Capturing the NYC indie music spirit on VHS

“What I tell people is that the music matters. It's not an entity. It's just a fact,” says Marc Seligman. Alongside Sam Sumpter, who runs Bands Do BK, Seligman put together a 3-day music festival at the Lower East Side venue Arlene’s Grocery. The event, which took place May 5-7th, 2024 and featured fourteen bands, was documented by the NYC video crew I Know We Should. The festivities are captured in the new VHS BANDS DO BK PRESENTS: THE MUSIC MATTERS - NYC. 

Seligman has been part of the indie music scene in New York since the ‘70s. Performing in bands like The Cyclones and Mad Violets, he played gigs at the infamous CBGBs. “I probably played with about six different bands at CBGB's and all the other local clubs back in the day,” he says. “I think the most interesting part is when I talk to my old friends about it, everybody remembers stories differently.” More recently, Seligman launched The Music Matters, where he wrote about bands he liked. 

Sumpter and Seligman met through his son who is in the experimental space rock band Moonunitt. At shows, Seligman would witness firsthand Sumpter's ability to bring people together, calling her “the center of this community.” He explains, “I would go to Arlene's Grocery on a cold, snowy night on a Sunday and there would still be a good crowd there.” Seligman’s interest in the scene peaked during the 2023 holiday season. “Last Thanksgiving, I went to The Turkey Slamdown. It's a charity event. My Son The doctor puts it together. I saw that the bands– it wasn't just that they were friends, they really care about each other,” he says. “They root for each other. This is a real community. This isn't just a bunch of bands trying to get gigs. After the first of the year, I contacted Sam. She was willing to listen to me.” The idea to curate a festival snowballed from there.

The initial lineup consisted of New York bands Seligman liked. “Sam just knows so many more [bands] and she had much better contacts. At a certain point, I just kind of let her run with it,” he says. Eventually they settled on Mary Shelley, A Very Special Episode, Tetchy, TVOD, Tilden, Skorts, Jelly Kelly, Two-Man Giant Squid, O. Wake, AVATAREDEN, Go Home, Big Girl, Nevva, and Night Spins. Seligman notes that the most difficult part of the project was coordinating the date. “These people are working on a schedule. They're helping their friends. There's so many things going on in people's lives today–that's what made it difficult.” On the other hand, Seligman believes that’s also what made the event remarkable. He says, “It brought the community together. They're all facing the same challenges, but they still have that art inside them that they want to show the public.” 

The pair made an effort to bring in diverse acts. “One of the things that we were very proud of is the diversity of the bands and the band members. We did discuss things like LGBTQ+ [representation]. We wanted to hit every letter multiple times, because when you're representing an artist community, you have to represent all of that. I'm kind of proud of that,” he offers.

Seligman notes that Arlene’s Grocery hosting the event was an “honor” because of the venue’s history. He explains, “They've been around since 1995. They've had the Strokes, Lana Del Rey and Arcade Fire. A lot of bands have come through there.” Seligman thinks that also contributed to the event. “I think that's one of the things that we'll look back on. In fact, Arlene's Grocery is happy about it. They wanted to sell the tape.”

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BANDS DO BK PRESENTS: THE MUSIC MATTERS - NYC is available for purchase at Village Revival Records, Arlene’s Grocery, through Bands do BK and performing bands. The VHS also comes with a QR code so you can watch online.

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