Dan Deacon

Michael Azerrad‘s Our Band Could Be Your Life was issued ten years ago, and it’s an account of American indie- and underground bands mainly during the eighties. The bands described in the book (the likes of Black Flag, Minor Threat, Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr.) never really found mainstream success, but did have a very important role in the foundations of American indie rock.

Next week, Michael Azerrad will share the insights he gained while writing the book in his keynote at the Incubate DIY Conference. We’ll also have (amongst others) the Dutch premiere of the documentary PressPausePlay, a film on hope, fear and digital culture, an interview with DIY- and punk legend Steve Ignorant and a lecture and performance by artist Bill Drummond. Check out the full program here. Tickets are Pay What You Want and are available here.

The Village Voice has a great article on young, contemporary bands and the influence the book had on them. In

the article, Dan Deacon (who did an amazing show at Incubate last year), Ted Leo and Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner describe when they read the book and the effect it had on them. Here’s a great account Dan Deacon told The Village Voice:

“I had $450 to my name and I used it to buy a 30 day bus ticket to finish the last 25 shows of the tour. That book kept me going through some really rough times and helped to keep me grounded. Every time I started to freak out about being alone in a part of the country I had never been–with no cell phone, no email, no credit card, no money and no ID–reading that book helped to remind me of pioneers of the scene and the shit they went through.”

“I had pre-bought all my food for the tour to save money–one can or corn, one can of beans, two rice cakes and two servings of peanut butter for each day–and that’s what I lived on. I had to carry that shit on my back

while lugging my 150 pounds of gear with me from bus station to bus station, and I did it with a smile on my face thinking about the rotten and moldy apples Black Flag, a band I had never even knowingly heard, ate while they were on tour. The book means a lot to me. I think if I hadn’t been reading that book when the car broke down I would of just taken a bus straight home and might not of toured again.”

Read the full story here. We’ll see you next week at the DIY Conference!