infestdc mixtape

The long wait is finally here, and I'm proud to share with you the latest DZ project, the InFestDC mixtape. This 70-minute compilation features 22 choice cuts recorded live at DIY shows around the District, and showcases talent from DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and more.

Featuring live tracks by:

TWO INCH ASTRONAUT / SWINGS 

WILDHONEY / MANNEQUIN PUSSY / BIG UPS

NEONATES / ROMANTIC STATES / JAIL SOLIDARITY

WITCH COAST / THE OBSESSIVES / ET AL. / RADIATOR HOSPITAL

LAUGHING MAN /  TEEN LIVER / HEMLINES / SITCOM

POLYON / MATTRESS FINANCIAL / TRUNKWEED

PASSING PHASES / MERIDIAN / NICE BREEZE

In 2014, a group of DC musicians, artists, and other community members teamed up to throw the first In It Together Fest, a four-day celebration of DIY culture held at 17 venues around the city. The inaugural fest raised over $2500 for two amazing local non-profit organizations, We Are Family and Casa Ruby LGBT Community Center. This year, we're aiming to raise the bar quite a bit, and in preparation for the next In It Together Fest we've put together a mixtape, limited to 250 copies professionally dubbed on slime green cassettes, All proceeds from this tape and this year's In It Together Fest are going towards one or two local non-profit organizations To Be Announced.

We hope you'll take the time to check out this awesome archive of DC's vibrant DIY show culture, and mark your calendars for the next In It Together Fest, July 31 + August 1!

grip the greats

Packing up all your belongings and moving to another place makes for a great time to reflect on where you've been and where you're going. When thinking about my favorite music from this past year, I ran into trouble trying to narrow down the myriad choices of fantastic releases from 2014. But during the process of transitioning my record collection from its Ikea Expedit shelving unit into milk crates I came to the conclusion that showcasing the albums I loved so much that I actually forked over cash for them is more in line with the spirit of what music means to me. So without further adieu here's my list, complete with pictures and in no particular order:

My 10 Favorite 2014 Records & Tapes That I Actually Bought

Spray Paint "Clean Blood, Regular Acid" (Monofonus Press)

Alex G "DSU" (Orchid Tapes)

Two Inch Astronaut "Foulbrood" (Exploding In Sound Records)

Angel Olsen "Burn Your Fire For No Witness" (Jagjaguwar)

Blank Realm "Grassed Inn" (Fire Records)

Tonstartssbandht "Overseas" 2xLP (Company Etc)

Mannequin Pussy "Gypsy Pervert" (Tiny Engines)

Ricky Eat Acid "Three Love Songs" (Orchid Tapes)

Thee Oh Sees "Drop" (Castle Face Records)

Big Ups "Eighteen Hours Of Static" (Dead Labour)

Best Witches "Tour Tape" (Self-Released)

Jon McCallum "Surf Nazis Must Die" OST (Strange Disc Records)

Dura "Silver/Lawns" (Wounded Knife Records)

Pinkwash "Your Cure Your Soil" (Sister Polygon Records)

The Beds "Ride Again" (Ranch Records)

The Effects "Blister b/w Old Soul" (Self-Released) 

Parasol "Not There" (Lost Sound Tapes)

Jerry Paper / Andy Boay "Jerry Paper / Andy Boay" Split (Hausu Mountain)

The Rebel "The Shingles Collection" 2xCS (Monofonus Press)

Olive Drab "The Big Sleep" (Bird Tapes)

Before signing off, I'd like to thank the Washington City Paper for their nod to Big Hush, including the Wholes EP on their list of The Best Local Albums of 2014. Lastly, there were a lot of great releases I haven't bought yet and therefore could not include on this list, but one final shout out goes to all the independent artists and labels for making my world a much more enjoyable place. Cheers to another year of great music. ♥ Brett

bittersweet

I'm happy to report the Two Inch Astronaut 'Foulbrood' release show may have been the best gig I've gotten to put on at the Dougout. From top to bottom all the bands were amazing, and I was lucky enough to get some halfway decent recordings of each set as part of a new project I've been working on to archive DC's DIY live music scene. While most of the recordings won't be made available just yet, I'm thrilled to share one - the first ever Mannequin Pussy acoustic set! Marisa was kind enough to sit down and play three MP tracks and one brand new song from her upcoming solo debut. Special thanks to WMUC for their help in making this happen. Take an advance listen to the set below, check the soundcloud page for the track list, and tune in to WMUC radio Sunday at 6pm ET for this and some great live music from Au Revoir, Wish List, and Go Cozy on Third Rail.



Another huge shout out to Big Ups, Washer, and Jail Solidarity, plus a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Sam, Andy and Matt on the album release! We were also blessed to have Mike from Red Table Press design and screenprint a limited run of this awesome glow-in-the-dark gig poster below.

