An alternative to the popular weekend bar crawl, music appreciators and performers alike have banded together to support local and traveling artists and let their work be heard.
A few times a month, the living room transforms into a stage — which, given the small space of the room, gets a little crowded for musical performances.
For the most part, the house is like any other college house— except for one detail: it’s a “show house.” A house turned into a venue for local and traveling musicians alike. The house is known as “The Hardcore House of Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” named after the second woman Supreme Court Justice and feminist icon.
Despite the limited space, there is a steady turnout at the RBG house shows, which can be attributed to the behind-the-scenes work done by house owners and those who book shows and artists.
Megan Fair, a senior studying journalism who lives at the RBG house, is one of those who lays out the groundwork for shows to run smoothly.
Prior to her and her roommates’ arrival to the house, it was just an ordinary — and probably much quieter — house, but those who live in a show house like Fair, provide a safe space for bands and attendees.
In addition to the traditional venues like The Smiling Skull Saloon or Casa Nueva, a handful of show houses in Athens answer the need for an alternative space for performances.
The house owners and other members of the “Do It Yourself” scene discuss upcoming shows and look for additional band members in a private Facebook group, which has about 650 members.
Inside The Bat Lounge, a house used as a venue for local and traveling artists, artwork and shoes hang from the walls and ceiling. There is a record collection lining the wall and food cooks in the oven while acts play at eye level with the crowd instead of performing up on an elevated stage. A house show at The Bat Lounge on March 10, included performers by Emperor X, Tall Friend, The Magic Fountain and Billy Dreamin’.
Henry Allen, the drummer for the Athens band GoldenBear, said house shows are particularly helpful to newer bands like GoldenBear, which formed a few months ago.
“We wouldn’t have been able to find any shows whatsoever if it wasn’t for the community just asking for people to play,” Allen, a sophomore studying music production, said.
Fair, who performs as the project Space Buns Forever and drums in the band Maybe, Eventually, has the distinctive experience of both acting behind-the-scenes and benefitting from the scene.
“This scene is incredibly supportive and accommodating,” she said. “If you want to play shows, people will reach out to you and people will give you those opportunities because everyone is interested in seeing each other succeed and flourish.”
GoldenBear performed at the RBG house on March 9, along with Ghost Orchard, a band from Michigan and Hoops, a band from Indiana.
“You get people coming up to you after shows telling you you did a nice job, and whether they’re being sincere or not, it’s nice to hear,” Allen said.
Before Fair opened her home to musical performances, she saw room for necessary change in show houses — most of the bands coming to town and the houses hosting them consisted only of men.
“To me that was not necessarily a bad thing,” Fair, who is the general manager at the All Campus Radio Network (ACRN) in Athens, said. “But I thought that more people would come out if they could see themselves in the bands.”
A somewhat rare sight in the booze-filled college town of Athens, the RBG house is dry, with no drugs or alcohol allowed at shows.
“At shows, it got to the point where people weren’t coming for the music, they were coming because they knew it was a party,” she said.
Fair said it was hard to compensate traveling bands for their time if showgoers were spending their money on alcohol instead of donations.
Blair Morton, another resident of the RBG house, said by not allowing drugs or alcohol, they can provide a safe space for people of all identities.
“I think it’s important for people to come out and be able to experience something that they’re not going to experience on Mill Street or Court Street,” Morton, a senior studying communication studies, said.
At the core of these decisions is a common theme — making sure everyone at the house shows feels safe and included. It’s a value that Jay Riley, a senior studying integrated media, feels is a necessary part of the environment.
“It’s important to have a space where anyone can perform whatever creative endeavor they’re doing,” Riley, who uses the pronouns they/them, said. “And it’s important to have a place outside of university events if people don’t feel comfortable or if it’s more convenient for them.”
Riley lives in a show house called Sudden Death Overtime, but they are not involved in the booking of shows. They said the house has generally seen one or two shows a month since it became a venue last semester.
One problem show house owners face is noise violations. According to Section 13.04.10 of the Athens City Ordinance, it is a violation to produce sound “in such manner as to disturb the peace, quiet and comfort of neighboring inhabitants or at any time with louder volume than is necessary.”
Morton said the residents of the RBG house take precautions to make sure noise violations don’t occur, but they haven’t received any complaints yet.
“With louder, more full-band shows we make an effort to soundproof,” she said. “We put blankets in front of the windows, and we did just get some foam.”
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Fair said she finds out-of-town acts through the website Do DIY, which provides a list of venues, categorized by state and city, that traveling bands can contact to discuss booking a show.
She said her fulfilment comes from the feeling that she and others have made an impact.
“The most rewarding aspect is feeling like when I leave here, that the community has made a really positive step forward in inclusivity and mindfulness,” she said.
@seanthomaswolfe
