Downtown
In A Basement In Richmond – Music is weird.
Harris Mendell is soon pulling up stakes and moving but has a few words of wisdom on getting involved in music in Richmond.
Music is weird.
Everyone wants it, some people own it, most people borrow it from a server farm somewhere. Millions of kids dedicate their youth to performing it and the vast majority never see a dollar. If you asked enough of them I’m sure many would tell you that’s what they expect for themselves. The dgaf outlook of an early post-teen power chordist is pretty much the textbook definition of cliche — but something feels different these days. The internet brought forth the promised gift of a world without middle men and from it burst a million Bandcamps, a thousand premiers a day, a mountain of content so high the lack of oxygen suffocates the brave souls who just wanted to hear a tune.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’ve learned from music.
When I was fifteen I learned through my shitty Green Day rip off band (I wore a tie) that punk is way more fun than high school, a fact which inevitably lead to me graduating with a 1.9 and a life-sized stuffed panda bear whose head doubled as paraphernalia storage. That band, All Systems Go, never recorded — but somehow our shows were packed and the kids knew the words to our songs. We even had a mascot, his name was Eric, he wore a cape and thought he was in the band.
All Systems Go hailed from my high school town of Purcellville, VA — too far west to be considered DC suburbs but still an hour bus ride east from my mom’s place in Upperville. Blinking billboards warned of overpopulation-driven water shortages in the summer, it was a big fucking deal when Quiznos came to town, and teenage suicide was a problem. If you grew up in a place like this you know that part of the deal is that there just isn’t really anything to do. Some of the older kids in town (Carl and Max) ran punk shows at the local skating rink, and when we caught wind of what was going on there we got involved to the point of later carrying the torch. At that point in 2005/2006 it wasn’t uncommon for 100 kids to be at an all locals show — like I said, there wasn’t an awful lot to do, and punk is sick.
Anyway, time crept on as it does. The band dissolved and formed anew in different incarnations of our budding tastes — a misfits themed ska band called Nightfright, the band that formed from our drummer’s sudden transformation from flat brimmed blink-182 kid to Witch Hunt patched oogle, and towards the end of senior year a kid dynamite worship band (of course) called With New Eyes. We turned eighteen, discovered straight edge and decided to move somewhere together — either Philadelphia or Richmond. Paint It Black was from the former, Strike Anywhere the latter, honestly our thought process didn’t really extend much beyond that.
I’ll never forget calling former Purcellville-skating-rink-punk-mayor-turned-richmond-resident Carl Athey and asking him what it was like down there. From our perspective if 100 kids came out to a show in the middle of nowhere a city like Richmond had to be fucking insane. Carl tried to temper expectations but our minds were set and filled with dreams of the mosh. James, Eric, Nick, David and I graduated, packed our bags into our parents cars and moved down to a shitty graffiti walled apartment on Robinson that August. We were welcomed to town by the biggest rat I’d ever seen.
Everything about moving to Richmond changed my life. I wish I could adequately explain what it was like for a country kid with no car to suddenly find himself in a position where that didn’t matter. Richmond replaced 45 minute rides from my mom with a crappy 10 speed bike. High school was swapped with a job at a coffee shop, and night after night getting high on video games turned into night after night at local punk shows.
The population to gig-crazy ratio I imagined in high school turned out to not be a very consistent model. Sure when Avail or Municipal Waste played at Alley Katz it was absolutely nuts, and my first weekend in Richmond did find me crowd surfing into a basement to catch Drop Dead fifteen minutes before the floor collapsed, but most of the shows I went to had a modest crowd of fifteen to twenty people. These gigs were hosted in the eating area of Nara Sushi or where the clothing racks normally stood in Rumors, a local consignment shop. At the time, a truly great era of Richmond house shows was coming to a close as a portion of the police department called C.A.P.S. stopped enforcing building codes to close down drug houses and started using the methodology to shut down local DIY show and art spaces. It was rough going to find a spot to play, and no one wanted to play Ramakins.
Times being tough didn’t stop me from seeing incredible locals like Brainworms, Antlers, The Catalyst, Pink Razors and Ultra Dolphins on a weekly basis. I had joined Carl and Max’s new band Friendly Fire and we had the pleasure of playing with the aforementioned bands at some of the aforementioned venues on the reg. One of these gigs was set up at Nara by an 18 year old kid who had recently moved from Nebraska via Virginia beach. His name was Alex Wilhelm and the first thing he said to me was “Hey man, did you guys bring a PA?”
Alex and I bonded together over a mutual love and adoration of pop punk in a city whose residents generally had a mutual disgust and revulsion of pop punk. As such, many of the fifteen-kid shows I mentioned happened to be Alex’s shows, and that’s probably on the optimistic side of things. Despite not garnering the greatest turnout Alex would book essentially every band that asked for a gig in Richmond. Many weeks saw him at Nara sushi for four to five nights. This kept up for a few years and slowly but surely, after dozens and dozens of gigs, kids started showing up.
