A great moment in D.C. music this year from my own Instagram account (@valuminous): Rare Essence stealing the show at the D.C. Showcase at SXSW
How can we judge the past year in D.C. music and its effect on the city? Should we point to the number of albums by local artists that made year-end best-of lists from nationally regarded music rags? Should we try to come up with our own comprehensive list of great albums and songs released this year by area artists? Would it be better to look back at this year’s reissues? Or perhaps we should run down a list of great live show moments?
In truth, the year in local music is a collection of moments that would be hard to put in any order. Who could really say whether the feeling of a greater music community was stronger at the Kingman Island Bluegrass and Folk Festival than at Fort Reno? Who is going to put their finger on whether the shows at the Luce Unplugged series more or less emotionally charged than the final music performances at Artisphere? Would it be fair to judge on whether it was harder to say goodbye to Spoonboy or Typefighter? Was the best local show of the year definitively at the 9:30 Club? Who is to say that it wasn’t at Babe City or the Paperhaus or one of the other DIY venues that are no longer around? Did you spend more time and energy at the Funk Parade or the D.C. Record Fair? Does it really matter?
We say no. All of those moments were important and so were the nuanced and quieter moments for these musicians that happened offstage. So, as much fun as it can be to list things, we’re eschewing that. Once again, we asked local musicians to share their favorite moments of 2015 as captured on their Instagram feeds.
Chris Kelly (Teen Mom) @teenmomdc
“This one is from Typefighter’s last show at Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel. Great night. Great band. This was during their last song, I think. Everyone was having a good time.”
“This was just a nice impromptu jam session with Dave and John from BRNDA. It was like the week before John moved to (I think) Pittsburgh, after a bunch of us went out for breakfast. We played music all afternoon. It was a great Saturday.”
Johnny Fantastic (Stronger Sex) @sex_stronger
” ‘The Six Euro Mark’. Here’s a filtered selfie blended with a world map and filtered like crazy; the amoebas on my face come from my shirt which is blended over my face. I noticed a lot of currency in Europe celebrates art and science so this is my dream of being memorialized on some kind of foreign banknote.”
” ‘Chairman Carl’. For the 30th birthday of Landon Letzkus (aka Rev. Stevedore Mabelline Bidet of Church Night) I slaved over an elaborate pumpkin carving of one of his lesser known characters. Here we see Carl Faban, the philosophical door salesman who once famously quipped in his folksy Maryland accent, ‘If door is the absence of wall, what is more absent of wall than columns? Door.’ “
Leah Gage (BRNDA) @bathtubrepublic
“I played over 70 shows with a variety of amazing musicians, touring with BRNDA, Stronger Sex and The North Country. My house venue Bathtub Republic hosted countless basement shows and then moved to our new Brookland location where we continue to host shows (including one on NYE). To be honest, I don’t have a ton of photos of my favorite moments because I was too busy enjoying them, but here are some good ones.”
“This summer BRNDA toured the midwest in support of our second album, Year of the Manatee. We took our friends Teen Mom to support. These people became my family this summer.”
“This year I was invited to join one of my favorite bands of all time, Stronger Sex. It was a dream come true. This is what the backseat of our chariot looked like on tour.”
“We moved out of the old Bathtub Republic and relocated to Brookland, which is better than ever!! To honor the Bathtub Republic I got a new tattoo courtesy of Isaac at Laughing Hyena Tattoos.”
Alexia Kauffman (The Torches) @lacellista
“This photo is of Shellac playing at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle in July. It’s special to me for a number of reasons. Seattle is kind of my musical Mecca. So many bands that initially made me love rock music came out of there. I’ve been to Seattle several times as an adult; it’s such an awesome city, but until this trip I hadn’t gone to a show there. I saw in their City Paper that Shellac was playing while I was there (the band includes legendary producer Steve Albini, who produced Nirvana’s In Utero, among many, many other notable albums.) The show was sold out, but I had a friend who was going, so on a whim I decided to schlep across town and see if I could find a ticket. The concert gods smiled on me (thanks to my friend Martin for being outgoing enough to walk up to everyone standing outside the venue) and I got a ticket! It was a really fun show, and a serendipitous evening.”
