LOCAL
BEAT
EVERY YEAR, VIA HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT IT HAS AN EAR FOR THE SOUNDS OF SUBCULTURES
{BY RORY D. WEBB}
MUSIC MISSIONARY Braddock native Lee Davis graduated from Woodland Hills High School in 1988, but he credits his two years at Taylor Allderdice High School for inspiring his career in the music business. “The people that went there, because of their background, everybody was a free spirit,” he says. “Hip hop was really big at Allderdice, especially the four elements [MCing, DJing, breakdancing and graffiti]. Some of the best graffiti artists were at Allderdice at that time, and dancers, and then that whole hip-hop culture just exploded.” Since receiving a proclamation from the mayor of Pittsburgh at an event earlier this year that honored other music moguls including Roger Humphries and Shanice Wilson, Davis has assembled a three-man team to launch the 3 Horsemen/Mission Control Recordings business initiative. “One of the biggest things that independent artists need — the ones that are serious like Macklemore and Ryan Lewis — the one thing that they have that most independent artists don’t have is structure,” says Davis. Davis handles copyrights and publishing, New York native Robert Ross handles the paperwork and legal side, and investment specialist Michael A. Jordan is in charge of financing. “We’re now in a digital age where we’ve become so dependent on the viral presence that we’re forgetting that there’s still a business model that we still need to attach ourselves to,” says Ross. “We’re mentoring artists to be the best that they can be. We teach life skills, like what to say and what not to say in certain situations, whether it’s interviewing or on stage. We take them through a whole process; it’s not just, ‘You got talent, so we’re gonna put you out there.’” Mission Control’s first signing is hiphop artist Tek Bennett, a Penn Hills High School grad. “He writes, he produces, he does everything that an artist needs to do in order to make it.,” says Ross. “The mindset of Mission Control is controlling our environment and making the mission reachable, being able to take something and know that with the proper nurturing and with the proper analytics we can make the job happen.”
“ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS THAT INDEPENDENT ARTISTS NEED IS STRUCTURE.”
DIFFERENT VOICES E
VERY YEAR since its inception in 2010, the VIA Festival has taken on a different form. From year one’s main stage at the state-of-the-art 31st Street Soundstage to last year’s takeover of a former bank building in East Liberty, every year is unique. This year’s main venue, even as of press time, was shrouded in a certain amount of mystery; it was only the third week of September when an address — 5854 Baum Blvd., in East Liberty near Whole Foods — was listed on the festival’s website. Via email in mid-September, festival founders Lauren Goshinski and Quinn Leonowicz explained: “We’re working on our signature pop-up venue that will hopefully come through. A unique venue really defines the feel of the overall event and presents interesting opportunities for visuals, collaborations, etc. It’s the hardest part, yet often the most rewarding.”
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{PHOTO COURTESY OF JANE CHARDIET}
{BY KATE MAGOC}
PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 09.25/10.02.2013
Noise artist Margaret Chardiet, who performs as Pharmakon
The festival, which also includes events at venues like the Rex Theater, Altar Bar and Brillobox, thrives on the city landscape. Leonowicz and Goshinski attended some of North America’s best festivals, including Movement in Detroit,
VIA FESTIVAL
FEATURING KINK, ACTRESS, ADULT, JACQUES GREENE, PHARMAKON, MANY MORE Tue., Oct 1-Sun., Oct. 6. Various venues citywide. Passes $60-140; individual events free-$25. www.via-pgh.com
Mutek in Montreal and Pitchfork in Chicago — and they decided the big-venue thing wasn’t for them. “Being in a city, in its venues, is prime territory for us,” they explain.
Much like their unique approach to the venues, the artist lineup typically offers names both well known and unknown; there’s always something new to discover. “VIA presents artists who not only exemplify their sub-genre at this point in time, but that also reveal a sound or culture hopefully before pop life can appropriate it, or massive festivals take notice,” Leonowicz and Goshinski explain. EVERY YEAR, VIA has demonstrated that
it has an ear for the sounds of subcultures. In particular, the organizers have always focused on the gay arts community, having featured the likes of Big Freedia and Le1f — both gay hip-hop artists. This year, the lineup is showing even more varied support of the gay music arena, featuring local drag queen Sharon Needles, who has achieved national success after winning RuPaul’s Drag Race;