Basement concerts survive for love of music

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Though punk music has become mainstream, Reno's basement venue subculture has stayed largely subterranean.

Since the 1970s, Reno rockers have held concerts in their own basements to avoid poseurs, covers and age limits in favor of a more intimate setting. Though punk rock is not the exclusive genre played at basement shows, it has been closely associated with the practice.

Basement shows average 20 to 100 attendees, and all proceeds are donated and go directly to the band. There's usually no stage, so the audience is face to face with the band and only separated by a few feet.

"The intimacy can't be matched," said Ty Williams, a 26-year-old musician who lived in a basement venue. "It's a more honest interpretation of your art. Whether it be a puppet show or a rock band or whatever it is, it's just intimate."

Also called D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself), the basement show concept arose from several needs. When a band wants to perform, it has to rent the space and pay for promotion, sound engineering and other expenses.

Many of the houses are owned by groups of music lovers or bands who are holding the show for the love of music rather than to make a profit, Williams said. So, many owners will promote the shows and set it up for free.

The event can be much more pleasant for bands, said James Rogers, the drummer for Reno's the Farley Overdose. Not only do bands get all of the money from their shows to help them reach their next destination, but they also get a place to sleep other than the tour van and hang out with like-minded people who know the area.

"It's welcoming," Rogers said. "It's really nice. I played a basement in Baltimore, and there were tons of kids who show up and you get that feeling and you're just like 'damn, maybe I am doing something right.'"

Benefiting all

Not only is the space more intimate, but the audience also can be much more energetic, said Chris Costalupes of Over-vert. He said the first basement show he went to was the most crazy and energetic concert he had ever experienced. Everyone involved with these shows is passionate about the music, he said.

“You don’t have to go through a promoter or a club, it’s your own thing,” Costalupes said. “I would rather have 20 people who care than 300 people who don’t give a fuck about you.”

Basement shows are not exclusive to Reno, but the city’s scene makes up a large part of its music culture. Reno isn’t a very youth friendly town said Ryan Stark, a 28-year-old barista at Bibo Coffee who is heavily involved. Since most shows occur at bars or casinos, there aren't a lot of shows open to everyone or suited for people that don't like the bar scene.

The number of people involved in the underground music scene is always in flux. In the late 1990s each show averaged about 100 people and that number is down to 20 to 30 attendees in the past few years. Stark said he expected attendance to rise over the next couple years because of community ties.

The thing that sets Reno apart from other towns is its unity. Rogers said a lot of other cities have groups of subcultures that don’t interact much. But in Reno there is a large, tight-knit group of music fans.

“You get to know everyone; it’s not really like that in other cities, where there are certain little groups but there are a bunch of them. Here there is one big group.” Rogers said.

Making nice with police and passers-by

Rogers, who has lived in house venues, said they have had problems with the police before, but with proper planning they can mostly be avoided. There have been issues with venues being posted on the web and then being watched by passing patrols.

He said shows are shut down because of fire hazards when too many people are in the house or for noise ordinance violations. He recalled one time at his house when a gigantic snowball fight erupted, and pedestrians and cars couldn’t pass by the house without a being hit by a volley of snow.

He said that most problems are prevented by a quick chat with the neighbors.

Though these venues try not to advertise their precise location to authorities, Stark said it isn’t very hard to get into the scene. Promotions are mostly done via poster. So, interested parties can just find where the venues are on the street corner, or on a band’s Web site.

“Your first time going to one can be one of the most intimidating things in the world because it is a room full of 20 people who look like maniacs,” Stark said. “If you wind up just showing up and you like what is happening up there, you will become a part of it no doubt, but it is not for everyone.”

Ultimately, the basement shows are about free expression with a group of people that are just excited about music. The scene provides a musical playground for bands to experiment with news sounds. Stark said he believes that a Reno band involved in this scene someday will hit it big, making Reno look like fertile ground to record companies looking for the next big thing before moving on to the next city.

“It’s a matter of time. What we have in our basements right now in my opinion is the most crucial and amazing music I have ever seen,” Stark said. “The greatest things have always happened in little rooms. A life-changing event has never happened to me in a stadium.”