Two Inch Astronaut (courtesy of Nicole)

Mannequin Pussy (courtesy of Alex)

Big Ups (courtesy of Alex)

Washer (courtesy of Alex)

Jail Solidarity (courtesy of Alex)

On a more somber note, it’s with a heavy heart I announce that starting in 2015, I will no longer be living at The Dougout. Nearly three years have passed since the mates and I moved in and began hosting DIY shows, and now the time has come for me to make my next move. This place has been so much more than a home to me and I’ll cherish the memories made in this house for the rest of my days.

It was here that I first planted my roots as a resident of the District, forged immeasurable bonds with two awesome amigos, made countless new friends (and reunited with ones from days long ago), showcased an unbelievable number of immensely talented musicians, hosted my first DZ TAPES cassette release show, helped plan and put on the first ever In It Together Fest, cared for four different beautiful animals (and accidentally killed even more innocent plants), and learned more about myself than I’d ever thought I would.

While I will be making my departure at the end of this month, the spirit of The Dougout will live on through Geoff, Marshall and … You, perhaps (or someone you know)?

Let this post serve as a call to anyone who’s ever dreamed of living in a DIY punk house in Washington, DC. The rent is cheap, there’s space aplenty, and many more awesome shows to be put on. If you or anyone you know might be interested in taking my spot, please check out this Craigslist posting to get the conversation started. The new housemate should be ready to move in on January 1.

As for me, this is certainly not the end of my time booking shows in DC, so be on the lookout for more live events in the near future.

foulbrood

Since the release of their debut full-length Bad Brother last year, Two Inch Astronaut have been melting the minds of DIY show-goers here in DC and along the East Coast, but nowhere more-so than at the Dougout. Their new album Foulbrood, out now on Exploding In Sound Records, showcases just how much the band's sound is expanding to become exceedingly more complex while retaining its accessibility, like a rubix cube with shades of post-punk, post-hardcore, and everything in between.

It's been a pleasure to watch the band grow over time, so I'm proud to announce DZ TAPES will be hosting the official album release show, featuring support from some top-notch East Coast talent. Check out the rest of the bands below and click the flyer to RSVP for the show on December 7.

※ BIG UPS (NY) fearsome tough love punctual post-punk
※ ※ MANNEQUIN PUSSY (PHL) razor sharp shitpunk like bats trapped in a tent
※ ※ ※ WASHER (NY) stripped-down punk with melodic distortion
※ ※ ※ ※ JAIL SOLIDARITY (DC) fuck the man post-hardcore noise rock sludge

In other news, the Big Hush cassette release show almost went off without a hitch until the apex of Chris Forsyth's finale, in which a crucial surge protector was knocked loose from its outlet causing the entire build up to come crashing down in a deafening silence.


Notwithstanding this minor calamity, the show was a great success thanks to great music from the aforementioned lovelies as well as the Anthony Pirog Trio and Golden Triangle. Just before the show, Brightest Young Things had some great things to say about Big Hush in an interview piece conducted with co-singer/songwriter Owen Wuerker.

"Big Hush shucks the limitations of the shoegaze sound, pushing vocal melodies and lyricism to the forefront and using their noisy instrumental texture as support rather than the center of the song. The result is a huge step forward for the band; their loudest tendencies now affect the emotive character of the compositions, and showcase their deft songwriting."

You can read the full interview here.

Hazey Jane also received some love recently from Unrecorded, calling DZ13 "a great collection of off-kilter beats composed of odd samples, drum machines, and guitar."

And last but certainly not least, folk freaks in Chicago should be on the look out for Adam Torres, who makes his Windy City debut on December 13 to accompany a preview screening of A Good Person, presented by the Logan Square International Film Series. Click here to RSVP and get more information about the movie.

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.

waiting for nothing

I promise you, more info on DZ13 will be released shortly. Production is well under way and the tapes look beautiful. This one's definitely to help you keep calm, cool and collected this summer, and I'm very excited to share these serene sensations with you all in the near future.

For now, it's that time again to invite everybody in the Washington DC area out to the Dougout for a night of visceral post-punk, gloomy puke pop, and emocore at the next DZ live event. Click the flyer below for more details.

✔ BIG UPS (NY)
✔✔ TEEN SUICIDE (MD)
✔✔✔ TWO INCH ASTRONAUT (DC)
✔✔✔✔ ATLAS AT LAST (DC)



Vancouver's Terror Bird has announced her next release. On June 7, 'Clubs' will be available on cassette from SVN SNS RECORDS. Get back on the darkwave groove by peeking Nikki's new video "Waiting For Nothing":



Lastly, for those of you lucky enough to be in the Austin area this weekend, Adam Torres and Caitlin Krauss-Torres will be teaming up to give you a free live show this Saturday at Cenote, and remember to check back on Adam's bandcamp each week for more gentle serenades on his Golden Children demo compilation.