I’ve been catching myself filming shows more lately. It’s not a habit I love because I don’t want to be “that guy” experiencing live music through his phone. But the more local shows I go to, the more I feel the urge to document certain songs or parts of a band’s set. Case in point: I had to capture Private Cathedral’s “The Ghost and the Coat” during their record release at The Pinhook.
An old iPhone’s video quality is only going to get you so far, though. That led me to look up what one of my favorite concert archivists, hate5six, has used. Once I went down that rabbit hole, I discovered JP’s Vault, which had already accomplished whatever ambitious ideas I had of buying a used camcorder and a Zoom X4.
The YouTube channel is run by Weymouth drummer JP D’Argenio, who has been refining his approach for the past year and a half. A quick scroll through his video library is a tour of North Carolina’s underground rock, emo, and punk scene. I knew I had to learn more about JP’s love for filming shows and the role he plays in supporting this statewide music community.
What have you been listening to lately?
JP: The new Arm’s Length record [There’s a Whole World Out There]. I actually pre-ordered the vinyl because I was a huge fan of the record prior and all the singles. Also the Soulkeeper album [Holy Design] which is stellar.
What is the first musician or album you remember discovering and obsessing over?
JP: I grew up in a very Catholic household. My name by birth is John Paul, I’m named after the Pope, so my access to music was fairly limited. It was through friends and my older brother that I found stuff that I was allowed to listen to. The band that broke through the typical Christian contemporary worship music was Anberlin. That was the first band that I just absolutely got into and I was like, “I really love this whole music thing. This is really cool.”
I got to see them for what was their last show before breaking up in 2014. We had cousins and happened to be there when they were doing the show. And my parents surprised me with it. It was a very cool but bittersweet show. But that was the moment when it finally clicked for me that I wanted to do music. I rarely got to go to shows, so being able to be in that room, singing along, having the time of my life and seeing these artists pour their heart into something was very special.
As I grew up and those restrictions faded, I dove a lot more into the alternative emo pipeline with bands like Saosin and Circa Survive.
When did you start playing drums?
JP: We were all raised to play classically trained piano. I attempted drums for a bit as a kid, got very frustrated and quit. Probably didn’t pick it back up until I was like 18 or 19, when I actually tried to start learning. Just hitting good old YouTube and doing the best that I can.
Weymouth is the first band I’ve ever played in. I joined up with them when I was 21 and still kind of new to everything. But they worked a lot with me to catch up with the rest of them. They were all veteran musicians who had played in several other previous bands and had been doing the whole music thing for a while. I was definitely kind of the baby of the group. I’ve gotten a lot better since then, which I’m proud to say. But the rest of the guys were all very nice. We clicked on a personal level and it’s been great.
Do you have a similar history with photography and video?
JP: I’ve always had an interest in photography. I would occasionally shoot shows with a Rebel T6, which is not a nice camera, and just kind of worked my way up. I am a huge, avid YouTube concert watcher and I just had a moment where it clicked that there’s a lot of cool stuff happening around here but not a lot of coverage of it.
I knew I had the capability. I had never really done much with video, but there are some similarities between video and photography. So I just started. The first show I ever did was a show at The Den with Rosary and Nervous Surface. I brought my camera, bought a Zoom H6 recorder, hooked up a couple of mics, and just went with it. Put it all together and handed it back to the bands, who were so stoked.
From there I could see myself getting a lot better, so I dove into it pretty heavily. Just taking everything I knew about the audio and video side of things and doing the best I could to capture what was going on in the North Carolina scene. We have great local bands. Even if you can’t make it out to a show, or if the artist wants promo, it is available. Hopefully the YouTube algorithm does its thing, the channel builds up and people see something.
I’ve seen a lot of positive engagement from the blankstate. LOTUS release show. That was a very magical night with the community, celebrating all of the band’s work on the EP. It was cool to capture and then see people recognizing that local music is still happening. Like yeah, it’s here, and you can easily be a part of it for the low cost of $12-15.