It’s a hard thing to put my finger on but there was a moment, a period in time in which I felt like I was no longer going to someone else’s shows, that we suddenly had found ourselves with our own scene or community or whatever you want to call it. I was still going out to see the older kids’ bands play, but now we were starting and supporting bands from within our own micro-community. We were throwing shows in our living rooms and basements and warehouse spots and with the connections built from these gigs we went on tour. Around this time I started my first band that people I didn’t know gave a shit about, and in seven years met almost everyone I now consider important in my life.
When I look back and think about what I’ve gotten from music, I realize that I’ve always known why that early post-teen power chordist doesn’t give a shit about making money. It’s not because they are naive or engaging in escapism, and it’s not based on faux-optimism. It’s because the world can be cruel. It can be lonely and boring and full of hatred and suspicion. It’s because the world makes it so easy to engage in consumption that sometimes you question what your own identity is worth.
There is something beautiful about creation, about putting something into the world instead of taking from it. When I’m near creation, I’m inspired to live. I’m inspired to meet people and have friends and be truly optimistic about humanity. I’m getting older now, I’m going into a career and moving to a new city and I’m full of fear that I will lose this part of my life that I deeply feel has given me everything I am as a person. I’m probably not going to be crowd surfing into basements or throwing four shows a week in my living room, but I’m figuring it out. I want the web of our little community to grow from me just as it grew to me. I want to inspire younger people to throw gigs at their local skating rink, to start warehouses and to book their own tours.
I’m not really sure how to do this, but I think it can start by questioning my own cynicism. I think it can start by not spending my evenings on Netflix, by going out to see live music and performance and art and not question or ridicule the way things change — because they do and they will continue to. I think it can start by not letting the ever growing mountain of digital content overwhelm and consume my desire to create or be near creation.
Tonight there is a show in a basement in Richmond. The bands are alright the heat is suffocating and the cops are probably on their way. I may not go, but I hope to tomorrow. I hope to next year.
Originally posted here, reposted with permission by the author Harris Mendell. – Harris is soon pulling up stakes and moving but has a few words of wisdom on getting involved in music in Richmond.
Image: Creative Commons Flickr User Joan
Downtown
Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU celebrates ribbon-cutting of new Children’s Tower
When combined with the adjacent outpatient Children’s Pavilion, the Children’s Tower completes a city block – nearly 1 million square feet – dedicated to caring for kids
Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU (CHoR) on Tuesday celebrated the ribbon-cutting for its Children’s Tower, Richmond’s new home for pediatric inpatient, emergency and trauma care. Nearly 300 families, elected officials, hospital team members, donors and community partners gathered to celebrate the completely kid-focused, $420 million facility which will officially open on April 30.
The Children’s Tower was designed for and with the help of families and providers in the community, based on extensive research into best practices in pediatric health care. When combined with the adjacent outpatient Children’s Pavilion, the Children’s Tower completes a city block – nearly 1 million square feet – dedicated to caring for kids. The 16-story building houses the region’s only Level 1 pediatric trauma center and emergency department with 24/7 access to any pediatric specialist a child may need, along with family amenities and 72 all-private acute and intensive care rooms that are among the most spacious in the country.
“This is a great day for Virginia and our capital city of Richmond. Not only do we have the best and brightest medical providers – many of whom have graduated from our outstanding Virginia medical schools – but patients can get care from them in state-of-the-art facilities while remaining close to home,” Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said. “This Children’s Tower will help ensure that our youngest Virginians can grow into our future leaders, care providers and difference makers.”
CHoR broke ground on the Children’s Tower in June 2019 as part of a comprehensive plan to address the needs of the community and state.
“I had the pleasure of attending the groundbreaking for the Children’s Tower and what a difference a few years has made,” Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said. “As I watched this building rise from City Hall next door, I thought about the kids and families from our city and beyond who will benefit from the beautiful space and dedicated teams inside. Children are our future, and the future of Richmond is bright.”
The Children’s Tower project was completed on time, despite obstacles presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The VCU Children’s Tower represents a commitment to our children and communities that we’re putting their needs first,” said VCU and VCU Health System President Michael Rao, Ph.D. “After many years of our team’s focus on addressing the needs of children in a comprehensive way, I’m so grateful that we’re able to bring together comprehensive children’s health services and research into the early, formative aspects of human development, including the causes and cures of disease and development. CHoR will serve children and families in Richmond and across the Mid-Atlantic and beyond, and I’m grateful to every team member and donor who helped make this a reality.”
Providers at CHoR care for both the most common and complex injuries and illnesses, last year serving more than 70,000 families from across the commonwealth, nearly all 50 states and outside the U.S. The Children’s Tower is expanding inpatient bed capacity and emergency room access by 40 percent on opening day. Access to imaging and services from the Level 1 Children’s Surgery Center will also increase. The building includes space for growth to meet future needs.
In addition to pediatric-specific operating rooms, imaging suites and trauma bays equipped with the latest advancements for optimal medical care, the Children’s Tower creates a kid-friendly patient experience with added convenience. It is located one turn off Interstate-95 and offers free onsite parking, including valet for families visiting the emergency room.
