RIP Monster Island (And Brooklyn DIY?)
by Lauren BeckPage 2 of 8
Do you have a favorite memory of playing Monster Island Basement?
We actually played our first show ever at Monster Island. It was us, Real Estate, Girls and Kurt Vile. That was a really fun show.
How about of another band you've seen play there? Anyone in particular stand out?
I've seen a lot of great bands play there. When I first moved to NYC I would go there on random nights just because I didn't know what else to do, and I don't think I ever saw a bad show... or at least I wasn't jaded enough yet to know the difference. It's funny the amount of bands you can see playing their first shows to an half-empty room in a basement and then half a year later headlining Bowery Ballroom.
With Market Hotel and Monster Island now closed, not to mention the recent troubles Silent Barn has faced, there's been some talk about the death of Brooklyn's DIY scene. Do you feel as though it's as vibrant as it once was?
It's really sad in a way. Market Hotel was amazing, and I've seen/played some of my favorite shows ever there. Silent Barn was one of the first places I heard of when I moved to Brooklyn; I used to think, "Oh, man, I hope one day I get a chance to play there!" All of those spaces closing down feels surreal now, but there are still a good amount of DIY spaces in NYC (which I won't mention by name in hopes that they don't also get shut down). There are new places opening up that I'm excited about. The DIY scene is still totally vibrant.
If not, does that bum you out, or do you chalk it up to the natural progression of any so-called music scene?
Twenty, 30 years ago in the East Village, nobody was talking about a thriving DIY scene in Williamsburg or Bushwick. They were all holding onto their precious art spaces near their homes. It all comes and goes, but no matter what, there's always something going on. You can't ever push the art scene out of NYC, it would be like bees dying off: the city just wouldn't function anymore.
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