DCxPC Live Presents: Scene Support

This week on Scene Support, Scott sits down with Max Kozol, a Massachusetts-based promoter, sound tech, and junior talent buyer at The Middle East in Cambridge. Max talks about going from booking shows for her own band to helping build bills across Boston and Cambridge, including her work with Broken String, O’Brien’s Pub, Warehouse 11, and the wider DIY scene.

The conversation digs into the realities of booking shows, supporting touring bands, building community, keeping scenes safe, learning through mistakes, and why hospitality, flexibility, and genuine care matter so much in underground music.

Scott and Max also swap stories about tour chaos, backline disasters, band names, burnout, and the people who keep showing up to make DIY music happen.

Broken String Booking IG

⁠DCxPC Live Website⁠DCxPC Live IG

DCxPC Live FB

Intro Song & Outro Song By Joshua "Danger" Dobbs

Executive Producer: Trev Allen - Struggling Artist Record Club

🔗 Subscribe for more episodes spotlighting the people who keep underground music alive.

Scene Support is a podcast from DCxPC Live highlighting the promoters, artists, organizers, and behind-the-scenes workers who make DIY culture possible.

On this episode of Scene Support, Scott sits down with New York promoter, musician, and community builder Nathan “Nate” Harris. From his early days booking shows at Gussie’s Bar to co-founding Leg Drop Productions, working with Punk Island’s Sister Rosetta stage, and building momentum through Nate’s Show Booking, Nate has become a vital force in creating intentional, inclusive spaces in punk and hardcore.

The conversation dives into how he curates mixed bills, supports touring bands, promotes shows, and keeps community at the center of everything he does. They also talk about all-ages spaces, learning to trust collaborators, balancing music with real life, and why kindness, empathy, and access matter just as much as the lineup itself. It’s a deep, honest look at the unseen work that keeps DIY culture alive.

Nate Show Booking

https://www.instagram.com/natesshowbooking/

https://www.instagram.com/maafahardcore/https://www.instagram.com/noweaponbkhc/

https://www.instagram.com/lakelaniernyc/

https://www.instagram.com/xtinguishthecodebxny_/

DCxPC Live

https://www.instagram.com/dcxpc_live

https://www.facebook.com/dcxpcbooking

https://dcxpclive.com

Intro Song & Outro Song By Joshua "Danger" Dobbs

Executive Producer: Trev Allen ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/struggling_artist_record_club/⁠⁠⁠

🔗 Subscribe for more episodes spotlighting the people who keep underground music alive.

Scene Support is a podcast from DCxPC Live highlighting the promoters, artists, organizers, and behind-the-scenes workers who make DIY culture possible.

In this episode of DCxPC Live Presents: Scene Support, Scott talks with Max and Zoe of Denounce Normalcy, a DIY Carolina booking collective helping build punk, hardcore, and psychedelic scenes in places that touring bands often skip. They talk about how they went from going to local shows to booking them, building community, making flyers and merch, and creating spaces where people can be themselves. The conversation gets into the real work behind DIY promotion, from all ages shows and backline problems to long drives, tight budgets, and the challenge of keeping a scene alive in the South. It’s a great conversation about friendship, community, and the unseen labor that keeps underground music going.

Denounce Normalcy

https://www.instagram.com/denounce.normalcy/

DCxPC Live

https://www.instagram.com/dcxpc_live

https://www.facebook.com/dcxpcbooking

https://dcxpclive.com

Intro Song & Outro Song By Joshua "Danger" Dobbs

Executive Producer: Trev Allen ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/struggling_artist_record_club/⁠⁠⁠

On this episode of Scene Support, Scott Pasch sits down with Baltimore-based recording, mixing, and mastering engineer Jeremy Hayes to talk about the work that goes into making live and studio recordings hit with real energy. Jeremy shares how he went from recording bands in a basement to working on projects for Teenage Mortgage, producing and mixing live sessions for Ottobar TV, and helping capture the kind of performances that make people feel like they’re back in the room.

The conversation digs into live recording challenges, room mics, mix philosophy, band approval, vinyl mastering, and why chemistry, trust, and communication matter just as much as gear. Scott and Jeremy also get into punk, live albums, Baltimore music, band dynamics, and the difference between technically good and genuinely exciting. It’s a great deep dive into the craft behind the scenes and the people who help keep DIY music alive.

