Festivals

Washington DC’s Damaged City Fest is on – an interview with organizer Chris Moore

4 mins read

One year after our interview with Nick Candela of COKE BUST and Damaged City Fest, we’re back with a follow up insight feature from the festival organizer Chris Moore, also known for his sick drumming in COKE BUST, THE REMEMBERABLES, REPULSION, DISCIPLES OF CHRIST, and SICK FIX. This year’s edition of the Damaged Fest just went off, it’s all ages and it has a wide range of artists on the bill! See the details below and scroll down to learn more from our newest interview with Chris Moore!

Yesterday’s pre-show at The Pinch featured GIVE (DC), PROTESTER (DC), HOLDER’S SCAR (NC), NOSEBLEED (VA) and WITCHTRIAL (DC) and tonight’s main show at St. Stephen’s Church brings in the legends from BATTERY (DC), ANGEL DUST (MD), FURY (CA), RED DEATH (DC), STAND OFF (DC, final show), UNIFIED RIGHT (FL), PRAISE (MD) and LINE OF SIGHT (DC)! The show will be followed by an after-party at The Pinch with ANARQUIA VERTICAL (Spain), THE REAL COST (TX), IRON CAGES (DC), and GUILT PARADE (DC).

Tomorrow’s main show at St. Stephen’s Church features another batch of bands: THE MARKED MEN (TX), HANK WOOD & THE HAMMERHEADS (NY), GLUE (TX), EXIT ORDER (MA), VANITY (NY), KRIMEWATCH (NY), TONY MOLINA (CA), CONCEALED BLADE (PA), SIAMESE TWINS (MA), PROFILE (CA), DARK THOUGHTS (PA), FUTURO (Brazil), FRIED EGG (VA), RADIATION RISKS (NY) and KOMBAT (DC).

Saturday will also have its special Art Show at Box Truck Parked Outside of St. Stephen’s, and will present an amazing set of art and photographs from Jacob Henery, Joanna Salerno, Farrah Skeiky, Tad Peyton, Kcdc, Mattie Hinkley, Tina Pell, Jess Poplawski, Dilek Baykara, Nadine Vieira-Rosario, Mateo Cartagena, Indie Jimenez, Melissa Dominguez, Cecilia Caldiera, Leila, Cassidy McGinleyMikey T. and Fil Baird. The day will end with another after-party gig at The Pinch with MAD EXISTENCE (VA), HERO DISHONEST (Finland), S.L.I.P. (PA), and GUN CANDY (NY).

Sunday’s Main Show will take place at The Black Cat (backstage) and will have THE MARKED MEN (TX), COKE BUST (DC), HARAM (NY), FLASHER (DC), and DIRTY AND HIS FISTS (CA) on the bill.

Photo by Angela Owens. Poster by Danni Parelman. Festival tickets can be grabbed at this, this and this location.

DAMAGED CITY

Hey man! Congratulations on the 5th edition of the fest!

Thanks!! I’m glad it came together the way it did. Robin and I are really stoked.

How are you? How are the busy days leading up to Damaged City 2017? How are the preparations?

Really busy haha! Everyday working on it. Things seem to be running smoothly but who knows haha!

What motivates you to do this festival once again?

Knowing that people have fun and are exposed to something new. The main goal was for the rest of the world to see all the cool shit coming out of DC and to bring bands here that don’t play here often.

DAMAGED CITY pre show

Who’s helping you out this year? How has the crew of organizers evolved over the years?

Robin from PURE DISGUST, PROTESTER, STAND OFF, and a million other bands is co-organizing it with me this year. Marica is in charge of organizing the crew. We have so many friends helping out. I honestly don’t know what we would do without them. It’s a real community effort.

DAMAGED CITY poster 1

What do you like about each of the venues?

St. Stephens church – perfect size stage, big room but not too big, feel comfortable, and been going to shows there since I was a teenager.

The Pinch – anything goes bar for a wild show, the most supportive and cool staff

The Black Cat – legendary DC punk club, great vibe, the small room is awesome for a more intimate show, the coolest / most down to earth staff, and awesome food.

Line-up wise, who are you most excited about seeing this year?

THE MARKED MEN! i’ve ben trying to book them for over 6 years haha!

What were some of the most surprising and unexpected results of the 2016 edition?

Angry neighbor stormed the stage on day 2 during THE COLLUSION who was also the first band. I had to try and calm him down. He proceeded to call the cops every hour for the next 6 hours.

Haha, awesome! What did you learn through your participation in the last year’s event?

Don’t underestimate angry neighbors haha

DAMAGED CITY show

Obviously the emphasis is put strictly on music, but apart from the gigs, what other activities and exhibitions have you planned for this year’s edition? Please drop us some details on the art show and other complementary activities.

There will be a really cool art show setup inside of a box truck outside of the church on the second day. Thats organized by Sarah O’Donoghue who is a good friend and amazing artist. She helped organize last years art show. This year Nick Popovici who plays in the Max Levine ensemble also played a big role in this years art show. It will have art and photographs from punks near and far.

How does this unity manifest in everyday life of your local scene? Compared to previous years, how thriving is it these days?

Hard to say haha. I’d say if anything after the first few year its sparked more interest in punk and hardcore in DC. Not sure if it was a direct result but dc has been churning out some incredible bands the last few years.

DAMAGED CITY 2017

What other US festivals will you attend this this year?

Maryland Death Fest and FEST in Florida.

How about Europe? Any plans to hit our shores with one of your bands this year?

Yeah I just played Netherlands Death Fest with REPULSION and COKE BUST will play k-town in Copenhagen later this summer.

Damaged Citys Chris Moore

Ok, I think that’s about it from me. Feel free to add your final words and take care! Good luck with the fest!

Yeah I just played Thanks for doing this and always supporting us!

DAMAGED CITY poster

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