff Zeigler, that right place turned out to be here, in Philadelphia.

After finishing school in 2000, Zeigler left Boston with the intention of working in music in some capacity. He had recorded albums for bands in Boston but he says that Philly offered a lower overhead, where you could spend more time focusing on what you really wanted to do, as opposed to just working to survive.

“This city, I’ve found, has - and it still exists - a lot more of a communal music vibe than there was where I’ve been before,” he says while sitting in Uniform Recording, his Eraserhood studio. “In Boston, everyone was more on their own and it was almost competitive.

Here, I think people were just excited to have some new blood in the city.”

However, this isn’t to say that any of what would follow is chance or luck.

“It definitely took a while,” he says about getting started in Philly.

Without the outright specific goal of working as a producer in mind, Zeigler ended up forming Relay, a band that later would come to be known as Arc In Round. Not only was this the first project that Zeigler would tackle here in the city, it was also his first ever band.

“I didn’t even really start working on music until college," he says. “I played guitar when I was younger but never really went anywhere with it.”

While in school, Zeigler took a recording class that afforded him the

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opportunity to borrow gear, if he needed it. Having picked up the guitar for a second time, he used the opportunity to start writing and recording.

“After awhile,” he says, “I was just like, 'I should probably start a band, I guess. That seems like a logical move.’”

T

he idea of logical moves comes up often when talking with Zeigler. It’s a thought process that has roots in nearly everything that he’s touched in the last decade. The first bands that he started working with were friends or their friends.

“It grew at a reasonable, organic pace," he says. "Being in a band and dealing with other like-minded bands who were all kind of into the same stuff, it just sort of made sense.”

As his recording commitments increased, Zeigler continued to make music with Relay. He also took on tour managing and soundboard duties with bands such as Frightened Rabbit and Twilight Sad. Somewhere in between working on his own music and overseeing tours, Zeigler worked on albums for both The War on Drugs and Kurt Vile.

“I would work on records for half the year and then tour manage and do touring sound the other half,” he says. “So, it was like constantly working on the road and then coming back and having to start recording records right away.”

Eventually, Zeigler decided to take a break from the road.

“It just made sense to me to try and do the studio stuff full-time,” he says.

In the time that has passed, he’s recorded, produced, mixed or engineered a

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Cover Story

slew of albums by local acts such as Purling Hiss, Lantern, Nothing, Amanda X, Steve Gunn and, of course, The War on Drugs. While that range of artists may seem varied to most sets of ears, in each instance Zeigler always finds a thread. While he describes it as mostly just keeping things “true to what makes sense for a given band,” those who have worked with Zeigler find that there’s more.

“Jeff has great ears and an uncanny ability to utilize and create space in his mixes,” says Christopher Smith, from the record label Paradise of Bachelors, who worked with Zeigler on Steve Gunn's 2014 release Way Out Weather. “He gets the material right away and absorbs and processes it as his own art. That care and ability is rare.”

Smith wasn’t the only person who was quick to offer praise.

“What it comes to down is Jeff really knows his shit and he has a great personality,” says Josh Agran of post-punk outfit Cassavetes, whose 2014 record Oh So Long was mixed and recorded by Zeigler. “The whole process ended up feeling like we were just hanging out and making a record.”

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hese days, Zeigler is back to the juggling act, balancing his time on the road with the time in the studio. In September, he and harpist Mary Lattimore released an album together, Slant of Light, and then headed out on tour in support of the record.

While both have been highly visible members of the city’s scene for years, the pair didn’t really know each other until they both found themselves on the same touring bill. Zeigler was doing sound and tour managing for Kurt Vile and Lattimore was playing in Thurston Moore’s band.

Shortly thereafter, Lattimore came to Uniform Recording to work on her 2012 solo album, The Withdrawing Room.

“She’s pretty open to collaborations and had wanted me to help with processing and tweaking out what she was playing as she was playing,” Zeigler says. “I had stuff set up for that and I also had a synth set up. She asked if I wanted to play on a piece and I was like, ‘Alright. Let’s try it.’ We improvised for a half hour or so.”

That initial exploratory jam would end up becoming the first half of The Withdrawing Room.

“I completely trust Jeff’s musical aesthetic and ears and didn't want my harp record to be too same-y," Lattimore says. “I trusted that Jeff would add something interesting texturally to enhance the piece.”

