A show made up of MORE brand-new bands that foregrounds the contributions of female-identified, trans* and queer folks and people of color to the DIY/punk community in Philadelphia.
First Time’s the Charm is a showcase for those who don’t feel represented in their local music scene. Articulate with Jim Cotter airs on WHYY-TV, Thursdays a...
Keep your eyes peeled for an episode of Articulate about First Time's The Charm. Here's the preview!
Keep your eyes peeled for a post-FTTC wrap-up post with reflections and photos!
But first:
One last fundraising opportunity - to help us put a little money in the bank to get a jump on next year's FTTC!
Katie of Waxahatchee
graciously chose FTTC as the beneficiary of this advance track on The Spark Mag.
"On June 17, Waxahatchee will reissue Early Recordings on limited-edition cassette and digital download. Featuring new artwork by Chelsea Dirck, this release includes the first songs written and recorded as Waxahatchee.
From now until June 7 download the song "Home Game" from Early Recordings via Spark Mag for $1. All proceeds will go to DIY PHL's First Times The Charm, an event that encourages inclusion and diversity in the music community by actively soliciting the participation of women, queer-identified folks, transgender people, people of color, and musicians playing a new instrument or in a band for the first time.
Preorder the cassette from the Merge Store and pick up the optional tote bag bundle.
Preorder Early Recordings:
Cassette: http://www.mergerecords.com/waxahatchee-early-recordings
Download: http://smarturl.it/EarlyRecordings"
Go here to download the song for $1, with proceeds going toward the next FTTC! Only up for the next day.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1432183920140645/?ti=icl Don't miss!! FTTC fundraiser, this Thursday. WAXAHATCHEE (solo) http://www.waxahatcheemusic.com/ Swanning (solo) https://swanning.bandcamp.com/ Songs for Taurus season Dog Tears (fka Girl Dog) https://girldog.bandcamp.com/releases Philly shredders who show up too early MARGE https://marge.bandcamp.com/ Original First Time's the Charmers! ------- This is a fundraiser for First Time's the Charm 2016, a show made up of MORE brand-new bands that foregrounds the contributions of female-identified, trans* and queer folks, and people of color to the DIY/punk community in Philadelphia. FTTC will take place on June 3rd and 4th at PhilaMOCA, all proceeds will benefit Girls Rock Philly. https://www.facebook.com/events/174643682910454/ $7-$10 sliding scale. No one turned away for lack of funds. Doors at 7, show at 730. NO PUNK TIME. Respect the space! *Venue involves going down stairs* email [email protected] if you're in need of any accommodations!
Bands are getting ready for their first shows on June 3 or 4th!
Are You Ready, Steve? ("Shit, I should do my laundry" rock)
Aster More (A tough and brilliant mix of shoegaze, raw pop, & angular punk sounds)
Taxes (Fuzzy hard rock-gaze)
Joyful Exit (fun music on painful subjects)
The Hex (The Hex RULZ: Armand Van Helden meets Freddie Mercury meets Mecca Normal. Stripped-down punk by/for stripped-down punx. Their average age is 40+)
Full Bush (when strong/determined women get together, cool shit gets done)
Trying! (We're trying to step out of our comfort zone, we're trying to get out there, we're trying to see what will happen, we're trying to organize noise, we're just TRYING!)
Whipworm (FFO punk)
Quarter Panel (Happy hour rock)
Heretrix (An ambitious, female fronted rock n' roll band inspired by old school punk, grunge and rock styles.)