Jeremy Hayes

Jeremy Hayes IG

Ottobar TV IG

Ottobar TV YouTube

DCxPC Live

DCxPC Live IG

DCxPC Live FB

DCxPC Live Website

Intro Song & Outro Song By Joshua "Danger" Dobbs

Executive Producer: Trev Allen from Struggling Artist Record Club

On this episode of DCxPC Live Presents: Scene Support, Scott talks with Aaron Stoquert, the photographer behind Put.Over.Photo. Aaron started out shooting pro wrestling ringside, stepped away from photography for a while, and then made a deliberate return—kicking it off by shooting DCxPC Live’s Rally in the Valley Vol. 1. Since that weekend, he’s become a mainstay at almost every DCxPC Live show (over 30 shows last year), while also traveling to festivals and events outside of New York to document the wider DIY universe.

They dig into why live music photography is about translating energy—not just taking “a photo.” Aaron talks about his evolving style (including shutter-drag/ghosting techniques), editing workflow, crowd vs. stage shots, staying safe when the pit gets chaotic, and his growing interest in portraits that don’t feel forced or generic. It’s also a conversation about community: crediting artists, sharing knowledge instead of competing, and the idea that showing up—camera in hand—is the first step to supporting the scene.

put.over.photo

https://www.instagram.com/put.over.photo/

https://www.putoverphoto.com/

DCxPC Live

https://www.instagram.com/dcxpc_live

https://www.facebook.com/dcxpcbooking

https://dcxpclive.com

Intro Song & Outro Song By Joshua "Danger" Dobbs

Executive Producer: Trev Allen ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/struggling_artist_record_club/⁠⁠⁠

In this episode of Scene Support, I sit down with Lara Hope — musician, community builder, and Director of Music Programming for the O+ Festival in Kingston, NY.

We dig into the origin story of O+: how a brewery owner, a dentist, and an artist-activist turned a simple idea — trading art for healthcare — into a nationally recognized nonprofit that’s rethinking what it means to truly support artists. Now in its 15th year, O+ has grown from a grassroots festival into a year-round ecosystem providing musicians and visual artists with access to dental care, primary care, acupuncture, chiropractic services, and more — all through a creative exchange model.

Lara breaks down:

• How the submission and curation process works

• Why healthcare need factors into booking decisions

• The challenges of booking headliners on a barter model

• The expansion into a year-round exchange clinic

• The launch of O+’s new 334 Wall Street space for all-ages shows, workshops, and community events

• What it really takes (staffing, volunteers, grants, donations) to sustain a mission-driven festival

We also talk about ego, community responsibility, DIY ethics, and how working in service of something bigger than yourself can reshape your perspective as an artist.

This isn’t just a conversation about a festival. It’s about infrastructure. It’s about care. It’s about how scenes survive when people build systems that support each other beyond the stage.

If you care about DIY music, artist sustainability, and community-driven models that actually work — this one’s for you.

O+ Festival

https://opositivefestival.org/

https://www.instagram.com/opositivefest/

https://linktr.ee/opositivefest

DCxPC Live

https://www.instagram.com/dcxpc_live

https://www.facebook.com/dcxpcbooking

https://dcxpclive.com

Intro Song & Outro Song By Joshua "Danger" Dobbs

Executive Producer: Trev Allen ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/struggling_artist_record_club/⁠⁠⁠

On this episode of DCxPC Live presents Scene Support, Scott Pasch sits down with Peter Aaron, arts editor at Chronogram and frontman of the legendary New York punk-blues band Chrome Cranks.

Peter has spent decades doing the work that keeps underground music alive—writing, booking shows, playing in bands, and documenting scenes that would otherwise be forgotten. His writing has appeared in The Village Voice, AllMusic, and All About Jazz, and his books dig deep into punk history, lineage, and influence. Long before bands like Nirvana, the Flaming Lips, and White Zombie became household names, Peter was booking their early shows in small rooms for small crowds.

The conversation moves through Peter’s path into punk, hardcore, and experimental music, his time booking shows in the Midwest and Northeast, the evolution of the Hudson Valley scene, and why cross-pollination between genres is what keeps music alive. Scott and Peter also dig into live music as documentation, the importance of physical media, all-ages spaces, and why scenes in smaller towns often matter just as much as major cities.

This is a wide-ranging, deeply personal conversation about punk as community, memory, and responsibility—how scenes survive because people show up, take care of each other, and do the work week after week.