Following those sessions, the duo began playing shows together.

“After the solo record, I wanted to keep playing music with Jeff, so we started playing improvised shows,” Lattimore continues. “It was natural to make a record after that, so we recorded some ideas in early 2014.”

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ith everything going on - a full recording schedule and a new album out, Zeigler sounds like a guy in need of a vacation. He just returned from a trip to Amsterdam but that was for a few weeks of recording. He’s now planning a more proper European vacation.

At some point, a solo album will see the light of day, Zeigler says. He describes it as coming from the world of “early New Order” and influenced

by Krautrock. The album will include contributions from former Arc in Round bandmates Mikele Edwards and Matt Ricchini, as well as drumming from Chris Ward of Pattern is Movement. Zeigler anticipates having a band together by spring for live shows.

Looking even further down the road, Zeigler also has plans to pursue a hiphop-based beat project.

“Part of me feels like I’ll just end up doing that for the rest of my life,” he says with a laugh. “It’s so fucking fun.”

For someone, who has spent so many years behind the scenes of much of the city’s most celebrated music, it just might be time for Jeff Zeigler to step out and spend a little time in the spotlight himself.

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Philly takes tHE

FEST Story by Beth Ann Downey and John Vettese.

Photo by Jessica Flynn.

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A

t this year’s FEST, which took place from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, more than 20 bands on the bill claimed a Philly background, surpassing any other city or country’s representation.

Curators of The FEST line-up, spearheaded by festival founder and staffer for Gainesville-based label No Idea Records Tony Weinbender, might agree with the notion of a Philly punk phenomenon.

Throughout the weekend, you’d be hard-pressed to find one of FEST’s 20 venues without a Philly band scheduled to play on any given day. You’d be harder-pressed to find an attentive audience not singing along, as they were on Friday for The Holy Mess’ set in a packed venue with around 700 people and a long line of others waiting to get in.

FEST finds Philly’s punk scene migrating to Florida once a year to become the crux of one of the genre’s most important events, the world over.

It’s almost like thousands of people wait all year and travel hundreds of miles to touch something locals feel every day.

“If you’re on tour, you get to play to certain friends and fans one city at a time,” SteveO says. “At FEST, you kind of get to play in one city to most of your friends and fans at the same time. It’s crazy. There are friends from England, Europe, Australia and friends from down the street all in one little city.”

Those friends from down the street are the same ones you’ll inevitably run into on FEST’s main drag along University Avenue. It’s rare not to find various other members’ bands gathered together in the audience in support of a fellow Philadelphia band playing a set, no matter the size or vibe of the venue.

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ommy Manson stands by the luggage carousel in Gainesville Regional Airport, keeping an eye peeled for Everyone Everywhere’s personal effects as his bandmates wait in line at the rental car counter. But “wait” is relative; if you’ve never been to a regional airport, it’s a severely scaled-down experience from Philadelphia International. There are three gates total – not three terminals, three gates. Luggage shows up on the moving strip in a flash, and the instrument cases are easiest to spot.

“Everything is backlined at the show tonight,” Manson explains. “All we need to bring are our guitars and cymbals.”

On the walk through the rental lot, guitarist Brendan McHugh notices a row of shiny convertible Corvettes and notes the bright, sunny afternoon – a change of pace from the bitterly cold Philly week the band had just left.

“Wait, nobody told me we could get one of those cars!” he exclaims. “Is it too late to switch?”

They find their modest economy car – a four-door sedan – load gear into the back and pull out of the airport lot. Where many bands plan a full tour around getting to FEST and back, bassist Matt Scottoline explains that Everyone Everywhere’s experience this year is like a ninja mission.

“Brendan [McHugh] lives in New York now, we don’t get together and play as often as we used to, we all have other projects,” he said. They were slated to play the High Dive at 1 a.m., head back to their hotel and catch an afternoon flight back home.

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ric Osman and Emily Hakes, founders of Philly-based record label Lame-O Records, sit outside behind the small bar venue 1982. The Weaks, a Weezer-esque band the two recently signed to their label, just finished its first ever FEST set. Osman and Hakes know the influence FEST holds for bands and labels alike, having worked to get three of their signees on the bill and manning a table with records and merch during the “flea market” which greets the thousands of people who wait hours in line to receive their wristbands from volunteers the Friday of FEST. The two muse about why holding FEST in Gainesville made sense when it started 13 years ago. Big names of the genre like Against Me! and Hot Water Music called Gainesville home, as well as many smaller-scale punk bands.

