Tonka & Puma/Daps Duo

This article was originally written for April 6th, 2009.

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“I want to see if the 19 and under crowd can rock harder than the 19 plus crowd,” said Alanna Stuart, vocalist of Toronto reggae/soul duo Bonjay. It’s Bonjay’s first all-ages performance at Toronto’s Rolly’s Garage on a windy Saturday afternoon and people varying from young girls accompanied by delighted parents to hung-over university students were dancing and cheering them on.

The venue, approximately the size of a high-school classroom, is neatly decorated with whimsical lights and hanging pieces of recycled paper, indicating prices of snacks as the bands that day played one after the other under a garage door ceiling. Headliners Bonjay, made up of Stuart and DJ Pho blast song after song at the eager crowd, even catching the attention of the odd passerby outside on the streets. “I’ve never seen Pho this excited about a show ever!”

Headliners Bonjay, along with bands, The Pixelators, The Whitsundays, Boxes & Bags, and Kat Burns (of Forest City Lovers) made up the line-up for the second installment of the Daps All-Ages Concert Series. Created by Daniel Lee and April Aliermo (of Toronto indie-pop band, Hooded Fang), who call themselves Daps Duo, the pair began this series in January 2009 and hold bi-monthly all-ages shows at Rolly’s Garage.

Frantically running around the tiny space, running the merchandise, doing DJ sets between bands, talking to the sound man and even making grilled cheese sandwiches and serving freshly-made lemonade to the attendees were Lee and Aliermo. It may sound hectic, but they ran the whole show with a smile on their face and bundled in jackets and scarves to keep warm.

“I missed it when Lee’s Palace would put on all-ages shows for $5.00 and/or a can of food, and you’d get a bunch of great bands,” said Lee. “You’d be able to catch Treble Charger or someone like that in the afternoon; and I just think there’s a lack of all-ages shows now in Toronto.”

Music venues in Toronto such as Lee’s Palace, the Drake Hotel, El Mocambo, and the Legendary Horseshoe rarely hold all-ages shows today as many under-aged teens refer to them as the “19+ venues.” And with approximately 61% of the show listings on Rotate This’ website listed as 19+ and 43% of those being held at said venues, it’s slim pickings for those “who can’t shop at the LCBO,” as Stuart told the crowd.

For those who organize afternoon spectacles of music for people of all ages, it comes at a cost and a hardworking DIY-ethic.

“We pay for everything ourselves,” said Lee. “We’re fortunate to get such great bands too because we don’t pay them much; we propose to split the door money and if they agree, it’s great.”

It is also kept in mind that the bands playing at Rolly’s that afternoon were fairly voluntary and kind to the idea of splitting the door profits. “Bigger” bands normally don’t do this as managers require a set fee; yet another hurdle in the financial track.

“We just hope to break even,” said Lee. “We just broke even last time and had enough money to pay for all the bands. Making a profit is the thing; these shows just need to get out to more people.”

Attendance is a crucial element to the equation as it determines the profit. As mentioned by Lee, press and “getting the word out there” is vital to the success of events. Thanks to technology such as Facebook event postings though, and event listings in local papers such as NOW and Eye Weekly play largely into grabbing attention. As the pair stated in a recent Facebook status, “Daps All-Ages at Rolly’s Garage, tomorrow 12:30 gets an arrow in the NOW!” And as we draw the curve back around, we arrive at finances again.

“It’s all about the financial liability,” said event promoter/record label owner, Eric Warner. “There are so many variables to putting together an all-ages show.”

At the age of 25, Eric Warner, in addition to being an event promoter, owner of his own record label (We Are Busy Bodies) and actively a part of the Toronto independent music scene since the age of 15, is also the creator of the Over the Top Festival in Toronto. Over the Top is an annual all-ages music and arts festival, entering its eighth year this May and this year will hold 15 concerts, among other events such as film and theatre productions and workshops for kids.

“I do feel like Over the Top is a nice alternative to NXNE and Canadian Music Fest, which are both heavily based on 19+ shows in bars. I appreciate what they do, but I just wanted to do my own thing,” said Warner. “This year, we’re even planning a show on a bus; I like alternative venues like that. I think it’ll be a lot of fun. I really wanted to do a show on a boat but that was too costly.”

“With all-ages shows, we’ll always run into issues like extra security and extra barriers like that,” said Warner. “It’s unfortunate that the Horseshoe and Lee’s don’t do as many all-ages shows anymore but again, it’s the financial aspect. It’s a gamble sometimes but you just have to hope for the best.”

With the Over the Top Festival, Warner’s aim is to “open up opportunities for people of all ages” and “give them the chance of discovery.”

“I know how it feels to be frustrated that your favourite band comes in town and it’s 19+,” explains Warner. “You’re faced with either getting a fake-ID or stay hopeful and just wait till they come back and hope that you’re of age by then.”

As Warner said, “There’s always all-ages show in Toronto of a wide range of genres. Could there be more? Certainly.”

Announcements for this year’s Over the Top line-up (taking place May 21st – 24th) will be made this week. As for Daps Duo’s all-ages series, the next installment is slated for June 20th, at Rolly’s Garage as per usual. Many other all-ages listings can be found at local independent record stores. But with the recent economic turmoil, will this affect all-ages shows?

“Regardless of what’s going on in the economy, we’d be putting on these shows,” said Lee. “We love doing this and the decline of all-ages shows began way before economic problems. We just need to continue doing what we do and getting the word out.”

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The line up for the Over the Top Festival has been announced and you can read more about it on their website here.

For more about the Daps All Ages Series, check out their Facebook group.