Asheville’s underground music venue: The Edge Frat

Here’s a fascinating tidbit that loyal reader Michael pointed me to from the Blue Banner student newspaper at UNC Asheville. The story focuses on various Asheville music venues, most of which are pretty well known. But the story mentions one I’d never heard of – the home of a couple of dudes who host hardcore punk acts. House parties are nothing new, but these guys are actually charging admission. Sweet:

Another niche venue is the residence of UNC Asheville students Stephen Welch, Adam Gross and Travis Hollifield, known affectionately as the Edge Frat.

“It’s really weird to talk about it like a venue because it has been my house,” said Welch, a 21-year-old Lincolnton native.

Their first show was less than a month ago, and Edge Frat is gaining notoriety among the hardcore punk scene, hosting local and national bands such as Asheville’s Just Die! and Boston’s Defeater. Rather than having an official booking process, bands and the owners of the house rely on the network of punk bands and houses to see which venue works best.

Since their inaugural concert on March 16, Welch’s house hosted one more show with 50 people attending each. The entrance fee was less than $5 at both, and all proceeds went to the bands, Welch said.

While the house show scene is nothing new to Asheville, Edge Frat aims to focus more on the music than other house venues do, Welch said.

“Since we have a stronger focus on the music, I feel like people respond more positively to that,” Welch said.

Freshman Clarke Spencer, 19, cited Edge Frat as one of the highlights of the Asheville music scene and venue culture.

Having been to a number of shows at the larger venues in Asheville, Spencer, a Rutherfordton native, found that the atmosphere is very personal, even in bigger venues.

“I try to connect with the artist as much as possible on an emotional and intellectual level,” Spencer said, who saw local bands Ventricles and the If You Wanna’s at one of The Orange Peel’s local showcase concerts.

Spencer said a band’s ability to create an intimate atmosphere, where audience members can feel the same feelings as the singer or guitarist creates a good show, and although the Grey Eagle and The Orange Peel are not small venues compared to café and house shows, they manage to make the show just as comfortable.