Paint Huffer - The Sad State Of The Scene
July 28, 2025 at 7:57:01 PM
I got started going to shows dam near 5 years ago.
I had a car, disposable income, and no social life at 17. I started going to shows and it was relatively healthy, not a lot of substances around and not a whole lot of creeps at that moment. (They had all just relocated to Cola)
Tua Lingua was the hive of that, being accepting and relatively safe for minors to go. There were people that victimized the Tua Lingua crowd of course, but much much safer than house shows.
I saw bands like Lefty Lucy and Grapes & Cheese and Limewire get started right there! In a fairly healthy environment that wasn't partying. Even before then there was Bad Hotel Coffee (lol) and Total Pony.
These bands were all like 15-17 at the time, some 18, but mainly made up of minors. There wasn't an insane amount of substances, partying, etc going on. Some bands were even younger and it was really cool to see these kids start bands and start playing live and start getting traction.
Tua Lingua had its fair share of faults, enough for me to never want to go back despite any nostalgia that it might bring. I had some traumatizing experiences and experiences that change the way I do things.
But goddamn, can that happen again?
Can we have shows safe enough for those 15-18 year old bands to start playing & get started? Can we PLEASE get over this obsession with substances and heal? Can we PLEASE get these predators out of the scene? These kids built up traction REAL fast and could have great success in the right environment.
Using Pride Palace as an example (which I know, is dead yay), it would not be safe for a band like 2022 Lefty Lucy to be playing in. Too many substances and shitty people. A lot of x-rated shit. I'm in my 20s now and can absolutely deal with X rated shit and definitely prefer to hang out with people my age. When I was 16-17 I was hanging out with 20-22 year olds and those were the people I modeled how I did things after.
Know better. Do better.
Let's make a safe space for new bands in the scene.
Let's get over our obsession with substances (refer to my post earlier today about addiction) and let's get back to actual alternative culture.