Musicians and performers on what as220 means to them

To commemorate AS220’s double decade anniversary, we asked some of the artists slated to play its all-day event for testimonials: memories, impressions, and other random musings about the storied venue. Here’s what they came up with.

Erin McKeown

So much of what goes on at AS220 has the air of the absurd, the whiff of the silly, the tension of outsider art. Don’t let that fool you. AS220 is the most important Petri dish of art in New England. And what’s discovered and formed there is spreading fast throughout the rest of the country and the world. Wherever I go (and I go a lot) I find or meet or see something that can be traced back in some form to 115 Empire St. I am ridiculously proud to have grown up there.

Alec Redfearn

I first discovered AS220 in 1987 when I was 17 years old. It was a bit more underground, a bit more eccentric and a bit more "lo-fi" in those days. I was immediately struck by the seemingly perfect balance of high-brow and low-brow. There was a real sense of chaos, optimism and freedom that seemed incredibly alien to me at the time, though extremely intriguing. It was exactly the sort of environment that I needed to develop as an artist. I was a tenant at the 71 Richmond St. location from 1990 to 1992. I had one of the third floor studios. I basically cut my teeth and defined my aesthetic in that environment.

Steve Ventura

Providence is filled with amazing people who are amazingly generous with their talents and AS220 is the hub that connects all those amazing, generous people. In the five years my daughter Maria [Ventura] and her brother Nathan have been frequenting AS220 there hasn’t been a single negative. They are better people for it. It has encouraged Maria to keep going — performing in NYC and throughout New England through connections she made and with people she met at AS220 — people like Cindy Hopkins of Gloria Deluxe and Joel Thibodeau of String Builder. And "Hurray, hurray" for the AS220 "all ages all the time" policy! My son’s band C+ was formed shortly after he and his friends saw Lightning Bolt, 25 Suaves and Mahi Mahi at AS220. We all go to AS220 all the time! There’s no better place — not for my kids!

Scotty the Blue Bunny

It’s one thing to tell your mother you’re gay, but to tell her you’re gay and an artist is a double-Jewish-mother-whammy. It would have been OK to be the gay doctor, or the gay accountant . . . but the gay bunny circus-thingy guy? AS220 was the place where it all made sense and had value. The chance they took on awarding me an artist residency mirrored the chance I had been taking with my art, and really, my life. In one rotten, hot-as-hell summer on the third floor, I was validated as an artist, and I really began to think about and invest in the importance of being a huge queen in a skintight Lycra bunny suit. A little bit of affirmation goes a long way, and I know I’m part of a huge community that is grateful for the AS220 brand of encouragement.

Maria Ventura

My dad worked at Perishable Theatre many years ago, when I was in pre-school through first grade, and every day I would go to AS220 with him for lunch. Some days I would go onstage and sing Beatles songs while people were eating. If it weren’t for AS220 I wouldn’t have met Cindy Hopkins, who invited me to play in New York for the first time, which gave me many more opportunities. And I wouldn’t have met so many great and talented people that have helped me a great deal through the years, like Paige Van Antwerp and Geoff Griffin and Joel Thibodeau and Alec K. Redfearn and Marcella Kroll and Hilary Jones and Chris Saraullo and all the other people who have played in my bands and accompanied me at my shows at AS220 and in other places. Now, at age 13, I am still performing at AS220. I will be performing on the 16th — which is my 14th birthday, by the way! — with two of the musical heroes I first met at AS220, Domenick Panzarella of Denim Venom and Paul Servicio of Mahi Mahi. Where could this happen but Providence and AS220? That is one more thing I love about AS220: everyone is welcome and is given opportunities to show what they’ve got. And if it wasn’t for Bert, AS220 wouldn’t have been alive to help hundreds of kids and adults in their careers.

Cynthia Hopkins of Gloria Deluxe

I lived at AS220 for three months in the spring of 2002, which allowed me to write the words and music for my operetta Accidental Nostalgia, which is now touring nationally. Many elements of AS220 made their way into the piece, mostly the influence of the incredibly diverse and talented artists in and around the space. From Marcella Kroll I learned to screenprint; from Spogga I learned guitar licks; from Keith Munslow I learned blues piano; from Bert Crenca I learned about the spiritual and artistic practices of Bali, where he had just visited. And every night while I lived there, the sounds of live music from the cafe would reverberate off the brick building behind AS220 and waft through my window and into my dreams. The variety of the music was astounding; one night, deafening punk rock, another abstract jazz, another poetry . . . Like all things which pass through one, this diverse and bizarre assortment of offerings no doubt incorporated themselves into my being and wove their way into the music and words I was writing, as did, I hope, the spirit of AS220 itself: revolutionary, eclectic, inspirational, uncompromising, celebratory, and committed to promoting vitality in the world through unconditional support of art and artists. Thank you, AS220!