Crushed (sweet and sassy bedroom pop punk band with droney tunes and sincere vocals)
Far Eyes (everything turned all the way up)
Bronco (songs about liberty and magic)
Volatile Squirrels (An eclectic indie rock mix of sweet sweet and sad, played by three hopeless romantics)
Sister Trudy (a bitter bunch; ritual enchantments w/ a punch)
Rabies Shot (Noisy electronic punk)
My Name is Tom* (the best sad jams that get you moving)
Dumb Hair (sad punk songs about missing someone who doesn't miss you back and making fun of mean people)
Spring Collection (Space rock)
This show is happening as a fundraiser for FTTC2016! Come out this Sunday to Lava Space. The Afterglows https://radiatorhospital.bandcamp.com/ https://thegoodbyeparty.bandcamp.com/ Radiator Hospital and The Goodbye Party playing songs together. Joint record on the way! Attendant https://attendantphilly.bandcamp.com/ Moody pop for 90s people. Quiet songs with some loud parts. 1/2 of FTTC 2013's Bad Names. Teenage Bigfoot http://teenagebigfoot.bandcamp.com/ 2013 FTTC ALUMNI! Sounds like all your favorite pop punk bands, but better. King Azaz http://kingazaz.bandcamp.com/ Loud post-punk by two quiet queers. Eternally sad/eternally angry. ------- This is a fundraiser for First Time's the Charm 2016, a show made up of MORE brand-new bands that foregrounds the contributions of female-identified, trans* and queer folks, and people of color to the DIY/punk community in Philadelphia. FTTC will take place on June 3rd and 4th at PhilaMOCA, all proceeds will benefit Girls Rock Philly. https://www.facebook.com/events/174643682910454/ $5-$7. No one turned away for lack of funds.
Marge playing last week in West Philly. Of the 17 bands that played FTTC2013, 10 of them went on to play more shows. 6 of them are still bands two and a half years later - including Marge!
When completing this form and creating your band, remember that the makeup of your band is a microcosm of our scene! What does your band say about representation in our scene and city?
FTTC submissions open on February 25th and close on March 4th. While we take into account the order in which we receive submissions, slots are not granted on a rolling basis. In the event that more bands sign up than there is room for, we will use these submissions to choose bands that best fulfill the spirit of this event. Please sign up any time within the next week!
Only one submission per band is necessary. Each band member does not need to submit.
This is it! You have until midnight. If you're going to do it, now's the time to take that first step. We'll announce the lineup for First Time's The Charm 2016 in the next week!
We are getting some seriously inspiring answers on the band submission forms.
Here's part of an answer, in response to the "Why First Time's The Charm?" question: "We are old: 40+ plus range. People describe some of our identities as bi-queer, fat/a person of size, black, female, a parent, and other cool stuff not always highlighted in the scene. Mostly we like to make music and jokes and dance. We have ENERGY for days, and this showcase would give us the opportunity to do new things with and for new people."
Band submissions are open until Friday! Sign up today!http://goo.gl/forms/4O1sLLhDRa
Did you see this write-up in The Media last time? Check it out!
“Something very worthy in a festival like First Time’s the Charm, though, is how, despite performing your first show for 200 people, it can abate stage-fright about missing a note or some other little pre-show grievance. The music was good, but enthusiasm for each band’s contribution to the show’s greater idea is what kept the mood high.
And so, there was female-fronted hardcore and angelic pop-punk, tear-stained acoustic ballads and camp. My favorite sounds were the squeaky proto-punk of Calamity Janes and skinny-chord post-punk of Marge. There was a fun, elemental take on “Be My Baby”, a folk-punk approach to “Play Crack the Sky”, even a full-band shot at “Baby, Hit Me One More Time”. There was a song about starting a goat farm. There were a bunch of beaming parents, and several front-row hype squads. There was at least one back-patch broadcasting the relevant mantra of “No Gods, No Masters, No Smartphones.” There was a disco ball and a vintage claymation projected on loop and there were delicious vegan tacos. There was but one performer to bravely take the stage alone, the brand new singer-songwriter Meri Haines. “That was the most fun I’ve ever had,” Haines said, smiling, before leaving the stage.”
Six more days left to submit your brand new band for FTTC!
When completing this form and creating your band, remember that the makeup of your band is a microcosm of our scene! What does your band say about representation in our scene and city?
FTTC submissions open on February 25th and close on March 4th. While we take into account the order in which we receive submissions, slots are not granted on a rolling basis. In the event that more bands sign up than there is room for, we will use these submissions to choose bands that best fulfill the spirit of this event. Please sign up any time within the next week!
Only one submission per band is necessary. Each band member does not need to submit.
Hey y'all! Interested in forming a band but don't know who to form one with? Come to a mixer this Sunday in West Philly to meet others in the same boat! Can't make it Sunday? Join this event anyway, which will also act as a message board for finding bandmates and other resources!
On the fence about signing up? Here are some words from an FTTC participant from 2013!
