#Homelessness isn’t #policy failure—it’s policy. From 19th-century #British 'clearings' to today’s #police #sweeps and Blackstone driven #evictions, the playbook stays the same: #displace the #poor, #privatize the #land
[Black Agenda Report]

https://blackagendareport.com/unhoused-why-its-always-about-land

DIY SPACES ARE THE BACKBONE OF THE LOCAL MUSIC SCENE

As the summer continues and live music is back in full force on patios and in bars and concert halls, a quieter, smaller revolution takes place in the homes of a couple of dedicated community members across Waterloo Region.  

Traditional venue spaces have become harder to come by—as the cost of living rises, so too does the cost of operating and renting out venues for live cultural events.  

The Golden Apple is an unassuming house venue on the east end of Kitchener. Erica Rippon, Nate Fernandez, Kyle White and Jordan Forte spoke about how opening a house venue came naturally to them.  

“I think it was mostly us being in bands and having a space already where we practice and for the most part it all set up with a PA,” Forte said. 

Carving a venue out from under their home became a natural next step. They had the equipment, and it was a logical decision for them.  

“We all go to lots of shows, so we learn really quickly what we like and don’t like about other venues,” Rippon said.  

The team revealed that transforming their house into a venue has become an overwhelmingly positive experience. Of the over 40 shows that they put on in 2024, only two of them proved to be less than savory experiences. They remarked that most shows ended up being a net positive. 

“[Our friend’s] birthday party here [was a favourite],” Forte said.  

“He’s not in a band, so on the poster, it just said his name as ‘Spencer,’[…]and when he got up on stage and people saw who he was, everyone just started chanting for him.” 

As they have refined their process, they have also had to cut back on the frequency of programming.  

“Trying to do it the way we want it done is running it at a loss. We’re pretty much always at a net zero,” Forte said. “Any sort of money [we make] goes back into the venue immediately. But we just do it for fun, so we don’t expect to make anything off the shows.” 

Dave Lacalamita is one of the owners and operators of The Screaming Fox, another unassuming house venue in Kitchener. 

“I feel like house shows emerged as a necessity in a way. If I didn’t have to put on a house show, I’d put on fewer house shows. The fact that there aren’t that many venues in town makes it feel necessary,” he said. 

Lacalamita also noted the largely monetary reason for opening his house for shows. It’s the only way in this economy to put on small-scale shows without support from grants or city funding.  

“They’re always a little stressful because we don’t charge. We’re not trying to make money[…]People are generous if you ask them to be, and you are also generous,” he said.  

“Like, if only the artists are making money and everyone can see that, it kind of releases everyone from feeling obligated or coerced into paying, but people still pay,” Lacalamita said. 

Like the folks from The Golden Apple, he also has noted that his experience running a venue as a house has in the vast majority been positive.  

“I mean, it’s a lot of work. It isn’t nothing to displace people and clean the place up and have people in your space. I don’t know there’s not a lot of negatives, to be honest. It’s one of those things that you dread doing in a sense,” he said. 

On the other end of the spectrum, house shows cannot always be accessible for all involved. They are sometimes difficult to find, and because of the venue’s function as a house and not an open business, they can sometimes not be accessible.  

“I think most house venue people are doing it out of necessity, and maybe we’d like to do it less often,” he said. 

“You have to know where the place is, and how to find out about them, and it’s better, in my opinion, for them to be just open[…]it’d be nice for there to be a venue that’s just a venue,” Lacalamita said.  

These houses-turned-venues are a valuable function in any music scene. They encourage community and miraculously work out to make the most fiscal sense for all involved.   

#AydenElworthy #community #daveLacalamita #displace #goldenApple #houseShow #Houses #JoElDeek #kitchener #LiveMusic #venues #waterloo #waterlooRegion

Winter's apathy
displaced e'en snow's overcoat
sun fissures the ice

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#BlueSkyRelay - #apathy
#vss365 - #displace
#DailyHaikuPrompt - overcoat
#VssPoem - #fissure
#WritingCommunity #poetry #haiku
#NaHaiWriMo

@worded_art
@dailyhaikuprompt
@vss365
@poetry
@haiku

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjPI6f0V9GI

#DemocracyNow

'Lebanese Civilians Are Paying the Price': #SavageIsraeli Strikes Kill Nearly 600, #Displace Thousands

“the #route #endangers several #national #parks and will #displace #tens of #thousands of #people from their #homes. At least 47 #protesters have been #detained or #arrested by #Ugandan #security #forces since #September #2020, some more than once, according to an #analysis conducted last year by #Global #Witness.” #Uganda #environment #climatechange #climatecrisis #climate #biodiversityloss #biodiversitycrisis

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/jun/12/uganda-oil-eacop-pipeline-protester-stephen-kwikiriza?CMP=share_btn_url&utm_source=hootsuite&utm_medium=twitter_

Well tech bros “invented” the most useless lack of #privacy technology that could ever be

#Displace my farts in your nose tech bros and pay me $6000 for that

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/12/upcoming-wireless-tvs-sell-users-on-screen-products-when-they-raise-their-hand/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned

ALERT: #Solidarity needed to prevent scheduled #eviction!
#Minneapolis Mayor Frey wants to violently #displace 180 people on December 14th at Camp Nenookaasi, which protects and connects #unhoused neighbors.

✨Show up to stop eviction✨