Jeffrey Alexander of Black Forest/Black Sea

I moved to Providence in 1998 with my band at the time, the Iditarod. We played our first local show that same year at AS220. The spirit of place was (and is) so inviting and special, and AS220 quickly became my favorite venue in Providence. The mixing of all types of art and music with a real artist-run cooperative atmosphere is similar to many of the cultural centers that I have played in Europe, but there really is nothing like AS220 in this country. The excitement here is addictive. Over the years, I started as a volunteer, worked in the cafe and as a sound person, launched the Quiet Music Series in the upstairs gallery, and now I’m here full-time as AS220’s program director. See what I mean?

Devin of Modern Day Urban Barbarians

I first became acquainted with AS220 about 10 years ago. My band at the time landed a show on a Rich Lupo showcase there, which was of course very exciting. We played to a crowded house and were greeted with a great response, which was something we were not used to due to our generally far-out sounds. We realized that AS220 was an open-minded venue that I wanted to keep in contact with. Years later, I found myself in Brooklyn and as MDUB began traveling beyond NYC’s boundaries, I of course thought of AS220. We’ve played some memorable and great shows there since. We’ve played with puppet shows, masked sandwich makers, noise rockers, and performance artists. We’ve played on both stages and the floor, always to an open-minded crowd and a supportive staff. I’m glad to be involved with AS220. Dealing with art spaces like this is always much preferred to clubs because the folks involved care about things other than just the bottom line.

Tim O’Keefe of <tfo>

AS220 has served as a nerve center for Rhode Island’s art and music communities. In my own experience I have met numerous collaborators through AS220, including other musicians, choreographers, filmmakers, and playwrights. If it wasn’t for AS220, a lot of creative collaborations I have been a part of would not have come to fruition. A good example of this would be my current band <tfo> — three out of the other four members of the band are individuals I met through AS220, including the artistic director and founder, Bert Crenca. As a long-time artist in residence, AS220 has provided me with a great living/work space, the opportunity to be surrounded by creative, inspiring people, and a venue to showcase my work.

Cory McAbee of The Billy Nayer Show/The American Astronaut

AS220 is a rare bird that demonstrates integrity by extending loyalties to projects based solely on the quality of their work, rather than their immediate local popularity. This loyalty creates a relationship between the theater and the performer while providing the community with a strong and dependable alternative.

Andrew Barr of the Slip

Before the Slip was a band and before I had a single hair on my chin, my brother and I played our first show ever at the old AS220. Our band was called Private Revolution and we packed about 60 high school kids into that dark little nook where we all learned our first lessons about independent art and creating your own scene to boom in — no beer, no bouncers — just some sarcastic punks who made our 12-year-old rock band seem like a bunch of wussies (crucial motivation for the young rocker). I’ve returned to AS220 several times through the years as a fan and artist and am never disappointed with the scene surrounding it. This spot gives Providence a voice in the living arts world. Long live AS220.

Keith Munslow of Superchief Trio

We all cut our teeth at AS220, and it’s impossible to separate who we are as musicians and artists from the fabric of the place. Nor would we want to. The number of AS220-born projects that we are/were involved with individually and collectively is a long one. It includes the Neo ’90s Dance Band, the Smoking Jackets, Marc Levitt’s New England Chowda Hour, Meatballs/Fluxus, the Robert Jazz Quartet, and many others. One of the most glorious things about AS220 is that it serves as both high wire and safety net at the same time; you can get up on stage and try something untested, brand-new, or just downright crazy, and no matter how badly it might trainwreck, you can always count on a community that will provide a somewhat soft landing. And if not that, then at least an honest, "Hey, that was cool, but it sucked." Of course, the flipside is that it may just go gloriously, and the next thing you know you’re in a new band. Thanks, AS220, for giving us the fertile ground and space to grow.

On Saturday, July 16, you can join the celebration of AS220’s 20-year anniversary. The venue will be blocking off Empire Street from 1 pm to 1 am for a free party with three stages. Performers include Ted Leo, Lightning Bolt, the Slip, Thalia Zedek, Mary Timony, Tiny Hawks, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Growing, Mr. Bodega, David Gonzalez, Sentimental Favorites, Jared Paul, JMMJ, and String Builder, in addition to the folks who provided testimonials.There will also be an Anarchist Bookfair, loads of booths, the Bizarre Bazaar, the Rock &Roll Yard Sale and Record Show, films, and food. Go to as220.org/as220/weblog/fest/20fest.html for more details.

Compiled by Bob Gulla