in it together fest

Washington DC's first ever In It Together Feststarts TODAY, THURSDAY 7/31 to SUNDAY 8/3. If you're in the area you should check out all the sick events happening throughout the city. We've put a lot of hard work into making this weekend chock-full of awesome music, art, cycling, activism and other ways to encourage creativity, highlight the under-appreciated, and bring about positive change to our community, so I hope you can make it out to enjoy the fun!

Things I'm most excited for:

• Robot Butt comedy kicking everything off on Thursday night at Ft. Loko
• ARTSHOW_08 at Hole In The Sky and Pile at the Dougout on Friday night
• Saturday's All-Day Main Stage Event at St. Stephen's Church (also It Is Rain In My Face. performing at Bathtub Republic, although I will be unable to attend)
• Bridge Spot skate demo and ramen jump, Mannequin Pussy at Crack Rock Creek Church, and Playback The Tape's retrospective of DC DIY culture at Furthermore on Sunday

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☆ tickets available here: http://infestdc.bigcartel.com/ ☆

★ JUST TEN BUCKS ($10) FOR ALL DAY 8/2 EVENT AT ST STEPHEN'S ★

☆ JUST FIVE BUCKS ($5) FOR PERKS AT (almost) ALL DIY VENUES ☆

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◆ [7/31] In It Together Fest: DAY 1 – PRE-FEST ◆

○ (8pm - 12am) Robot Butt variety hour + music by Spoonboy, ACME, Paperhaus, Vunderbar, and Wanted Man at FT. LOKO

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◆ [8/1] In It Together Fest: DAY 2 – NORTHEAST BY NIGHT ◆

○ (7pm – 11pm) ARTSHOW_08: Art, Bro at HOLE IN THE SKY DC

○ (7pm – 11pm) Incarcerated Masses: Artists Call for an End to Mass Incarceration, Deportation and Detention at 2B Artist Studios

○ (8pm – 12am) PILE / THE PUBLIC / TWO INCH ASTRONAUT / JAIL SOLIDARITY @ the Dougout

○ (8pm – 12am) Creative Music in DC - A Night of New Music, a Trio of Trios featuring Organix Trio, Trio OOO, and Garrett/Scheible/Tucker at Union Arts DC

○ (11pm – 3am) THE BOUNDARY STONES / FINLEY MARTIN @ Bardo Brewpub

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◆ [8/2] In It Together Fest: DAY 3 – NORTHWEST + ALL-DAY SHOWCASE ◆

In It Together Fest Alleycat presented by DC Bike Party throughout the day hitting various spots including:

★ MAIN EVENT ★ (12pm – 10pm) at St. Stephen's Church featuring The Effects, State Lines, Hold Tight!, Loud Boyz, Meridian, The Public, Slow Animal, Cousin Brian, Entropy NY, Born Without Bones, Brightside, and Two Inch Astronaut + speakers/classes from Knowledge Commons DC, Casa Ruby LGBT Community Center, and Positive Force DC + tables from Dischord Records, Cricket Cemetery, Say-10 Records, DC Zinefest, The Intentional, Food Not Bombs DC, and MORE! ★ $10 TICKET ONLINE OR AT THE DOOR ★

○ (10:30am – 3:30pm) The Beehive's INFEST Drone Brunch and other Creative Musics event featuring Sleepy Kitty, Nightmom, Br'er, and The Bowlegged Gorilla

○ (12pm – 5pm) TEEN MOM / HARMONIC BLUE / REAL CLOTHES / EZRA MAE & THE GYPSY MOON @ Ezra Mae's

○ (12pm – 5pm) Baby Bry Bry & The Apologists ☢ Haybaby  Chimes ☮ The Adventures of the Silver Spaceman at Jamjar

○ (12pm – 5pm) Space is the Place! featuring sound installations, performance art, and dance exhibitions at Communiverse

○ (2pm – 5pm) JEBIOTTO (japan) / IT IS RAIN IN MY FACE. (ny) / THE NORTH COUNTRY (dc) / WARM & COMFY (md) - In It Together Fest at Bathtub Republic

★ AFTER PARTY ★ (11pm – 3am) at The Pinch featuring Cross Eyed, Growwing Pains, and The Rememberables ★ $5 COVER AT THE DOOR ★

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◆ [8/3] In It Together Fest: DAY 4 – FINAL BLOWOUT ◆

○ (12pm – 6pm) Pree, Marian McLaughlin, Pony Bones, What Moon Things, BRNDA, and Meridian at Paperhaus

○ (3pm – 7pm) Shark Week, Mannequin Pussy, Crumms, Sun Young, and Cesspool at Crack Rock Creek Church

○ (4pm – 9pm) In It Together Fest Presents: Skate Demo @ Bridge Spot! featuring skating, grilling, video from Alley Bar, music from DC Vinyl Headz, a raffle sponsored by The DC Wheels, and a Ramen Jump by the Ryan Troy Ford Memorial Performance Arts Collective

○ (6pm – 10pm) Playback TheTape presents a Retrospective on DC DIY Culture at Furthermore

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In It Together Fest is a four-day celebration of underground art, music, and activism at all venues propagating independent culture throughout the District of Columbia. Empowered by the hope to build a community amongst disparate DIY spaces, we've come together to foster participation, encourage new ideas, and highlight the under-appreciated. 