“That doesn’t really exist anymore,” Osman says. “Punk has become more of a broad term as FEST has aged 13 years, and Philadelphia just has the most interesting and unique music scene, which now lends itself to FEST whereas before it wouldn’t have made sense for them to play there.”

But if the Philly punk scene is so influential and robust, why does everyone travel to Gainesville each year – a town which, without FEST, consists mostly of thrift stores, pizza and Mexican joints and college kids clad in shorts during unimaginable times of the year?

“Now it’s tradition,” Osman says. “It couldn’t exist in Philly. … It wouldn’t work. Here, it’s empty enough and it’s not so much of a city that it really disrupts everything. In Philly it would just be a mess.”

“I like it here,” adds Hakes. “I like how it becomes this new thing where the city becomes a completely different place.

“Usually it’s a state school and a college town, then we all come in and ruin it.”

PHILLY PHEST: (clockwise from top) The Holy Mess, Beach Slang, Placeholders, The Menzingers, Beach Slang and Spraynard (center). facebook.com/JUMPphilly

Photos by Jessica Flynn.

S

teveO of The Holy Mess was in Gainesville, Florida in October when a friend in Philly texted him looking for weed.

There was none to be found back home.

“I was like, ‘Yo dude, I’m in Florida,’” recalls the bassist and vocalist, born Stefan Wieslaw Niemoczynski. “He was like, ‘Oh shit, I guess all the weed went to Florida, too.’”

A large contingency of Philly punk bands, their fans and whatever party aids they decide to bring with them travel annually to Gainesville for The FEST – the largest, most important music festival for modern punk and hardcore music, which takes place every Halloween weekend in the college town.

“It’s a phenomenon,” says SteveO.

Driving up University Avenue with the windows rolled down, Manson spots friends walking up the strip with their credentials – hellos and highfives are exchanged before the light turns green. He heads inside the Holiday Inn to artist check-in and returns with a bundle of drink tickets, wristlets, a box of guitar strings and a set bass strings, which are promptly handed off to Scottoline.

“What am I supposed to do with these? I don’t play bass!” Scottoline jokes.

(In his current project, Hurry, he gave it up in favor of lead vocal and guitar.)

“You play bass in this band!” McHugh jabs, then ponders the remaining 10 sets of guitar strings in his hands. There were 10 songs in their setlist. “Should I just break all my strings during every song?”

A van drives by ferrying the French punk band Sport, which Hurry just performed with back home. “When are you playing?” they ask excitedly.

Scottoline relays the info and they make promises to be there.

At the show, Everyone Everywhere catch up with old pals like Evan Weiss of Into It. Over It. (who covered their song “Raw Bar OBX 2002” on the split 7-inch the two bands released in 2010), watch openers Prawn and Foxing and nervously step to the stage in the wee hours to find the room was still nicely filled out.

Since the band rarely tours anymore – and hasn’t done a U.S. run since its 2012 self-titled LP was released – they didn’t know what to expect. But fans were excited to see them, screaming along to “I Feel Exhausted” and rushing the stage for the cathartic closing of “Raw Bar.” Over at the merch tent, the band sells out of vinyl – it was doing a nameyour-own-price deal, sure, but most people in line did seem to be paying.

Manson looks pleased.

“We pretty much brought everything we had down here with us,” he says.

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Cover Story Photos by Rachel Del Sordo.

The only Philadelphians to play the FEST’s new outdoor venue, Bo Diddley Plaza, The Menzingers are told shortly after their set that they held the record for playing to the largest audience in the history of FEST after closing the plaza on Friday evening. That is, until the barricades are expanded the following day to accommodate 1000 more people as the plaza hosts sets from Less Than Jake, Hot Water Music and headliners, The Descendents.

“That will go on the Wikipedia page,” Barnett says unabashedly.

When they’re not performing, Barnett says The Menzingers treat FEST like a vacation. For other festivals the band plays, they’ll leave after their set. But FEST is a time to see friends from all over the world and show them a little bit about the music scene they call home.

