Ethics and practices in American DIY spaces

Abstract

The history of punk and its subgenres is, in part, a history of DIY spaces and the influences these spaces have on punk and the DIY scene at large. A better understanding of the ethical guidelines of DIY venue organizers would provide insight into the practices of these venues by providing a glimpse into the motivating factors behind these actions. To approach these issues, this article utilizes existing research to examine current DIY practices and their relation to punk culture, as well as defining the primary ethical guidelines in the DIY scene, followed by new research into these issues. In this study, I spoke with eleven different organizers of long running DIY spaces around the United States. These interviews revealed an overwhelming drive to construct DIY venues as inclusive spaces that provide resources for a variety of communities. In practice, however, the heightened sense of alignment between organizations and artists reported by the participants alludes to a lack of diversity amongst the viewpoints of those within these communities.

Staying in, rocking out: Online live music portal shows during the coronavirus pandemic

“…Similarly, the continuous single shots evoke authenticity by reducing further technical mediation such as editing. Such audiovisual synaesthesia not only amplifies the performances but also resonates with the wider DIY ethos of indie/rock/punk scenes these bands belong to (Woods, 2017). However, focusing on synaesthetic linkages between music and images Goodwin 'neglects the verbal component of music videos' (Kaindl, 2005: 252).…”

“…Thus, looking at how independent bands have turned to portal shows offers real-world digital solutions to the pandemic's cessation of face-to-face events. Secondly, the case studies can be loosely grouped within rock, punk and hardcore genres/scenes, whose DIY ethic and ethos resonates with the 'produser' -consumer and producer of content -of online digital/social media (Bruns, 2008;Gauntlett, 2011;Woods, 2017). In doing so, the article argues portal shows expand on what is considered pandemic media, that their mediation conflates traditional venue spatialisation, and they foster transcultural virtual scene socialisation.…”

The aesthetic pedagogies of DIY music

“…Further still, free-improvisation groups like the Art Ensemble of Chicago have engaged the same ideology of self-sufficiency promoted by punk-oriented DIY scenes as a means towards a politics of racial equality (Basu, 2014). All told, DIY music exists not as a single musical tradition or monolithic ideological formation, but rather as a cultural space defined by a shared DIY ethic that routinely draws on an egalitarian politics of cultural production (Makagon, 2015;Woods, 2017).…”

“…The product of this antagonism exists in how audiences respond to the musician's challenges in that moment, grounding the dialogue about trans identity in Hennies herself and not an abstracted or lyrical description of the hardships faced by trans women within a heteronormative society. Although the abstracted nature of the music may result in some audience members failing to grasp the commentary on trans identity, spectators still have to grapple with their (un)involvement in the performance which easily translates to situations outside the confines of the venue as well as the embodied DIY ethics (Woods, 2017) and egalitarian politics (Makagon, 2015) within the individual and venue. Falsetto therefore creates space for the audience to enact a new set of social relations.…”

Defiance labour and reflexive complicity: Illusio and gendered marginalisation in DIY punk scenes

“…Illusio can help us to think about how meaning is created, maintained and transformed (see Bourdieu, 1990, p. 195; Threadgold, 2019). The illusio of a punk scene is associated with reflexively pursuing values and ethics that do not comply with normative discourses and consumerist demands: a broad commitment to attitudes, ethics and aesthetics that align with the notion of ‘self-design’ (Mankowski, 2013) while at the same time creating an alternative space where like-minded people can work outside of the ‘mainstream’ to foster a relatively autonomous space for artistic creativity, community building and identity work (McKay, 1998; O’Connor, 2016; Woods, 2017). It is these features that attract individuals that feel like outsiders or want to pursue alternate lifestyles in the first place.…”