St. Stephen's has been hosting DIY punk shows for almost three decades now and is a respected space for progressive thought. Usage of the venue helps to support We Are Family, a charitable organization working to assist seniors, and Positive Force, an activist collective seeking radical social change, personal growth, and youth empowerment.

We also have two other organizations that we'd like to help raise awareness for: Casa Ruby is a multicultural non-profit community center working to provide food/shelter/resources in a safe space for everyone in the LGBT community. The Way Home Campaign is a working to end chronic homelessness by placing individuals in permanent supportive housing and ensuring they have the necessary foundation to remain there.

For more information on In It Together Fest, please visit the website:

www.infestdc.org

success for my buddies

One last gig before In It Together Fest, this one was the kick-off show to the Alex G / Elvis Depressedly tour, featuring local favorites Teen Suicide, Wish List, and Ella from Makeshift Shelters, who sadly were unable play as a full band. Below is the scrumptious poster design drawn up by LA Johnson, as well as some awesome videos and photos taken throughout the night.

Alex G full set (courtesy of Patt)




Alex G (courtesy of Rachel)

Elvis Depressedly full set (courtesy of Patt)

Elvis Depressedly (courtesy of Rachel)

Teen Suicide (courtesy of Rachel)

Wish List (courtesy of Rachel)

together

August is fast approaching and we've got some fun things in store here in the district. I've been working as part of a group organizing the first ever In It Together Fest, a weekend-long celebration of DIY culture in DC, filled with music, art, workshops, biking, skating, cooking, and positive ways to inspire change and creativity in the community. The entire festival spans from July 31 to August 3, takes place over the city, and serves to benefit some amazing organizations like Positive Force DC, Casa Ruby LGBT Community Center, and The Way Home Campaign. If you can't wait for more inFest updates here on the blog, click the link above for more information.

Last week, we at the Dougout hosted a promotional show featuring some exemplary east coast acts in Pinkwash, Young Trynas, Joy Buttons and The Sniffs. 

Pinkwash (courtesy of Andrade)

Young Trynas (courtesy of Andrade)

Joy Buttons (courtesy of Andrade)

The Sniffs (courtesy of Andrade)

The next show was just a few nights later - Warehouse and Narrator came in from Atlanta, Amadels trekked down from New York, while Go Cozy and Anchor 3 rounded out the bill with their local flavors.

Warehouse (courtesy of Ron)

Narrator (courtesy of Ron)

 Go Cozy (courtesy of Ron)

swamp romp

I've got three DZ shows planned for later this month, and something pretty big happening the weekend of August 1 that I'll share more about when the time is right. For now, anyone looking to get into some fun in the DMV should scope out these shows (click the flyer for more info):

Tuesday, July 15 @ the Dougout

✄ WAREHOUSE (ATL)
✄✄ GO COZY (DC)
✄✄✄ NARRATOR (ATL)
✄✄✄✄ AMADELS (NYC)
✄✄✄✄✄ ANCHOR 3 (DC)

Thursday, July 17 @ Communiverse

☯ JULIE BYRNE
☯☯ ADAM LEMPEL & SUNATIRENE
☯☯☯ CAIN SCHEIBLE DUO

Saturday, July 19 @ All Saints Church

☂ ALEX G (PHL)
☂☂ ELVIS DEPRESSEDLY (SC)
☂☂☂ TEEN SUICIDE (MD)
☂☂☂☂ WISH LIST (MD)
☂☂☂☂☂ MAKESHIFT SHELTERS (DC)

Thanks to everyone who came out for the last DZ show featuring superb sets in the sweltering heat by Big Ups, Two Inch Astronaut and Atlas At Last. Sadly, Teen Suicide had to drop off the bill last minute due to a family emergency, so those of you who were bummed to miss them that night should definitely make sure to check out the show above. The wonderful Mr. Sean Berg blessed the occasion with the exquisite screenprint below and a few folks snapped some photos and captured video as well. Check out the goods below and stay tuned for more footage in the near future.

Big Ups (courtesy of Scott)

Big Ups (courtesy of Julia)

Lastly, The Sweets' Greatest Hits received some praise from Myspace, who put the compilation on their list of "25 Best Cassettes of 2014 (so far)" alongside some other stellar work from various label friends. Thanks for the shoutout and look out for a few more tapes coming later this year.