“They all hear about Philly but no one gets to really experience what that community is like,” Barnett says of friends in bands from other cities or countries. “So people in Europe are like, ‘I hear about all of these cool Philly bands,’ and now they can experience that a little more than they could without having to live in Philly. They love the aspect that all the other bands from the same city are all watching a band that live around the block from them.”

But not all Philly bands like PHILLY ON A ROLL: that their hometown is so Ma Jolie (left) and well represented on the FEST Cayetana at FEST. line-up.

“I see all of my friends in Philadelphia every day, and I wish there was a little bit more variety,” says The Weaks’ Chris Baglivo. “But the weather was nice. It was a nice change of pace.”

Despite the accessibility to hundreds of live shows and other ways to pass the time, Baglivo says he and his band approached their first FEST less like a vacation and more like any other tour experience.

“We watched a lot of movies,” Baglivo says.

T

he members of Restorations have made it a point to enjoy their nonshow time spent at FEST. On the drive up the western coast of Florida, they decided to stop and spend an afternoon canoeing in the wetlands.

Instead of piling into cramped hotel rooms with the five-piece band and one or two member crew, they’ve opted for a lake house and spend the time between their PREFEST show on Wednesday and FEST show on Sunday just straight kickin’ it. Most of the band - along with producer and live sound engineer Jon Low - spend Saturday morning in Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park hiking La Chua Trail, a place to see gators and other native Florida wildlife.

“Not to sound like the most boring band in the world, but it’s better than sitting in a dark box eight hours out of the day drinking yourself to death,” says frontman Jon Loudon of the decision to take excursions like these while on tour. “The appeal of being stuck at a bar for hours and hours and hours a day is, like, gone. I like sunlight. I like seeing people. I like seeing new things and learning things about the places I’m in instead of being shuttled around from dark corner to dark corner.”

That said, not everything about playing FEST is idyllic or vacation-like.

Though they’re slotted to play the festival’s second largest venue on Sunday, Restorations have to deal with less-than-ideal load-in conditions and a lessthan-amicable staff at 8 Seconds – a club that, other than FEST weekend, caters to a conservative, country music-listening audience.

“I think that guy was on heroin,” Loudon says of a lighting tech, recalling his threat to stop Restorations’s set if the strobe lights employed on stage weren’t turned off. “That guy sucked, I hope he gets fired.”

Just like the unseasonably cold 40-degree weather that plagued part of this year’s FEST, not everything about the gathering is perfect each year.

“You have to deal with anything like that anywhere. … It’s kind of hard to expect that you’re going to get the house show punk rock experience in an 1000-capacity club run by country music people” Loudon says with a laugh.

“You can’t go in there and expect them to be super chummy and friendly, you have to kind of take a deep breath and suck it up because you’re not in your own house anymore.”

Greg Barnett, vocalist and guitarist of The Menzingers, had fewer problems during his band’s FEST 13 set than his friends in Restorations.

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ames Alex, frontman for Beach Slang, has done a little more with his first FEST experience. Not only has his band play a packed PRE-FEST show on Thursday in Gainesville and a true FEST set on Saturday but Alex also played acoustically, watched other bands perform and took advantage of less-traditional FEST offerings like wrestling and comedy.

“Now, having played it, I will never not go to it,” he says emphatically.

“As great as people tried to describe it to me, being there put it in a whole different amazing kind of light. … With punk scenes that we’ve built all over the country, it’s sort of a perfected version of all of those little scenes coming into one place at one time. It was awesome, I didn’t have a bad second there.”

To Alex, there is both something cool and comforting about seeing so many people from his home turf while walking around in Gainesville on FEST weekend. Though he tries to catch the sets of as many Philly friends as possible, he’s also opted to “just ride the wave” instead of sticking to a schedule.

“It was just sort of like, where does it take me? Where will I go? If I see something cool happening somewhere, I’m just kind of going in,” Alex recalls.

“I chucked any schedule making in the trash, and it just kind of became this fun, I’m going to envelop myself in the whole thing.”

Though this was his band’s fourth time playing FEST, SteveO took a similar approach to the weekend.

