Shane Kennedy, DJ and musician
New Times music editor Martin Cizmar certainly proved his mastery of reverse psychology, in speculating that Phoenix's downtown music scene was "ovah." By doing so, he created a rallying cry for the community he was dismissing, and it lit a fire under our asses. The hubbub arose from Kimber Lanning's announcement that she was turning over Modified Arts (the business, not the building) to husband-and-wife team Adam Murray and Kim Larkin. While the downtown music community prized Modified as a live-music spot, it seems the reality was the revenue that actually kept Modified afloat came from the art hanging on the walls. Oh, yeah, Modified Arts!
Jonathan McNamara
Music editor Martin Cizmar wearing an "ovah" shirt (identity obscured for security reasons).
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We in the music community often ignored the fact that Modified Arts was, indeed, also a gallery. Modified Arts is going to be transformed into primarily a visual arts gallery, with some great but "different" music. I keep going back to the idea of an Italian restaurant closing, and a month later, a great Mexican restaurant opens in its place. Some of the old customers go there and have dinner and complain about what lousy Italian food it is. Well, the new Modified Arts, I anticipate, is gonna be great, just different.
The new owners give me hope: Kim's background is in the arts, and that is her passion. I've met her; she's great. Adam is an audio engineer. I've met him; he's great. They've made a point to reach out and get to know people they view as being vital to continue the presentation of high-quality art at Modified Arts. They ask questions, they take names, they follow through, and they are committed to keeping the high standards that Kimber set in motion when she took over the space over 10 years ago. Am I saddened about the loss of Modified Arts, the venue with some great art on the wall? Sure, but the sadness is balanced out by the excitement of possibilities.
Indie-rock shows will find a new home, and I do hope they find a better one, and that someone with some money opens up a great little rock club, as opposed to what Modified was. Our standards in Phoenix have been systematically lowered over the years, to the point where we thought Modified was an awesome music venue. It wasn't. It was a room with a P.A. that had great people involved with it.
I congratulate Martin on getting us talking. It spawned a lot of conversation, and that conversation has brought forth action, and brought quite a few people together to get to work on some exciting projects. Downtown "ovah"? Nah, we're just getting started. I choose to believe that Martin knew what he was doing all along.
Shane Kennedy is a local DJ with regular gigs at Bikini Lounge and the Roosevelt. He is a member of several notable bands including Turn Back O Man and TOWNCRAFT. He is a longtime downtown resident trying desperately to enjoy every last crumb of his 30s. He can be found at myspace.com/shaneathon.
Stephen Chilton, promoter
There is a real and profound cultural phenomenon developing in downtown Phoenix.
When I started promoting events downtown almost a decade ago, it felt like we were able to do things downtown and get away with it because no one else was playing attention. Bands that could not get booked in the larger venues in Tempe and Scottsdale were able to come to and play small spaces and develop because no one else was looking. This is what enabled a lot of people the freedom to do something interesting and new, and I can remember many of the national acts that are selling out large venues in the suburbs today playing to intimate crowds downtown years earlier.
Whether it is avant-garde theater or independent film or visual arts or fine culinary dining or designing new green architecture, the creative people are working and living downtown. With all these hard-working creative people converging in one area, it is only a matter of time before we hit a critical mass. The people who will create the works that define our city in the next decade are in a large part doing it from downtown.
Today, it feels as though not only are people looking at what is going on, they are also appreciating it and, more than ever, starting to support it. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon has been known to tweet about local bands that would never make the radar of his peers in other Valley cities. With all the increased support and appreciation given to the creative communities downtown we are just now starting to see the real economic investment in the infrastructure, like venues, that will allow creative people the room to grow to the next level.
Stephen Chilton, 26, is an Arizona native, downtown resident, and community activist who has spent the past nine years producing events across the state as Psyko Steve Presents.
