Monday nights. They used to be dreaded, but that was before rocknite launched their biweekly residency at Nightclub 101. Every other week, Good English Records puts together a bill of rocking local bands at 101 for just a $10 cover. rocknite’s ethos is simple: bring great music to people who love music. They’re part of the fuel that keeps NYC’s scene accessible—and, most importantly, fun.
After attending rocknite’s sold-out show last week featuring Victoryland, Ken Park, and Yes Ma’am, I spoke with organizers Elle, Wesley, and Nick about what they do—and why it matters. Though rocknite New York has only been around for six weeks, it’s just getting started. Now, we all have a reason to look forward to Mondays.
Can you introduce yourselves for ALT CITIZEN readers?
Elle: I’m Elle. I started rocknite and I run it across all the cities that it’s in.
Wesley: I’m Wesley. I’ve been booking for rocknite. Nick’s been helping with booking some too.
Nick: I do day of show for rocknite. I’ve been going to all the shows and making sure the bands know what’s going on. I’ve also been recording them with the multi-track.
How did rocknite start?
Elle: I started rocknite a year ago in LA because I felt it would be fun and cool to have a regular weekly show go on. There was this venue reopening called The Goldfish, which is where we do our weekly shows in LA. They had an open schedule and were looking for opportunities to build back their name as a venue because that space has a lot of history in the LA scene. So, I gathered a group of people to help with booking and putting on these shows and within a couple months we were able to build a regular crowd of 300 people who show up for a free show every Wednesday night at The Goldfish.
It’s been really sick, so we decided to expand rocknite. Brad Schultz, the guitarist from Cage the Elephant, liked what we were doing and bands from his label Parallel Vision had played the LA rocknite and he helped us kind of kick things off in Nashville back in September. Cage the Elephant played two shows in Port Chester in October and Brad wanted to throw a rocknite in New York, so we did a pop-up at 101 back in October. We had some sick bands play and we rented out 101 to make it free.
I took that opportunity to circle up with Wesley and Nick and start a plan to do rocknite on a regular basis in New York in partnership with Good English Records. It’s important to me that rocknite is put on by the local scene, that the people who booked the shows are active members of the New York rock or a DIY scene. We were able to start rocknite at 101 back in January and our third show last Monday sold out. Hopefully, we just keep growing and it becomes what it has been in LA where you know, rocknite is a hangout spot, where you know the bands are going to be great and fun and you can discover new artists and make friends. We do have to charge a cover in New York because of the venue economy. It would be nice to make it free, but we hope $10 is okay.
Nick: Part of me and Wesley’s goal is to bring bands that people have been trying to see or have seen and really liked and they’re not $25 shows. Going to two or three shows in a week and buying one beer, paying for the show, it’s like a hundred and twenty dollars, you know it’s brutal. 101 is a very desirable spot and I think $10 is pretty reasonable for a place that always sounds good. That’s the ethos behind tickets being only $10.
Elle: When rocknite started last year I didn’t really know what I was doing, it was just for fun. Now that it feels like we’re building something, rocknite feels like a response to how out of hand the live music economy has gotten. rocknite is trying to encourage more people to invest in their local scene and go out and become friends with the bands that they love or like.
Nick: On our end, it was so cool when Elle brought this to us because the whole entire mission of starting Good English Records, was essentially what she’s saying, but on a more like music release frame of mind. Access is getting further and further and the gap is increasing rapidly and there’s so many good bands in the city. We’re trying to increase access and not have people waste an arm and a leg on a show.
Because Good English Records is involved in rocknite New York, is there an emphasis on showcasing Good English represented artists?
Wesley: Not necessarily. We’re brand new, this has only been a thing for like six weeks, so we started out by booking our friends. It just so happens that a lot of people that I know are people that I work with in the music world as well. Going forward, I don’t think there will be any emphasis on any label or scene, it’s going to be about making cohesive bills and having a really good rockin ‘time.
Elle: Something I get a lot is people calling rocknite a showcase, which you know, use the language that feels right to you, but for me, rocknite is not a showcase series. rocknite is a community thing, it’s not for industry, it’s for people who love music and want to vibe off their phone in real life. Though it’s rock or guitar focused, there’s different sounds. Sometimes we have experimental DIY noise or guitar noise sets, and then we’ll have a pop punk night, which I don’t like at all, but you know if there’s people who like pop punk, maybe they don’t come to the folk night. It’s fun to show the diversity of rock music and not keep it focused to advantage any one part of the industry besides people who just love going to shows.
rocknite is in LA, New York, Nashville, and Chicago is coming soon, what makes each of these scenes special?
Elle: When I’m thinking about expansion, I’m thinking about what cities cool bands are coming out of and places where there are a lot of musicians because we try to do these shows on a regular basis. We’ve started out with the major cities, and Nashville came about because Brad from Cage the Elephant lives there. Nashville has felt meaningful to me because it’s such a country scene and we do our show at a honky-tonk, it’s fun to create a space for the non-country bands and community to come out and take over the bar. For me, what’s cool is meeting mutual friends and getting put on to new people in these scenes who want to help with rocknite and book bands and do something cool together. I met Wesley before, but now I talk to him every day. I got to meet Nick, and Wesley’s girlfriend makes all the flyers for us. We have this cute little group chat of people who I would have never gotten to know except for that we all do rocknite together.
Are there any other cities that you’d want to bring rocknite to?
Elle: Yeah, I’m trying to be ambitious and expand. We’re doing a showcase at SXSW so it’d be fun to do rock night ATX one day. Chicago’s been such a beast to execute, so I want to get that feeling good before we pick a new city. Atlanta would be really fun. There’s great music coming out of Atlanta, Portland, and Seattle.
Why do you feel like it’s important to book shows at local venues?
Wesley: I like the idea of having a home base that everybody can expect to go to. We’ve emphasized the community aspect of rocknite, but having a venue that is well-known, that’s cool, it’s almost like a clubhouse, you know, and people will just show up and know that every other Monday that you’ll see all of your friends and hear cool music.
Elle: Venue owners and staff are also an important part of the rocknite community. We’re trying to build a hyper local community in the arts and the venues are part of that. Part of what we’re trying to do with rock nite is a value-add for the venue; we take nights where people don’t always go out. If we take a Wednesday or a Monday night when the venue’s traffic is lower as a bar and bring in rocknite, then you have a second Friday or another Saturday in your week.
Nick: The bartenders have been hyped at 101. I think it’s important that the bartenders are having a good time as much as the sound person.
What’s on tap for the next rocknite at Nightclub 101?
Wesley: Next week is Catcher, Family Vision, and Fashion. The next show, the flyer isn’t done yet, but it will be Ewe Dew, the solo recording project by this guy named Christian Brion. He makes Deerhoof-esque stuff, it’s really fun and wacky and weird. Paris Archives and Retail Drugs are also on the bill. We’re stoked, it will be cool.
If any bands are interested in playing rocknite, how should they reach out to you?
Nick: They can email team@goodenglishrecords.com
Elle: I see every DM and every comment and even if we don’t respond they get seen, know that we love everyone.
Nick: rocknite loves everyone!
Don’t miss rocknite’s next show at Nightclub 101 2/23 and follow rocknite.ny on Instagram!