“I found time to see things I hadn’t seen, but at the same time I wasn’t rushing around to see anything either,” he says. “It’s kind of like tossing up a sail and seeing where the wind takes you.” facebook.com/JUMPphilly JUMPphilly.com

Even if he knew he could catch them playing Golden Tea House or Boot & Saddle some time in the near future, Alex says there’s something special about witnessing a Philly band play in the context of FEST. “I think those shows are just kind of jacked up and amplified,” he says. “It’s kind of cool to see them in that realm - where people from all over the place are so supportive and excited to see [them play]. It’s pretty rad to see your friends enjoying the spoils of Philadelphia’s sort of renaissance right now.”

Photos by John Vettese.

I

t’s a combination of everything – the sense of community, the climate and the coagulation of the splintered scenes coming together from across the country – that Alex says makes FEST special. These elements will undoubtedly keep Philly bands spending Halloween in Gainesville for years to come, whether or not the local scene finds itself on, or a part of, the chopping block.

“There is FEST magic that is sprinkled on all of those shows, or something,” says Alex.

“I like to go and watch my friends just really kill it in that kind of environment,” affirms SteveO. “You only get to see that once a year. The FEST crowd for bands is different, at least in my opinion, than most other crowds. I think the people are a bit rowdier, drunker and just really excited to be there. I think everyone is just living in the moment for that one weekend, ya know?”

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SCENE PHEST: (clockwise from top left) The courtyard at The High Dive, Kevin Day of Aspiga on stage, Restorations at 8 Seconds, Creepoid at The Atlantic, and Everyone Everywhere at the airport.

Big thanks to our friends at The Key for working on this story with us. Find a lot more images from FEST on their site at wx.pn/FEST.

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A Hub for The Arts and Food Inspired by French brasseries, La Peg offers savory cuisine in the same building that houses Fringe Arts' offices and performance space.

An abandoned high pressure pump station isn’t the typical first choice for a restaurant but according to Peter Woolsey, executive chef and proprietor of La Peg, the building was “the first property that made sense” for his new restaurant. Located at 140 N. Columbus Blvd., La Peg officially opened its doors for business on Aug. 25. It sits nicely next to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and directly across the street from Race Street Pier. Through the sizable floorto-ceiling windows that are set into the original glazed brick walls of the pump station, diners are treated to fantastic views of the Delaware River waterfront as they savor Woolsey’s take on traditional brasserie fare.

French for brewery, a brasserie traditionally serves casual, yet refined food in a setting that is more relaxed than its cousin, the bistro. La Peg’s menu reflects this tradition. Woolsey insists that La Peg’s cuisine is “inspired but not strict” in its take on brasserie offerings.

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“For example, we have Pho,” Woolsey says, “but it’s Pho through a Frenchman’s eyes.”

Originally from Lower Merion Township, Woolsey now lives in the Pennsport neighborhood of Philadelphia and is no newcomer to the art of cooking or being a restaurateur. Cooking since the age of 18, Woolsey has worked in restaurants across the country, under famous chefs and restaurateurs including Georges Perrier of Le Bec-Fin, Stephen Starr of the Starr Restaurant Organization and Alfred Portale of Gotham Bar and Grill.

What provided the springboard for Woolsey’s career in French cuisine was a chance move to France in 2000.

In France, Woolsey studied pastry making and worked at Lucas Carton, the famous Paris restaurant now owned and operated by chef Alain Senderens.

Senderens is credited as one of the founders of nouvelle cuisine, an approach to French cuisine characterized by lighter and more delicate dishes with emphasis on presentation.

“France just happened,” Woolsey says. “I’m not a Francophone by any means but France is where I ended up. Now I speak French fluently, I’m married to a French woman and I run French restaurants.”

Woolsey owes not only his time in France to shaping La Peg’s cuisine, but also its name. When asked about it, Woolsey smiles and undoes the buttons of his flannel shirt and reveals the words “La Peg” which have been tattooed on his upper left arm for the past 10 years.

“I had this done when I got married,” Woolsey explains. “My wife’s name is Peggy but her father had nicknames for each one of his children. Her nickname was ‘La Peg.’” facebook.com/JUMPphilly

Photos by Charles Shan Cerrone.