Peter Aaron

https://www.instagram.com/peter_aaron_rocknwrite/

https://www.facebook.com/peter.aaron.353

https://www.facebook.com/p/Peter-Aaron-Musician-and-Author-100063018471273/

https://www.chronogram.com/author/peter-aaron/

DCxPC Live

https://www.instagram.com/dcxpc_live

https://www.facebook.com/dcxpcbooking

https://dcxpclive.com

Intro Song & Outro Song By Joshua "Danger" Dobbs

Executive Producer: Trev Allen ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/struggling_artist_record_club/⁠⁠⁠

DCxPC Live Presents: Scene Support spotlights the people who keep DIY and underground music alive—not just the bands on stage, but the artists, organizers, and builders behind the scenes.

In this episode, Scott sits down with David Gregg, a Baltimore-area artist, guitarist, father, and longtime small business owner whose visual work has quietly shaped the look of the regional punk and hardcore scene for years. Dave talks about designing flyers, album covers, logos, and merch for countless bands and venues, balancing creative work with family life, and why visual identity matters just as much as sound in DIY spaces.

The conversation digs into the realities of unpaid or underpaid creative labor, the relationship between punk ethics and design, how scenes evolve visually over time, and what it means to keep showing up week after week to support a community—not for recognition, but because it matters. Along the way, Scott and Dave swap stories about Baltimore shows, touring, recording live music, merch culture, and the unseen labor that holds scenes together.

An honest, wide-ranging conversation about art, community, sustainability, and doing the work that keeps underground music moving forward

David Gregg

https://www.instagram.com/crizdizzle_art/

https://www.instagram.com/sickmovemusic/

DCxPC Live

https://www.instagram.com/dcxpc_live

https://www.facebook.com/dcxpcbooking

https://dcxpclive.com

Intro Song & Outro Song By Joshua "Danger" Dobbs

Executive Producer: Trev Allen ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/struggling_artist_record_club/⁠⁠⁠

In this episode of Scene Support, Scott sits down with Caroline Borolla, founder of Clarion Call Media, to unpack what music PR actually looks like in 2025—and why it’s harder, messier, and more human than most people realize.

Caroline traces her path from college radio, journalism, and record stores to building a DIY-minded PR company that works with independent bands, labels, and festivals without compromising ethics or authenticity. Together, they talk candidly about the collapse of print media, the rise (and problems) of pay-to-play blogs, navigating album vs. tour press, realistic timelines for releases, and why mid-level bands often struggle more than new or established acts.

The conversation digs into expectations versus reality—what publicists can and can’t do, how bands and labels should think about long-term growth instead of instant results, and why story, community, and trust still matter more than algorithms. Caroline also shares practical insights on pitching, release lead times, burnout, boundaries, and why she only works with music she genuinely believes in.

An honest, wide-ranging look at independent music promotion from someone who’s been inside the system long enough to know what’s broken—and what still works.

Clarion Call

https://www.instagram.com/clarioncallmedia/

https://www.clarioncallmedia.com/

DCxPC Live

https://www.instagram.com/dcxpc_live

https://www.facebook.com/dcxpcbooking

https://dcxpclive.com

Intro Song & Outro Song By Joshua "Danger" Dobbs

Executive Producer: Trev Allen ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/struggling_artist_record_club/⁠⁠⁠

In Episode 23 of Scene Support, Scott Pasch sits down with Lisa Root, founder and editor-in-chief of New Noise Magazine, one of the last remaining print publications dedicated to punk, hardcore, metal, and underground music.

Lisa traces her path from early work with AMP and other 2000s-era music magazines to launching New Noise in 2013, driven by a belief in documentation, community, and the lasting value of print media. The conversation digs into what it actually takes to keep an independent magazine alive today—balancing print and digital, navigating rising production costs, sustaining distribution worldwide, and resisting the pressure to abandon physical media altogether.

Scott and Lisa also connect over shared roots in ’90s punk and hardcore, the importance of archiving scenes before they disappear, and why mixed bills, flexi discs, and liner-note culture still matter. Along the way, Lisa talks about New Noise’s evolving work beyond the magazine, including live sessions, Rough Trade events, podcast collaborations, and her commitment to mentoring new writers and amplifying emerging bands.

This episode is a deep, honest look at the unseen labor behind independent music journalism—and a reminder that scenes only survive when people are willing to do the long, unglamorous work to support them.

New Noise Magazine

https://www.instagram.com/newnoisemagazine/

https://linktr.ee/newnoisemag

DCxPC Live

https://www.instagram.com/dcxpc_live

https://www.facebook.com/dcxpcbooking

https://dcxpclive.com

Intro Song & Outro Song By Joshua "Danger" Dobbs

Executive Producer: Trev Allen ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/struggling_artist_record_club/⁠⁠⁠