Have you gotten to know other folks doing photo and video work in the community?
JP: We had someone from Hues Production come out randomly to one of our shows. He does some video work for artists, similar to what I do. His is a little more stylized in the form of getting content for people, but he filmed some stuff for us and it was killer. It’s cool to see that there’s other people doing it because I definitely want to see more of that.
I had the great pleasure of working with Ben Janusz. He’s not from North Carolina, but he’s very well hooked into the scene up in Virginia and does some killer work. He came down for Welcome to The Family Fest at The Milestone and filmed alongside me. Those are some of the best videos that are on my channel, just due to his contribution.
How has your process for capturing shows evolved from booking and shooting to editing and putting it out there?
JP: There’s a lot more work that gets done on the post side of things. Prepping is pretty similar. I’ve gotten more well-versed with being able to go ahead and snag each individual track from the soundboard. Jose from SpiceHouse has started working with me pretty consistently too. Being able to send him the individual tracks and get a full mix of the set has significantly upped the quality of videos.
Equipment-wise, I invested in a Canon C200, which I just finished paying off a couple months ago. I’ve streamlined the whole editing process. The biggest challenge I never foresaw is data management. I filmed Welcome to The Family Fest in its entirety in 4K and it ended up being just under five terabytes of footage. I try to keep everything. As soon as the project’s done I zip it up and put it away, so I always have it in case someone ever asks for a copy.
When I started, I felt very much as if I did not know what I was doing. But now I have a little bit more of a grasp and feel more comfortable showing up to shows, which is a huge plus. It was definitely stressful to show up to a gig and not feel like you knew what you were doing or you didn’t belong. Imposter syndrome has a real effect because you gotta be in a good headspace when you’re filming, to make sure that you don’t miss out on anything.
Do you think the music scene has changed since you started the channel?
JP: I don’t know if I’ve seen it change as much as I’ve become more aware of things. For the longest time I did not believe there was a local music scene. I was ignorant to what was going on, but now bands and artists reach out to me to come out and film their shows. I get introduced to new bands I never would’ve heard otherwise. It’s been an eye opening experience to be a part of.
And it’s always cool to see new bands pop up, especially when they absolutely kick ass and blow my mind. Like you guys just started and are already killing it? It’s crazy to see.
What advice would you give someone passionate about local music but unsure how to get involved?
JP: Figure out the stuff that you enjoy. If you want to pick up an instrument, go for that. Specifically drums, please learn drums. There’s a little bit of a drummer shortage. [laughs] But there’s a lot more that goes into the local music scene than just music. If you do graphic design or just enjoy making shit with your hands, you can do merch or make posters. The biggest thing that gets slept on the most is word of mouth, just talking about your favorite local bands and sharing them with folks.
If there’s something you enjoy, I guarantee there’s a way to turn that into a way to help out the music scene. From promoting to booking shows, to helping artists and other creative ways. Anything creative usually goes hand in hand with music.
Also, you don’t need to drop $200 on Ticketmaster to go see a good show. Not that you shouldn’t do that. But if you’re free on the weekend for $12, you can see a full bill of four to five bands and have such a great time. That’s something that gets slept on the most.
Who are some of your favorite local/North Carolina artists?
JP: There’s a really cool hardcore band based out of the Triangle area called Survival Tactics. I also play in a hardcore band and I’ve had the honor of playing a show with them. They were just phenomenal. Old Suns is a band that’s just criminally underrated in my opinion. A great, great, great band.
It would be a disservice for me to not mention HIDE, which is Jose’s hardcore project with his best friend, Brandon. Anunt from SpiceHouse is now drumming in the live band and I think Birdie from Condado is helping out too. Between Two Trees just put out a fantastic record [softlock picking]. Kerosene Heights is another great band that’s just absolutely killing it right now.
And then one band that I feel like is getting some well-deserved attention is Babe Haven. I also had the privilege of filming their LP release show. It was a sold out show at Motorco and the AC went out. It had to be over a hundred degrees in that room, but it was so much fun.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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