Playrooms, teen lounges, a family gym, interactive installations, performance space and family lounges are among the amenities that will be available on opening day to make the environment more comfortable for kids and families. The cafeteria offers kid-friendly dining options, including brick oven pizza, while the James River theme includes colors and animal mascots to differentiate each floor and help with navigating the building. Additional amenities will open later this summer, including a RMHC In-Hospital-House, multifaith chapel and indoor children’s garden.
Take a virtual tour of the Children’s Tower and meet the James River themed animal mascots at chrichmond.org/childrenstower.
The stuff dangling off the osprey’s talon is trash that some human left. The bird is getting around fine now and hopefully the string will break off before the bird becomes entangled. Don’t litter, pickup what you can and for god’s sake don’t release balloons.
This article is 5 years old and the situation hasn’t improved.
More Plastic in the World Means More Plastic in Osprey Nests – National Audubon Society
Human waste routinely finds its way into birds’ nests, and it is especially common with Ospreys. The birds use a huge variety of materials to build their nests, including sticks, bark, sod, grass, vines and algae. Plastic items mimic the appearance of many of these natural building supplies, and Osprey find plastic trash mixed in with their natural nesting materials in beach wrack lines, making it hard for them to distinguish what’s what, Wurst says. “While Osprey see plastic as a useful resource for them to build their nests from, they don’t see the potential danger.”
By 2012, Wurst realized the problem was worsening, so he began removing the trash and collecting it to raise awareness of the issue. Wurst’s Osprey nest-trash collection includes all kinds of plastic items, including unusual finds such as plastic shovels, flags, and polyester hats. But he believes the most dangerous and deadly items are the most common ones he finds in nests: plastic ribbon from balloons and monofilament fishing line. “Trash like monofilament, ribbon, and string can easily entangle a foot, leg, or wing of an adult or young Osprey,” he says. In addition, “single use plastic bags or other plastic sheeting can choke or smother them.”
Community
Library of Virginia Honors Deaf History Month With a Talk and Exhibition on the History of a Shenandoah County Deaf Village and Shared Signing Community
Between 1740 and 1970, Lantz Mills, Virginia, was home to many families with a mix of hearing and deaf parents and at least one or more deaf siblings.
In honor of April as Deaf History Month, the Library of Virginia will present a talk on April 22 and a traveling panel exhibition running April 1–30 on the history of the Lantz Mills deaf village and shared signing community in Shenandoah County, Virginia. Both are free.
Between 1740 and 1970, Lantz Mills, Virginia, was home to many families with a mix of hearing and deaf parents and at least one or more deaf siblings. When both the hearing and deaf members of a locality use a shared visual language to communicate, that is known as a shared signing community. Those familiar with deaf culture may know that Martha’s Vineyard, the island off Massachusetts, was home to a shared signing community where 25% of the population was deaf. But few know that Virginia had a deaf village and shared signing community in Shenandoah County.
The Lantz Mills Deaf Village panel exhibition has appeared at Shenandoah County Public Library and the Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People. It will visit the Eastern Shore Public Library in June. The exhibition is available for display at public libraries and other cultural facilities. For more information, contact Barbara Batson at [email protected] or 804.692.3721.
The talk and exhibition are made possible in part with federal funding provided through the Library Services and Technology Act administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. For more information about the commonwealth’s deaf culture, visit the Virginia Deaf Culture Digital Library at https://deaflibva.org.
DEAF HISTORY MONTH TALK | The Lantz Mills Shared Signing Community
Saturday, April 22, 2023 | 10:00–11:00 a.m. | Free
Place: Lecture Hall, Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad St., Richmond, VA 23219
Registration suggested: https://lva-virginia.libcal.com/event/10478065
In honor of Deaf History Month, the Library presents a talk exploring the history of the Lantz Mills deaf village in Shenandoah County, Virginia, by deaf historian and advocate Kathleen Brockway, who is also a Lantz Mills deaf village descendant.
DEAF HISTORY MONTH PANEL EXHIBITION | Lantz Mills Deaf Village
April 1–30, 2023 | Monday–Saturday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. | Free
Place: Lobby & Pre-function Hall, Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad St., Richmond, VA 23219
In honor of Deaf History Month, the Library presents a panel exhibition exploring the history of the Lantz Mills deaf village in Shenandoah County, Virginia. This six-panel traveling exhibition features the history of prominent deaf villagers such as the Hollar and Christian families, deaf members’ involvement in local businesses, and even a budding romance within the community. Each panel includes a QR code that links to ASL interpretation of the text featured. A booklet about the topic written by deaf historian and Lantz Mills deaf village descendant Kathleen Brockway will be available to exhibition visitors while supplies last.
VCU Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Rhoades headed to Penn State, Utah State’s Ryan Odom favorite for replacement: reports
Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU celebrates ribbon-cutting of new Children’s Tower
Human Trash and an Osprey
Photo of the Day: I think that guy with the camera likes our outfits!
Reedy Creek Access Could be Limited on Wednesday
Husband-and-wife duo bringing new restaurant concept to former Mill on MacArthur space
New full-service commercial kitchen, fast casual food hall opens Wednesday
Richmond Falcon Cam is Back
Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU’s bevy of spring exhibitions run the gamut
