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Photos: A behind the scenes look at Death By Audio

death by audio
Death By Audio curator Mark Kleback relaxes in DBA’a cargo net. Photos by Mary Dorn

Before we were mourning Glasslands’ announced closure, we were hit with the news that Death By Audio would be closing at the end of this month. The pedal company/venue/artist studios lasted 10 years, which is a pretty good run, all things considered, but it’s still a shame to see it go. Before they pack up for good though, DBA’s community will be hosting Death By Art for the rest of November, an art show that opens up the space behind the venue itself, which is rarely seen by the public. Before the show though, we got a look behind the scenes at Death By Audio’s studio space, whose chaotic, DIY aesthetic is an outlier in Williamsburg today instead of the norm.

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Just a carpet square? Nope, actually a big silicone cast of carpet that had previously been in the room.

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DBA’s cargo net is a great feature in the studios, at least once you convince yourself that aren’t going to fall through or that the net won’t fall down with you. Mark Kleback explained to us that the idea to put one up came out of a drunken discussion about the idea one night, followed by the actual purchase of the net from an Army surplus vendor on eBay.

“The Army sells the nets when they decide they aren’t safe enough to hold jeeps and things like that,” Kleback told us, “but it’s safe enough for people.”

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Hi, Satan

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Not just a bookcase, also a door to another room

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A piece in Death By Art that matches 3D printed grills to hip-hop lyrics about both materialism and poverty

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The nature of DIY venues, especially in a place with as chaotic a real estate market as New York City, is always going to be an ephemeral one. Still, it’s worth nothing the irony that as Vice prepares to build a “freaky space-age utopia” for “today’s creative visionaries,” that they’re replacing a place that could be described the same exact way.

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If you want your own look at DBA’s studios, check out Death By Art, kicking off tonight at 8pm and running through November 22. You can get in either with admission to a music show at the venue, or the art show will be open for free on Saturdays and Sundays from 2pm to 7pm.

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