Do It Yourself: The culture and history of DIY Music

1. Do It Yourself: The culture and history of DIY Music

Dan Szetela
Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (fmr.)
Petrozavodsk State University

2. Why DIY?

Area of personal expertise
“Passion is energy” - Oprah Winfrey
Integral part of American and global cultural and subcultural movements
Social and political relevance
Inspiration towards creation

3. Who am I to talk about DIY?

Started going to DIY punk shows at age 14
Multi-instrumentalist with experience in
DIY bands
Founded a DIY record label called Wounded
Galaxy Tapes
College radio DJ, staff member, and
manager
Self-taught audio engineer

4. Reminder - take a quick look at your vocabulary!

Let’s rock

5. What is DIY?

“something that is fundamentally made by fans, for the fans”
“social movement as well as a mobilization of resources that support the core of the
punk subculture”
“taking direct action to live independently from capitalist [or consumerist] society”
“DIY is Do It Yourself, but the self doesn’t necessarily have to be individual. It can
also be a collective self”
“philosophy of creating art alone or within a group of people with the #1 motive
being a shared desire to create this art rather than monetary profit”

6. Where did contemporary DIY come from? Why did it emerge?

Origins: 1970s punk rock scenes, primarily in the U.K. and U.S. (Sex Pistols, The Clash, The
Ramones)
“Everybody hates us, no one will ever sign us, and nobody will ever give us any money.”

7. Where did contemporary DIY come from? Why did it emerge?

Developed: 1980s American hardcore punk scene (Black Flag, Minor Threat, Dead
Kennedys)
Way to make connections and mobilize resources outside of inefficient, predatory
mainstream music system

8. Where did contemporary DIY come from? Why did it emerge?

1990s and on: Internet has transformed music and made DIY much easier and more
accessible around the world
DIY has expanded beyond punk to all sorts of music

9. Disclaimer: DIY is a global ideal and exists in its own unique forms in many countries, including Russia - it’s not just an

American thing!

10. one more important thing to mention about DIY

DIY has roots in politically and socially conscious punk of the ‘70s and ‘80s
DIY is NOT required to be overtly political, and a lot of DIY bands are not overtly
political
BUT
Political and social concerns still tend to play a big role in DIY scenes
DIY is generally a space that seeks inclusion for all, regardless of gender, religion,
sexual orientation, country of origin, race, etc, but it sometimes fails to achieve this
objective

11. So that’s DIY - a loosely connected network of independent musicians who share the same general goal of creating cool art

together.
Questions (before we move on to part 2)?

12. Part 2 - A case study of DIY in the Twin Cities, MN

13. Artists

No musicians = no music

14. Fans

15. Venues

Bars / 18+ or 21+ venues:
Kitty Cat Klub
Mortimer’s (Mort’s)
Eagles’ 34
Seward Community Cafe
Memory Lanes
7th St. Entry & First Avenue

16. Venues

All ages venues:
Moon Palace Books
Fallout Urban Arts Center
The Garage
Caydence Records and Coffee

17. What’s a house show?

a show that takes place outside
of an established venue
Benefits of house shows:
● Accessibility
● Comfortability
● Diversity

18. Record Stores

meeting place for people with similar musical interests
place for people to find new DIY music, and for DIY bands to find new audiences.
sources of information about events
venues for shows

19. Record Labels

distribute music
provide a resource for fans interested in certain styles of music
help fans of bands that sound similar to yours to find your band
connect bands
help bands book tours
spend money to make physical copies of bands’ music to sell like records, CDs, and
cassette tapes

20. Radio Stations

While the internet has greatly diminished their role in music distribution,
independent radio stations still play a significant role in DIY scenes

21. Online and written communication

Zines
Internet
forums
Social
media
accounts

22. The end - questions?

23.

Recommended reading
Recommended viewing
Albini, S. (2014). Steve Albini on the surprisingly
sturdy state of the music industry – in full. The
Paperhouse, Ask A Punk. (2018). Swa Media Productions.
Guardian.
So Cal Punk Documentary. n.d. Endurance Pictures.
Campau, N. (2012). Building: A DIY Guide To Creating
Spaces, Hosting Events And Fostering Radical
Communities. DoDIY.
Trying It At Home - A Documentary on DIY Punk. (2013). Shidby
Pictures.
D.I.T. Free School: How To Run A House Venue. (2018).
Herbert, A. What About Tomorrow?: An Oral History
Of Russian Punk From The Soviet Era To Pussy Riot.
(2019). Microcosm Publishing: Portland, Oregon.
Moran, I.P. (2010). Punk: The Do-It-Yourself
Subculture. Social Sciences Journal, 10(1).
If you want to listen to my music, check out danielszetela.bandcamp.com
If you want to see some local Minnesota bands’ live performances on the radio, check out ‘Live From Garth’s Living
Room’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zr-oRgGfTg&list=PLKhFuB4LnEFNzSWv6oDpoN81p-SrYP_40
If you want suggestions on anything music related, have questions about the US, or just want to talk, contact me
at [email protected] , @danszetela on Instagram, or Дэн Шетела on VK.