“FTTC was such a powerful and exciting event to be a part of. I'd wanted to be in a band for years, but never felt like I had the right support or encouragement to put myself out there. My band, littler, is still active and we've become close buds with other FTTC alums, Marge. It's been really great to grow and develop alongside each other and I'm so grateful to have had this opportunity!” -Ivy, currently in Littler (Calamity Jane at FTTC 2013)
Thanks to the City Paper for this great article. We’re so inspired by all of the bands! Hope to see you on Saturday at PhilaMOCA.
At the end of this summer’s Ladyfest, Grace Ambrose and other organizers challenged each other and their audience to build on what they’d created.
“We asked everyone to figure out ways to carry forward what we felt that weekend into our everyday lives, and into the punk and D.I.Y. communities at large,” says Ambrose, who also works with DIY PHL, an underground arts group/website. “I thought, what better way to do that than by giving an explicit mandate to make music to exactly the kind of people I want to see making noise and taking up space?”
The result is this Saturday’s First Time’s the Charm (FTTC) show at PhilaMOCA, wherein 16 never-before-seen bands will play super-fast sets. Furthermore, because this event aims to lure new faces and talents out of the woodwork, FTTC laid down some ground rules; all bands looking for a spot on the roster have to meet two of these requirements: (1) Some members must identify as female, queer, transgender, or a person of color. (2) At least one member must be playing in a band for the first time. (3) Somebody has to be playing an instrument they’ve never played before.
This has led to some otherwise unlikely creations, like the trumpet/guitar duo Proper Punctuation (!). Rookie trumpeter Liz Vaden, who is used to playing stringed instruments, is enjoying the challenge. “Remember learning ‘Hot Cross Buns’ on recorder? I was so proud to show [bandmate Amanda Schwartz] that I could play that [on trumpet] when she came over for practice,” she says.
“Music scenes can seem a bit exclusive from the outside. [FTTC] was a great way to be able to participate without having to have the ‘right’ connections,” says Schwartz. And having the gig circled on the calendar was a good motivator. “Hopefully they won’t mind that we might only have one song ready. Don’t worry — it’s not ‘Hot Cross Buns,’” says Vaden.
Post-punk outfit See-Through Girls were already playing together, but FTTC forced them to get their act together. “I’ve wanted to front a band since my cousin showed me Korn on MTV when I was 13,” says singer Annie Mok, who admits that’s not the ideal gateway to popular music. Also a writer and artist of indie comics, Mok identifies as a woman and trans. She sees See-Through Girls as a new outlet to express herself.
“I’m in the process of dealing with internalized transmisogyny, and a lifetime of abuse conditioning. These forces implanted the message that my body and personhood is monstrous and belonging to others,” says Mok. “Singing seems especially personal to me, since a trans woman’s voice can feel like a constant liability, if others decide to read it as ‘too deep for a woman.’ I cherish the opportunity to sing, yelp and scream about kink, insects, fear and libraries.”
Her See-Through Girls bandmate, guitarist Alyssa San Valentin, who identifies as Filipino-American and queer, says she could have used a role model or two growing up, a woman, a person of color [POC], someone like her. “When you look around at the world presented to you, and you don’t see someone like you having an active role in creating or decision-making, you get the message that you have no place in that world. You’re left with the impression that, because you’re different, your desire to create and collaborate are worth nothing. Now that I have the tools to be that active participant, I need to be that female POC musician that someone can look up to.”
Meredith Haines is arguably the bravest performer at FTTC; she’s the only one going solo. As a kid she wanted to be “the next Tony Iommi,” but her family pushed her toward dance. “I saw [First Time’s the Charm] as an opportunity to stop being afraid. I can’t remember ever truly wanting to be anything besides a musician,” she says. “It wasn’t until I got out of college with a B.F.A in choreography and dance that I realized I had wasted the first 23 years of my life cowering in a corner.” She’s been studying guitar and writing songs for about a year now and will play a quick acoustic set at FTTC. It’s all about finding out what matters to you. “Once you figure out what that is,” she says, “other people’s opinions begin to matter less and less.”
“It is our hope that these bands will last far beyond First Time’s the Charm,” says Ambrose, whose own band Heavy Bangs is also on the bill. “Heads up to the people who book shows in this town: There are about to be 16 amazing new bands to add to your gigs.”
First Time’s the Charm, Sat., Nov. 9, 7 p.m., free, PhilaMOCA, 531 N. 12th St., philamoca.org,fttc2013.tumblr.com.