Despite how much I liked to think otherwise, I wasn't very punk rock during my high-school years. I mean, I had some patches on my backpack, and I knew who Fugazi were. That made me cool, right? I went to shows at grange halls and community centers, and I made a 'zine once with some friends. Punk-rock kids make 'zines. But, really, when it came down to it, I mostly spent my summer vacations sitting in my room, listening to music (Billy Joel, so not punk rock) and watching The Wonder Years reruns. Sometimes I would mow the lawn, too. There wasn't much to do in the small town of Lake Stevens, Washington.
Now that school's out, it's probably tempting for you too to spend all your newly free days doing absolutely nothing (yes, watching Fred Savage pine over Winnie Cooper for three hours every afternoon counts as nothing), but the Old Fire House implores you to spend your time being a little more productive. To help get you started, the venue's hosting the Get Off the Couch conference and music series. Starting Wednesday, June 28, and going through Saturday, July 1, the Redmond teen center hosts a slew of DIY conferences and live shows, and everything is free.
On Thursday, drop in to learn how to put together an impressive art portfolio and prepare your work for art shows, book concerts for your band or your basement, and run sound for small shows. The OFH PA will be set up for hands-on experimenting and practice. At 5:00 p.m., there's even gonna be a chemist on hand to show you how to blow things up—or something else sciencey. Then at 8:00 p.m. Summer, Orcateers, Corporate Dismay, and Lifeboat play.
Friday has a music panel that sounds pretty stellar. At 5:30 p.m. several familiar faces from the local music community will share stories of their experiences in the scene, touching on everything from booking shows and recording albums to getting started in the industry. Nat Damm, booker at the Fire House, will be there along with promoters Meli Darby and Jelani Jackson of Obese Productions. The forum goes until 7:00 p.m., and afterward you can stick around for a show featuring Paris in Arms, Monsterz, and Behold the Rolling Thunder (music starts at 8:00 p.m., and costs six bucks).
So far so good, right? Sunday, though, is the big day. Sunday has everything from juggling to making your favorite fast foods at home to breakdancing. You can even make your own iPod cozy, and eat some yummy dinner provided by My Sweet Lord Restaurant. At the skatepark there will be a graffiti demo and a stencil-making workshop while the Nomadic Skateboards skate team invades the place.
Now tell me that's not way cooler than The Wonder Years—and far more punk rock, too. A complete schedule of events is available at www.seattlediy.com; show info can be found at www.theoldfirehouse.org.
