The legend of 902 Davis lives

By Garret Schuelke
Western Herald

For Russ Wagner, the house at 902 Davis. St. represents more than a representation of independence as his first home away from his family.
With three friends, Wagner moved into the house in the August 2007 after spending some time house searching.

“We came across 902 Davis, and pretty much right away [thought that] it was perfect,” Wagner, a native of St. Clair, Mich., said.

The address still rings in the memories of local college kids and music aficionados, as one of Kalamazoo’s most successful–and missed–house-show venues.

The idea to host shows at the house came from Wagner.
A fan of numerous music genres including contemporary punk, screamo, post hardcore, and post rock, Wagner first started going to shows in high school. His first house-show experience occurred in a friend’s basement.

“Originally, my friends and I were looking for a party,” Wagner said, whose desire soon evolved into something more. “That’s when I started thinking about it more and more as an actual thing to do, an alternative.”

Wagner channeled his love for punk and DIY (Do It Yourself) ethics and ideals, his dislike of bars and mainstream venues, and his experiences of attending house shows to transform 902 Davis from an ordinary student home into the house venue he envisioned.

For participating bands, Wagner turned to the Internet for assistance.

“I basically had no idea what I was doing, but I figured it out as I went,” he said.

Word of the house soon spread around Kalamazoo, and bands eventually started requesting to play there.

According to the band list on the house’s MySpace page, 89 acts performed at 902 Davis in its two years of existence. Musicians came from Kalamazoo and all over the United States.

The house even had Full-Chin, a folk and punk musician from Japan, perform there while on tour in America.

To avoid harassment by law enforcement, the 902 Davis house was officially named “The Terrarium” after a joke told by one of Wagner’s roommates about the condition of the house’s basement. Wagner described the basement at the time as old, dank, and moist.
Despite the name change, Wagner claims that most people still knew the venue as 902 Davis.

Eventually, law enforcement did start showing up at the house to bust shows.

“We never had cop intervention [for] the longest time,” Wagner said.
“We just got lucky, I guess.”

According to Wagner, the house was busted by law enforcement five times, the most memorable bust being their Halloween 2008 show.
While never ticketed, Wagner was threatened with arrest and jail time at each bust.

The problem with 902 Davis, in Wagner’s view, was that it was situated on a corner, which did not allow for much privacy.

Another problem was attendee’s who hung out in the front of the house in between acts.

He also believes the drinking that went on at the house during some shows may have led law enforcement to believe that underage drinking was going on.

Besides those problems, conflicts with roommates and the amount of acts that were performing there—some shows had as many as 6-7 bands booked at a time—wore on everyone’s nerves.

“It just got to be too much,” Wagner said. “It’s hard to do this stuff all the time and try to be responsible for it.”

902 Davis voluntarily ceased operating in July 2009.

Wagner and his roommates moved out, partially because of the condition to the house itself.

According to Wagner, the company that owned the house did not keep it up, or perform maintenance.

“What 902 Davis brought to the community was a respectful, legitimate venue,” local punk rock band Taft said in a collective statement. “All the gentlemen who inhabited the establishment brought great acts and inspiration to other homes in the student ghetto. It provided an outlet for many facets and musicians alike, as well as providing a comfortable environment for the community to congregate.”

“902 Davis was a house where some of our great friends lived. We had some really wild times there,” said Ryan Martin, guitarist and vocalist of Grand Rapids indie band Victor!

Wagner currently plays guitar in the Kalamazoo band The Reptilian. He still attends house shows, and is a big fan of local house venue, Scorpion Island.

He sees Scorpion Island as somewhat of a continuation of 902 Davis, but one that learned from the deceased house venue’s mistakes.

“I have seen some wild shows, where people really get into it,” Wagner said, “and [when] they are not drunk, it really means a lot more.”

When asked if he would ever attempt to start up another house venue, Wagner claimed that, if he did, it would be different from 902 Davis.

“It’s funny, because I did not know how much I would miss it or how much I would think about re-doing it. If I had to do it over again, it would be strictly no drinking, no drugs,” Wagner said.
“I think that’s a better way to promote music for music’s sake.”

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Posted by heraldstaff on Nov 8 2009. Filed under A & E. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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