DIY America #2: Philadelphia, PA
don't forget GUNKmas is tonight! 12/17 @ Baby's
Coming in hot with our second installation of DIY America, featuring another beloved Pennsylvania city (PA pride….) Philadelphia, PA. Thank you to Kyle Pulley who compiled this extensive list of all the best booking resources, venues, artists, and food spots to hit when touring in Philly. Info about our big holiday show to follow!
Intro:
Hey Y’all,
My name is Kyle Pulley, and I have been a fan of Philly DIY since I was in high school <3. A lot has changed, but a lot has stayed the same in this community over the years.
A little bit about me first - I co-founded a studio called The Headroom with my friend Joe Reinhart about 15 years ago. Lots and lots of cool records have passed through our doors, but I’ve personally worked with artists such as Alex G, Dr. Dog, Hop Along, Diet Cig, Covey, and lots of others!
I’m no longer a touring musician sadly, but most of my touring experience comes from my old band Thin Lips; we were fortunate enough during our time to get to tour with Modern Baseball, The Front Bottoms, Slaughter Beach Dog, Justin Pierre (of Motion City Soundtrack), and The Menzingers.
Gunk put the call out for some tour tips right around the time that I started doing a tour tips series on the Headroom instagram, so it felt like a great coincidence to share a little bit about what I know about Philly. There is always a lot of cool stuff going on in here in lots of different genres, and it’s hard to have your fingers on the pulse of all of it. Like most cities, I think it's always good to check in with some bands that might be a good fit to see what houses are popping at the moment. House shows are a great way to break into Philly’s DIY scene. However, there are some good small clubs and venues to check out as well. Lots of bands in Philly are eager to tour, so trade some shows in your hometown, and make new friends <3
One thing that has always been true about Philly DIY is that house venues are always popping up, popping off, then shutting down, and then another springs back up. Going through some of these resources will help you see who is playing, and where.
Booking Resources -
House Show Philly - a great instagram that aggregates all of the house shows in a given week. They don’t book shows, but it’s a great way to see who is active, and what house venues are hosting shows.
Flyers.Fan.215 - no, this is not a local ice hockey fan, it is in fact another account that aggregates flyers for DIY shows.
The Dumpster Out Back - a booking collective/email newsletter that sends out a periodic email to its list about upcoming shows. Also a great way to find out about new venues/bands. Send them an email and ask to be put on the list.
Rowtone - sadly, I think this booking collective is downgrading their activity, but it’s still a great resource for bands who are active and different venues.
Luigi’s Mansion - example of the type of house venue that philly’s DIY scene is known for. They’ve been doing it for a while, so it seems like they are less active
Creep Records - storied punk label/studio/record store. Do shows at their spot occasionally
4333 Collective - I’m putting this here just because they rock, but probably this group is going to work with slightly more established bands in the DIY scene.
The Machine - more electronic music/DJ vibes, but throw seemingly cool parties.
R5 Productions - The Granddaddy of philly DIY that was started back in the 90’s. Definitely for more established acts, they’ve been doing shows in the basement of the First Unitarian Church for over 25 years. I’m almost just putting this here because a list of DIY wouldn’t be complete with out them.
Great Circles - record label, store, does DJ stream sets, all around very involved in the electronic/DJ music community.
Venues
The Fringe Bar - I think the person who books here might have changed, it used to be Nick from Grocer, but this is a decent bar, that will pay bands off the bar instead of the door, so you can get a guarantee.
Century Bar - hosts smaller shows, trends towards metal and heavier music
God’s Automatic Body - a sick as fuck, punk as fuck queer-run venue, definitely great for weirder/performance art type stuff. They DO NOT book, but if you can put a bill together, it’s a dope spot. Approx 100 cap.
Philamoca - cool all ages venue, a bit expensive to rent, but if you can put the right bill together, its a philly stalwart at this point.
Ortlieb’s - a great small 100 ish cap venue. Great sound. 21+ its a bar.
Harmonie Hall - haven’t been, but i’ve heard good things? Definitely tends towards the acoustic folk type stuff is the sense I get.
Cambria House - quirky warehouse space in N. Philly. I think it was/is associated somehow with mewithoutyou somehow? All ages
Tin Can Bar - I don’t know a lot about this spot, but if you can’t get a show anywhere else, this might be an option?
Dawson Street Pub - my neighborhood haunt! Not the hippest place (but thats why i love it), but if you can put a bill together, there is a built in crowd of regulars, and there are some occasionally cool shows there. Pretty small, maybe 50 cap?
Solar Myth - this used to be the Boot and Saddle, which was a great punk bar, but is now doing jazz/experimental music. I think it caters to more established stuff, but there aren’t a ton of clubs for that kind of music in philly, so maybe it serves artists at all levels?
