behind the *VHS compilation* with sam sumpter and marc seligman
Having interviewed Bands do BK's Sam Sumpter a few years back for The Alternative, I have since been a witness to her tireless boosting of the New York City independent music scene. Booking shows, managing bands, writing a book (!), wrangling a music website that exudes NYC energy from every pixel (I highly recommend its newsletter THE SETLIST, which combines food / drink / entertainment recs with lots of delightful local band lore)—it's all in a day's work for Sam, and New York is extremely lucky to have her.
So when I learned she had collaborated with Marc Seligman on a three-day concert event at Arlene's Grocery...that was filmed and turned into a video compilation of 14 local bands tearing up the stage...accompanied by interviews with the bands...and all released on VHS...I knew I had to get the scoop on how they pulled off such a production.
Bands do BK Presents: The Music Matters NYC captures the New York scene at a precarious but invigorating point in history. On one hand, skyrocketing rents and cost of living makes it harder than ever to pursue artistic dreams, and on the other, there are sooo many talented and ambitious musicians filling the city with their unique sounds and noises—like charismatic post-punkers A Very Special Episode, and the vibrant seven-piece psych rock band Tilden.
And this compilation captures the pure ZEST of the bands on the bill—the ripping sax solo on O. Wake's "Riper Than Ripe," Mary Shelley's rowdy freakout at the end of "Piggies", Nevva cooing "Someone get this girl some ketamine / someone get this girl a BLT" on their song "Sober Vegan"— with crisp production that makes everyone look like the rock stars they are.
I asked Sam and Marc some questions over email about The Music Matters NYC and they kindly answered....read on....
My first impression from watching this compilation is how much work probably went into it. You don't have to go into every last nitty-gritty detail (unless you want to!) but I would love to hear about the basic step-by-step process of planning this whole thing from start to finish, including each of your (Sam + Marc's) individual responsibilities.
Sam [Production Coordinator/Curator]: It was Marc’s idea (and he produced it!), so kudos to him! I just focused on the booking, curating the bills, doing outreach and communicating with the bands, securing the venue and dates and then promoting the hell out of it. Then getting interviewed at 11pm on night 3 after one to four too many rosés.
That said, it was very much in line with my own work and the mission of everything I do (blog, newsletter, book, shows, etc.), which is showcasing and supporting local bands and venues.
Marc [Executive Producer]: I had an epiphany during the holiday week 2023 that there was a real special scene in NYC. They weren’t just bands playing shows. They were truly good friends rooting for each other and helping in every way possible. It also felt like these are folks who work themselves to the bone with day jobs, pay high rent, but overcome hurdles to present their art. I had met Sam earlier that year at a show for the band Mary Shelley (who she manages) to thank her for a favor she did for my son’s band. I knew she was someone who could make it a reality. I arranged a call with her and she secured the venue, booked the bands, promoted the shows on social media, and coordinated basically everything. My duty was showing up for those three historic nights.
How did you end up with Arlene's Grocery as the venue? What does that venue have that no other venue in NYC does?
Sam: Arlene’s has been live since ’95! The history and the amount of bands (like a little one by the name of The Strokes!) that have been through there and played this stage is just so impressive and insane. It’s just such an iconic venue, and while many of the bands who played The Music Matters would mores consider Brooklyn—particularly Bushwick—their home base, Arlene’s is still killing it, and it was a cool way to combine the past and the present to showcase a small slice of today’s NYC music scene.
There’s also, of course, the fact that I’ve been in-house booking at Arlene’s for two years now, so it was a natural fit for me on that front. I know the staff, I know how good the sound is and I knew we could pull it off. I’m so grateful to the venue for working on it with us. We couldn’t have done it without a very enthusiastic, very flexible team. And they are all so wonderful over there. Really professional and cool people who really care.
Right now with the technology we have, it's arguably never been easier to 'document a scene', and yet I feel like it's still relatively rare to see someone produce a high-quality and comprehensive documentary of a show (as opposed to, say, short video clips for social media). How important was production value to this endeavor? And did you do anything in particular to make sure the video and audio looked and sounded as good as it does?
Sam: I’ll let Marc speak mostly to this—props to him for assembling such a great team. (I’ve worked with Brad and Juan before and know how good they are!) It’s also helpful that Arlene’s has a really great sound, I’m sure.
Marc: Great question. It started with the fact both Sam and I knew Brad Wagner. His work with Paste Magazine and other entities is well respected in the industry. We were both confident he could capture the event in its entirety. The editor Jason Toledo was at a happenstance meeting as after the event I went to see the band Go Home to complete an interview which wasn’t completed at Arlene’s. I was impressed with Jason and contacted him as the editing seemed to be his specialty. Need to throw out kudos to Juan Soria who works often with Brad and to Charlie Peterson who was a godsend with audio and video for the entire event. Lest we forget Jeff Schaer-Moses for the stills.