Food That Rocks

The menu at La Peg serves as a testament to Woolsey’s time in France. On the brunch menu, diners can savor a variety of options including crepes, eggs florentine and benedict, pork terrine and the house mesclun salad. Patrons arriving for dinner can expect options including foie gras, pan roasted striped bass, beef and tuna tartare, pork cheek carbonade and choucroute garnie.

After moving back to Philadelphia in 2002, Woolsey continued to refine his craft and in 2008 opened his first restaurant, Bistrot La Minette, located at 623 S. Sixth St., where he still serves as owner and proprietor. While both restaurants follow a French tradition, Woolsey seeks to make a distinction between the two.

“Where Bistrot is inviting,” he explains, “I want La Peg to be exciting.”

The restaurant’s location on N. Columbus Boulevard is the perfect space to do so. In addition to housing La Peg, the building is also home to the offices and theater of Philadelphia’s Fringe Arts, curators of the annual Fringe Festival.

When searching for locations for the Fringe Arts space, president and cofounder Nick Stuccio had a specific idea for what he wanted to establish.

“I wanted to create a place where artists hatch ideas to change the world,” says Stuccio.

In the 18 years that Fringe Arts has been operating in Philadelphia they have followed this vision. As one of the area's leaders for contemporary and experimental artists, Fringe Arts has provided Philadelphia with an outlet for some of the most cutting edge artists from around the world.

While Fringe Arts is most known for Fringe Fest, they also host events and performances year-round. But what was missing from Stuccio’s vision was a bar and restaurant that would make Fringe Arts a true hub for artists. With La Peg now a few months into operation it seems that his vision is complete.

But no performing arts hub would be complete without live music. La Peg is also the home for Philadelphia’s Red 40 & The Last Groovement, who are enjoying their residency as house band performing every first Friday night. In addition to Red 40’s residency, La Peg also hosts live music every Friday night.

Woolsey explains that the restaurant and Fringe Arts have had a very symbiotic relationship. The restaurant opened just prior to this year’s Fringe Fest and theatergoers would try La Peg’s offerings before or after the events of the festival.

Woolsey is already brainstorming ideas for next year’s Fringe Fest, expressing an interesting in JUMPphilly.com

blurring the lines between a dining and theater experience.

“John Waters made a film where you had a scratch-and-sniff card that you’d smell at different parts of the movie,” Woolsey says, referring to Water’s 1981 film “Polyester.”

“Maybe we could do something like that but you’d eat certain things at different parts of the play instead of smelling them.”

In the meantime, Fringe Arts and La Peg’s intersection of food and theater can be experienced as early as this coming March when Yumi Kendall, acting associate principal cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, will be “playing brunch.” Kendall will be working with Stuccio and Fringe Arts staff to pick a selection of music that Woolsey will then plan an accompanying menu inspired

by Kendall’s pieces.

While managing a restaurant with more than 45 staff members “… is sometimes like herding cats,” Woolsey is happy to take on the challenge.

“Who gets to have this much fun at work?” he asks.

- Dan Halma 45

Inside Voice

Awesome Ass Life We asked local artist Brandon Zachariah Johnson, otherwise known as Gudda God, to show us his life in images. Here's his world.

This is BZ's everyday life visuals up close and personal. From the places I've been to the GUDDA GODS I've been surrounded by since the age of 14, to the sketches for the first Mind of Cool Rumors streetwear collection that will surpass all whack ass expectations, to where I sleep and wake up in the morning.

I'm surrounded by awesome ass culture and people every day. This shit couldn't get any better. In order for dreams to come true, we have to embrace our surroundings in a positive and colorful format to create a better design for all platforms we wish to touch. Everything is inspirational.

We are the GUDDA GODS.

EVERYDAY PEOPLE: (clockwise from top) self-portrait, hanging with friends and family, 4:30am at City Hall after work, hopping on the Broad Street Line to make it back Uptown, on the bus, and out shopping with Platinum Chanel.

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INSPIRATION: (clockwise from top) photo shoot with Selina Carrera for Najeeb Sheikh's Rivals Collection, The Ill Fated Natives killing their set for the STUNTLOCO LIVE party, Nana and Poppop stationed at home, inside the Gudda God studio.

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WINTER 2015

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SPOTLIGHT INSIDE: KING BRITT, MARIETTA, THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE, FOLK BY DEFAULT, DJ SEGA, THE BUL BEY AND MUCH MORE