born in a thunderstorm

DZ21 is just around the corner, but there's plenty of cool things to cover for now, like

• this awesome Positive Force benefit show for Casa Ruby LGBT Community Center on Saturday, February 13 at St. Stephen's w/ Aye Nako, Governess, Didi, and Chimp Suit (click flyer to RSVP)

• the Big Hush gig on Friday, February 19 at Above The Bayou w/ The Goodbye Party, Hothead, and Scanners (click flyer to RSVP)

• the Nice Breeze show on Saturday, March 5 at Above The Bayou w/ Two Inch Astronaut, Kal Marks, and BRNDA (click flyer to RSVP)

• the other Big Hush jaunt on Thursday, March 10 at The Lilly Trotter Tea Lounge w/ Real Life Buildings and The Red Lines (click flyer to RSVP)

• this new Romantic States video for "Take My Hand And Run"

• and the beautiful streaming experience of Blithe Field's new album via http://theshadowswillfallbehindyou.com/

plus some other cool shit I probably missed in the rush to get this post up. Check back for more goodies coming soon, and stay sound~

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!

give more

And so begins a month of weekend-long tours for Romantic States. After staying up until 3am getting wild at the cassette release show in Baltimore on Friday, a Saturday afternoon of soothing dissonance was well-needed. Thanks to everyone who came out and/or volunteered at the matinee Radio CPR benefit show (special shout-out to Ian MacKaye) as well as Mattress Financial and The Creature People for playing their hearts out as always. I'm happy to say we raised a modest sum for the station, and I'm looking forward to getting more involved in the near future.

Romantic States (courtesy of Chris Taylor)

"On this new self-titled record, Romantic States have traded in the synthetic bleeps and bloops of old, the stuttering tape machines, the more “experimental” side of things in favor of more traditional arrangements for guitars, drums, and voices. The result is a poised approach to songwriting, tunes that are skeletal in nature. While it may appear thin, oblique, and fragile, you’ll be surprised just how resilient and mercurial this collection of songs can be." - Gelatinous Blog

Next up for the band is this gig in Newark, NJ on Friday, February 13 at The Hollywood Bungalow (click here to RSVP) with Charm City chums Et Al. and Garden State locals Apparus.

On that same day here in DC will be another great show, this one a benefit for Casa Ruby LGBT Community Center, who is raising funds to open a homeless youth house in the district. The show features radiant dreamers Crimson Wave from Baltimore, activist sludge warriors Jail Solidarity, feminist grunge rockers Hemlines, and local unsung heroes Tereu Tereu and Jack On Fire. Check out the sweet show poster below c/o Rachel Porter and give it a click for more details and to RSVP.

I'm very happy to be involved with this show and am more than pleased with the serendipitous link between the two events happening all in one night at the same venue. Just downstairs will be a reading by contributors to the Collide Zine #3 speaking on the challenges of living with physical and mental illness, and additionally Sean Gray from Accidental Guest Records fostering a discussion on accessibility in the DIY community and spreading awareness of his site Is This Venue Accessible?, a growing collaborative resource to catalog accessible and inaccessible performance spaces.

Hope you get the chance to check out some live music in the coming week - don't forget to bring your lovers and your manners. ♥

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)