No Name talks with Zack Bateman (Of Zack Bateman and The Coal Minds) and Ashli Ghoul about the tragic Ghost Ship fire in Oakland and their response: to film a documentary that explores the state of the underground art scene in the Bay Area, Underground Under Review. The film includes Fantastic Negrito, Mykee Ramen (owner of The Burnt Ramen), Jamie DeWolf (founder of Tourettes Without Regrets) and explores the importance of local art spaces.
No Name: Can you explain some of the backstory and what the project is about?
Zack Bateman: It’s about the tragic loss of artists and people in the Bay Area after the Ghost Ship incident last year. One thing we’re trying to do with this documentary is show all of these warehouse and art collective and non-conventional venues in a different light. What a lot of the media has done is portray most of those venues as unsafe places.
NN: One of the things that was so hard for me personally was that, if you’ve grown up in the Bay Area and been a part of any type of underground scene, (you think): it could have been me. This is where the best shows happen, this is where the best bands start…it’s kind of where things begin.
ZB: Even Green Day would play a lot of these spots and they’re getting shut down left and right. I think it’s good to show a positive angle of them and also show how artists have been affected. A lot of what we’re doing is showing what you can do to help the underground art community.
NN: In an ideal world, you would have lofts and creative warehouses that are up to code and…
Ashli Ghoul: …That takes a lot of money.
ZB: It’s (about) the living situation and the performance aspect. Getting a response back from a venue in the Bay Area often times is one of the hardest things to do. With these spaces, you get invited to play them, and everybody is cool and cares. It’s a beautiful scene, I want to show the beautiful side of (it).
Where is the line as far as safety goes?
ZB: A lot of these places aren’t as unsafe as the media and the people shutting them down make them out to be. We’re coming at it unbiased and we’re just showing facts (in the documentary). You look at spaces like The Burnt Ramen, which was around for 20 something years, and for the most part unsafe and they built themselves as “an unsafe place for all ages.” But the media and the city didn’t pay attention to it until Ghost Ship happened.
Do you address any kind of solution? There has to be some kind of grant for the arts that could be used to fix up some of these places.
ZB: The city of Oakland and the mayor said they want to help out artists, but a lot of the artists I’m talking to that own these spots are like “we haven’t seen any of that money that she promised…she’s not responding to us.” One of the things that they’re trying to pass, that our friend Jesse Townley is part of, is the 2010 Loft Law (that was passed in New York), which allows these places to exist as long as they are up to a certain code.
How do artists take back their space?
AG: Supporting the venues that are already standing – or maybe if they’re struggling and their shows aren’t as packed as they used to be – go to those shows.Go support local acts – buy the tickets, save up your money. You’re not only supporting the artist, you’re supporting the venue.
ZB: Just showing up to your friend’s events, that’s the biggest and best thing that people can do. Everybody is oversaturated with the Internet and social media that they don’t feel the need to go out and support anymore. When you do show up, it makes a huge difference.
Catch the rest of the conversation and learn what you can do to support local art and artists in the Bay Area below. Get tickets to see Underground Under Review at Uptown Nightclub in Oakland.
This interview has been edited and condensed.