Vicky Kuharski, Staff Writer~
The Lynchburg Gothic League is bringing Everyday is Halloween: The Dark Side of the 80s back to downtown Lynchburg. Everyday is Halloween is an all-ages DJ night held once a month that focuses on old-school gothic rock, punk rock and 80s new wave.
The first DJ night will be held Friday, October 20 at Fifth Street Grind. Local mortician Patrick Hubble (DJ Undertaker) will not only be performing, but is the man that worked to bring this event back after a several year hiatus.
Of bringing the event back so many years later, Hubble said that he felt that Lynchburg was at a place to do so.
Years ago, this event was held at Bull Branch, which has since shut down. Hubble and the Gothic League are thankful to local business owner John Parr for opening up his coffee shop to them to have these DJ nights.
This is an all-ages event. Hubble wanted to make a point to have this event be all ages because he wants to be non-discriminatory on who gets to enjoy the music he loves. He ran the old DJ nights at Bull Branch that were 21 and up, but he wanted it to be more inclusive this time. This is also why the event is being held on a Friday night rather than the Tuesdays it was held on in the past.
“It took awhile to find a location I could convince to do this,” Hubble laughs. He found a willing participant in Fifth Street Grind’s owner John Parr.
Fifth Street Grind is a coffee shop that just opened on Fifth street beside the traffic circle near downtown Lynchburg. One step into the shop shows patrons how committed Parr is to local art. A whole wall has already been dedicated to the sale of paintings and photography from local artists in the two weeks the coffee shop has been open for business. It is a mutually beneficial relationship—artists get to showcase their work and the shop gets to have unique and distinctive decoration.
Artists are also able to keep the prices of their art down because Parr does not charge commission for any art pieces.
“It didn’t feel right to make money off of people wanting to show and sell their art,” Parr said.
Fifth Street Grind also hosts open mic nights on Tuesdays, as well. From 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., anyone is welcome to come in and show their talent, be it poetry, singing or even juggling.
Getting to support a new local business and local artists is a good enough reason to come out to these events, but Everyday is Halloween may be just what is needed to get locals into the Halloween spirit. Black and spooky clothing is not required, the event page states, but it is encouraged.
Other artists that will be spinning that night include DJ Deathflower and DJ Sugar Hiccup. More artists will be included as the event gains momentum.
It just might be time to break out the old fishnets, leather and smudged black eyeliner.
