924 Gilman Street
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The 924 Gilman Street project, aka the Alternative Music Foundation, is the Berkeley, California street address, and the official business name of the all-ages, non-profit, collectively organized music club usually referred to by its fans simply as "Gilman." It is located in the West Berkeley area about a mile and a half west of the North Berkeley BART station and a quarter-mile west of San Pablo Avenue, at the corner of 8th Street and Gilman.
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[edit] History
In April 1986, the founders located the building at 924 Gilman Street and signed a lease. In the following months the founders, including Tim Yohannon of Maximum Rocknroll, held weekly organizational meetings and posted flyers to increase involvement. Finally on December 31, 1986, the club held its first show. Since then, 924 Gilman Street has been one of the longest running independent music venues in the United States[citation needed]. 924 Gilman opened several months after the closing of two important San Francisco punk venues, the Mabuhay Gardens and The Farm and was started in part because of the lack of hardcore venues in the San Francisco Bay Area during this era, particularly all-ages venues.
[edit] Founding Principles
924 Gilman Street operates on Do It Yourself (DIY) ethic.
A 924 Gilman Street member (which is anyone who attends shows), has the ability to make decisions and work for the improvement of the club as a whole.
The club is intended to be a non-violent, alcohol and drug free environment (although punk icon Jello Biafra suffered a broken leg when attacked in the club in 1994). There are three rules in the club that patrons and bands alike deem to be official:
- No drugs
- No alcohol
- No major labels
The staff will not book or support racist, misogynist, homophobic, or major-label bands for performances. For a band to be booked there, they must first send in a copy of their lyrics to the venue.
[edit] The music
Gilman showcases mostly pop punk and post-hardcore punk acts. Some of the most influential bands that have played at Gilman include: AFI, Bad Religion, Isocracy, Filth, Samiam, Rancid, Crimpshrine, Sweet Baby, Operation Ivy, Neurosis, Green Day, Jawbreaker, Tilt, Screw 32, Blatz, The Mr. T Experience, Tiger Army, and Link 80. Several of these bands, such as AFI, Rancid, and Green Day, are today banned from playing the venue due to major label releases and MTV rotation which are allegedly seen as being against punk ideology and a violation of Gilman rules. The venue now mostly serves the East Bay and Northern California hardcore scene.
[edit] See also
- ABC No Rio
- The Casbah
- Che Cafe
- Modified Arts
- Paper Heart
- The Smell
- Trunk Space
- List of U.S. concert venues
[edit] External links
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