Purple and Ringo Deathstarr Live at the Church on York

The Church on York not only helps people find themselves spiritually but it also helps bands book shows.

Any fan of old school punk rock knows how important churches played a role in getting bands booked for shows. In the old days when D.I.Y. literally meant “do it yourself,” many bands would book churches because they were cheap and allowed for anybody to attend to the show. This is the case for The Church on York, a small church located on York Street in Los Angeles. Without knowing any better, any normal commuter would think it to be a place of worship and nothing more. However that is not the case. The Church transforms into a concert venue by night and is slowly turning into a premier spot for any band that practices the original D.I.Y. practice.

The Church hosted both Purple and Ringo Deathstarr on February 20th, 2014. The bands Ringo Deathstarr and Purple come from Texas, and although they are from the same Texas scene they have two very different styles of music. Purple uses their indie rock foundations to explore more of the punk rock spectrum whereas Ringo Deathstarr prefer to explore the shoegaze, dream pop style. Both bands performed in front of a crowd of about 50 people. The sound in the church was surprisingly good even when compared to local venues like the Observatory or Chain Reaction. Both sets were performed excellently with lots of energy. Ringo Deathstarr even performed most of their unreleased songs off their upcoming album, Gods Dream. Fans were even given a copy of a bootleg CD with any purchase of hand made t-shirts (could you get any more D.I.Y. then handmade t-shirts?).