“This is my band The Torches, on Halloween before our show at Rock & Roll Hotel. The photo was taken by our friend and honorary Torch, Jeff Galusha. Since I joined The Torches in 2010 we have always played a show on or near Halloween or Day of the Dead, and have always dressed up for it. It’s a Torches tradition, and one that I love. I was particularly proud of my makeup/ensemble this year, (I’m on the far left) inspired by creepy clowns & carnivals.”
Jono Allen (Romane & Lettuce) @kingbassmanjono
“At the beginning of our shows, I’ve frequently been introduced as “The swollest dude on bass” and this picture illustrates that the best.”
“This was from our most recent show and I feel at this point in our band’s career, the future is only getting brighter. We have fun, there are no egos and most of all, we’re doing something we all enjoy. Nothing but grins & giggles from Romane & Lettuce!”
Sara Curtin (Solo artist/The Sweater Set) @saraecurtin
Photo by Jillian Steinhauer
“This picture was taken on Halloween night 2015 at the Black Cat. The band and I dressed up as Cruella De Vil & her dalmatians. The show was the Halloween Circus with Jonny Grave & The Tombstones and Footwerk (hosted by Church Night). The crowd was unbelievable and we had a blast. I was especially impressed with the level of dedication to dressing up for Halloween. There was even another Cruella in the audience! Not only was it my first time playing the iconic Black Cat main stage with this band (my solo project), but I also got engaged downstairs in the Red Room Bar earlier this year, so the venue has even greater significance to me. I do love me the Black Cat!”
Photo by Patrick M. Ryan
“As a kid from Tenleytown, I’ve been going to Fort Reno concerts my entire life. In the ’90s I remember sitting on the hill making flower necklaces while watching my dad’s band on stage. Then in the ’00s I saw my brother’s high school band up there. My folk group with Maureen Andary (The Sweater Set) played there in ’09, too. This summer I released my first solo album in 5 years (Michigan Lilium) and played up and down the East Coast. But one of my favorite shows was still back at Fort Reno, across from my high school, friendly neighborhood faces dotting the crowd.”
Luke Stewart (Laughing Man) @takealukearound
“‘The Hand of Nate Scheible’. Mr. Scheible is one of my favorite musicians in the area, and has become a good bud over this year especially. He makes very skillful electronic music using simple analog equipment, and is an amazing drummer with huge ears. This was taken during a solo showcase at Union Arts DC with Martin Freeman, Nate Scheible, and myself.”
“Aaron Martin, Jr is among the most dedicated musicians I know. He’s a person who actually makes time to practice for at least 4 hours a day, running jazz saxophone patterns over and over. This picture was taken at the Brink, an amazing studio run by Mike Reina. The session was a collective ensemble that included Martin, along with Anthony Pirog, Mark Cisneros, Ian McColm, and myself. It’ll be out soon, hopefully.”
Jason Hamacher (Regents/Lost Origin Productions) @jasonhamacher
“This is my record player at the United Nations in Geneva. It was insane to just be there, let alone speak!”
“This is a shot of my rental car from inside an abandoned Italian Farmhouse on the outskirts of Modena as I drove the back roads between Param and Assisi before my presentation in Rome.”
“This is me in the Studio with Legendary producer John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr., Jawbox, Sonic Youth) mixing my next Syria album “Stairway to Heaven: Chaldean Chanting from Aleppo.”
All of these images represent how wild my Syrian Journey has been over the past 18 months.”
Chad Clark (Beauty Pill) @beautypill
“‘LOST DRONE’. This poster immediately inspired a new song that I hope will be on our next album.”