Was there anything that happened behind the scenes that was unexpected / funny / wild that one might not know just from watching the compilation?
Sam: I think this was captured, but my favorite part of the whole thing was Patrick of AVSE just taking off his pants on stage, and then Kasey’s reaction when she looked over and saw. That’s the dedication I want! (And the relationship I want!)
All of the bands featured have their own unique sounds, aesthetics, vibes—would you say there are any qualities all of them share, or something they all have in common?
Sam: I would say that the NYC music scene is really a lot of sub-scenes dependent on genre, geography, friend groups, etc. Some of these bands have more overlap than others and have played together plenty. Some are good friends. Some—like Big Girl and Tetchy, or Tilden and TVOD—even share members. On the flip side, some may have not even formally met. But a lot of them are generally playing the same stages around the city, even if they’re not playing them at the same time. That’s a major uniting factor.
Beyond that, I guess what they have in common is they’re all part of what I consider the Bands do BK family. I’ve worked with them all in the past. I’ve seen them play a bunch, and I love and believe in them all a ton. It was really special to have them all participate. I also want to add that I’m such a believer in the insane amount of talent in NYC right now. There were so many bands I would’ve loved to include, but who were unavailable or we didn’t have enough slots for. Honestly, there are enough great bands that we could’ve put on three weeks of shows instead of three days, but I'm proud to have even partially documented this killer era of NYC music that we're living in. (Also I probably would’ve jumped off the BK bridge if I had to book that many shows.)
Marc: Many of them have played in each other’s bands. The vast majority of them living in Brooklyn, specifically Bushwick which basically seems to be a breeding ground for artistic creativity.
What inspired you to release this on VHS?
Sam: I’ll let Marc take this — it was his clever (and funny) idea. In addition, I’m a sucker for physical media (not very convenient given the not-exactly-spacious nature of NYC apartments). I wrote a book — I guess VHS was the next step!
Marc: Two things. One was that while I’m still working on expanding to full documentary, I realized we had seven and a half hours of live concert footage. My grandmother always said “waste not, want not”. The other thing was Cheap Trick in 2009 releasing their album The Latest on 8-track. When they were asked why, they said “if we sell one, we’re on top of the 8-track charts!” So, I’m claiming with the initial run of 125 almost gone, we're on top of the VHS charts!
This compilation, as well as Bands Do BK in general, really celebrates the magic and resilience of the New York rock music scene—obviously a large scene and one with a lot of well-worn history. I would love to hear, from both of you, one thing you love about New York (music-themed or otherwise) that you feel like people don't talk about enough, or are still underrated.
Sam: IN GENERAL: Coming from the suburbs, then Austin (still a driving city), I just love the freedom and flexibility and spontaneity of the city. Unlike 99% of this country where you’re going from your home to your car to your destination in your little moving bubble, you’re out there in the world! You can’t control your environment and you have no idea what’s going to happen! There’s so much opportunity for beauty and humor and just really strange stuff. And performances everywhere; I caught a free show on the subway today. Just endless inspiration, endless material, endless art.
NOT TALKED ABOUT: The nature! With Prospect Park down the street, I spend more time outside surrounded by trees than I did when I lived in places that aren’t commonly known as concrete jungles. I legit took up BIRDWATCHING (!) while living in NEW YORK CITY! A couple weeks ago, I saw a hawk chowing down on a pigeon! Whew. This city really does have everything.
RANDOM: I think it's important to note that a scene can't exist without people's support. So for anyone reading this, please go support artists and, on top of that, support local indie venues. It's already a precarious industry and a hard city, and so many venues haven't bounced back from the hole COVID put them in. If we want scenes to continue, bands need a place to play, so please do your part to support these people and places by getting out there and going to shows <3
Marc: The talent and quality of the entertainment you’re getting for your dollar. These bands may not have the smoke and mirrors (lighting, staging etc) of arena shows, but the material, the stage presence, the desire to please the audience are every bit as authentic. If not more so. To stress this point, I recently saw Skorts at Webster Hall, and Mary Shelley at the Observatory in LA (warming up for Gogol Bordello). In both cases they played and wowed large audiences leaving them screaming for an encore. You can still see both in smaller venues (for now) at a fraction of the cost you’d see an arena band.
Not a question but a comment - the Miller High Life lav mic setup was genius and when I saw it, I yelled aloud. So good.
THE CHAMPAGNE OF MIC STANDS!!!!
Credits:
Audio/video production: Brad Wagner, Juan Soria, Charlie Peterson
Director of photography: Jeff Schaer-Moses
Co-producer / video post: Jason Toledo
Artists featured:
Big Girl
Tilden
A Very Special Episode
Tetchy
TVOD
O. Wake
NEVVA
Two-Man Giant Squid
Mary Shelley
AVATAREDEN
Jelly Kelly
Go Home
Night Spins
SKORTS
Thanks Sam and Marc! You can get your own copy of the VHS at Arlene's Grocery and Village Revival Records.
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