New house show venue hits Denton
On Saturday, the House of God opened its doors as one of Denton's newest house venues.
On Saturday, the House of God was christened as one of Denton’s newest house venues. Bands Bad James, Violent Feminist, Seth, the Band, Genghis Grill and Den Mother rocked the House for its grand opening. Around 200 people found their way in and out of the venue throughout the night.
Matt Snoddy, a 20-year-old biomedical engineering junior at UNT, is one of the residents, or altar boys, who help run and throw shows at the house. Snoddy played guitar in Bad James and also sang vocals for Den Mother that night. Both bands were comprised of either altar boys or friends of the boys.
The altar boys said upon moving into the house they consulted with their neighbors regarding the idea for putting on house shows. Their neighbors, one of which is deaf, said they would put up with the house shows as long as party-goers didn’t park in front of their homes. As far as noise bleeding into the neighborhood, the boys had that taken care of.
“We bought basically some of this foam, styrofoam type shit, from Home Depot,” Snoddy said. “These eight-feet-tall by four-feet-wide things and cut them down and fit them into windows, that’s what we have in the back. We put up some random sound-proofing things we stuck around, like some sheets and stuff like that.”
Along with all of that, Snoddy and the boys asked around for some sound-proofing tips, which led to tarps with a sign being put up around the backyard to let people know where they couldn’t stand and hang out, due to closeness to their neighbors. Upon walking up to the house, a little sound leaked out into the neighborhood, but not much. Passersby had to be on the front lawn or in the driveway to hear anything happening inside.
“I really like meeting new people and this is a good way to do that,” Snoddy said. “House music isn’t always the best quality, but Denton people support it.”
Outside, attendees sat on the concrete, drank beer and smoked cigarettes, as per usual at any house show. Conversation varied from politics to music, fashion to food and anywhere in between. It was business as usual for the venue, and Denton knew how to handle itself.
Kaitlyn Whilden, a communications junior at UNT, was an attendee at the house on Saturday night and even helped design and hang the banners and decorations before the party started. Having been to some house shows before, she was excited to be a part of putting on a show.
“I know everyone who lives here and they’re all wonderful people,” Whilden said.
Josh Hale, who sang vocals for Den Mother’s performance, was eager for the night’s experience. Hale is another of the altar boys who lives in the house and helped throw the show.
“There were a lot of nerves going into [Saturday], but I feel like went really well,” Hale said on Saturday night. “This is the first of hopefully very many shows.”
Featured Image: On Saturday, the House of God opened its doors as one of Denton’s newest house venues. Kyle Martin
“We bought basically some of this foam, styrofoam type shit, from Home Depot,” a biomedical ENGINEERING junior said. “… We put up some random sound-proofing things we stuck around, like some sheets and stuff like that.”
You know, at this house and stuff that doesn’t have an address or whatever.