Johnny Brenda’s* - Bar with a music venue on the second floor. Sometimes a reach to book here but one hell of a vibe if you can play here. Also amazing food for the artists. The hummus!!!
Green Line* - Cafe/Coffee Shop with multiple different locations throughout the city. I had the hardest time booking a Philly show recently and this spot (on Locust) offered to host our show pretty last minute (with a bill already in mind).
Bands - there are so many bands! Lots of them have recorded at Headroom! Please don’t just go through and spam all these bands, I’m hoping each one could be a window in the genre niches of Philly.
Caring Less - Vibe-y Americana
Mechanical Canine - Emo/Punk
Squiggler - Indie/Punk
Lowercase Roses - acoustic indie
The Last Generation on Film - groovey electronic adjacent indie
Best Bear - Indie
Faded Home - sad indie
Longfriend Timefriend - punk/pop punk
Fullscreen - groovy indie rock
Sun Organ - indie/shoegaze
Mind Wipes - retro indie rock
Mad is Mad - hardcore punk/heavy
Shy Godwin - afropunk AF
Lastima - death metal, black metal
Half cross - metal
Low1ron - house, one of my fave DJ’s in philly.
All The Flowers - indie
DJ LOVE - queer house music DJ
Supercurse - heavy slowcore
Swim Camp - slowcore indie
Skeever - Shoegaze
Samryebread - pop/rnb
Goshupon - indie rock
Elephant Jake - Punk/Emo
Spirit Weak - Punk
Froggy - Punk
Cadalay - indie rock
Lady HD - indie rock
Humilitarian - indie rock
Grocer - indie rock
Kilamanzego - weird cool ass electronic, one of my fave’s in philly.
Soup Dreams - Chill Indie
Curse Reverser- shoegaze/indie rock
Puddled - Indie Rock
Llain - Shoegaze
Amelia Cry Til I Die* - acoustic alt-indie
Ther* - experimental indie
Shannen Moser* - indie folk
Greg Mendez* - indie
Sadurn* - indie folk / country
Hour* - instrumental ensemble
Michael Cormier-O’Leary* - indie folk
Doll Spirit Vessel* - alt-indie rock/slowcore?
Ylayali* - experimental/ambient indie
Addy* - indie rock
this list is not entirely comprehensive! hopefully this is a good starting point for reaching out, but feel free to comment below if there are bands you recommend in the philly area as well.
Places to Eat - There are SO many that this list would take forever, and it really depends on where your show is located.
Cheesesteaks - Ok, of course, it’s Philly, here we are, talking about a cheese steak. Pat’s and Geno’s are TERRIBLE, and pretty right wing, lots of cop propaganda. Don’t go there. Pretty much any bodega, or pizza spot will have a half decent one (that is definitely better than either of those).
The BEST spots are:
John’s Roast Pork (closes early)
Angelo’s
Totally decent places that have less hype:
Shanks’s
Chubby’s
Tony and Nick’s (or used to be called Tony Luke’s)
Something Quick?:
There are a ton of Halal carts on random blocks, and they are always great for a chicken or falafel over rice for $8. So much food, for so cheap
Lorenzo’s - is a great place for that after show slice before you head home
Best Bars for an after-gig pint. Too many to name, philadelphia is the Dive Bar capital of the world. My two standby’s are:
Fiume - Worker-owned bar upstairs from an ethiopian restaurant. Quirky cool vibes in a tiny spot
Oscar’s - CLASSIC center city dive bar, get 23 oz beer!
Coffee
Reanimator, Elixir, and Ultimo have several locations throughout the city and have great coffee.
Ox is also excellent but only has one location.
Vegan:
The Tasty - vegan diner
New Harmony - Vegan/vegetarian chinese
Triangle Tavern - Get it all here! Dive Bar, vegan bar food, regular bar food. Every punk band from Earth Crisis to The Casualties and everyone in between is happy. And its a chill atmosphere
* later additions by the GUNK team
Compiled by Kyle Pulley
Tonight, 12/17 starting at 6:30 pm we will have our first annual GUNKmas spectacular at Baby’s All Right, featuring some of our favorite NYC bands of the year (most of whom have released records or EPs this year!). There is also an optional white elephant…bring a $15 wrapped or bagged gift and we will make sure you walk home with one yourself.
Buy a ticket here, or get one at the door. Tickets are sliding scale and all proceeds, after paying our artists, go to the GUNK fund. This is one of the best ways to support this *free* operation ! Think: paper costs, printing, ink, labor… we dream of being able to pay our writers one day! All this comes down to community support as this is a labor of love. Consider giving or gifting a ticket to a friend <3
Thank you for another calendar year of support! We are stoked to bring you more GUNK in the new year.
xx
Hannah and Ceci
Tin can bar is really fun! A couple of friends bands have had residencies there and had a good experience (Mandy Valentine, My Wife’s an Angel) they also have great food and drinks