Modified, a tiny little house with wooden floors and no air conditioning, has long been the place to go in Phoenix for indie acts both national and local.
But after nearly three years, Modified is closing its doors and saying goodbye to the local bands the club has helped support.
Owner Scott Tennent is selling the outfit to pursue his own music career.
“I’ve been doing it for about two years and it takes a lot of time, and it’s not even my full-time job,” Tennent said. “The time factor was really stressful because it didn’t allow me to put time towards my own music, which is something I want to do instead of hosting other bands.”
As Tennent’s last hurrah at Modified, the club will host its final Modifest, a three-day music festival that showcases local acts.
“We’ve been doing Modifest every year,” Tennent said. “It’s been kind of our version of a New Year’s Eve party, sort of a celebration of all the local music coming out of Phoenix.
“And (those bands) are as good as bands in other cities like San Diego or Seattle, but they just don’t get recognition. The first Modifest was born out of my frustration. We did Modifest to show people that there were plenty of bands here.”
This year, the event will take place today, Friday and Saturday. Each night will feature five bands. A ticket for all three nights costs $10, while tickets for individual nights are $5 each.
The lineup is a representation of bands that have played at Modified regularly over the years.
“To some extent it’s got to be some of the most popular bands in the scene,” Tennent said. “Overall, they’re bands that have been regulars, who we have a good relation with. There’s a lot of bands that I wish could play that we don’t have room for.”
Tennent’s attention to local bands is what appeals to many of the bands that perform there.
“We’ve played (Modifest) every year that they’ve had it,” said Dave Masters, bassist for indie-pop outfit Fightshy. “We were playing there twice a month for a while. Modified has been very good to us as a band — we always felt welcome.
“It’s one of those places that always promoted diversity. It just gave people an idea of what indie music could be. It opened up my eyes to a lot of bands I’d never seen before.”
In addition to the local shows, Modified has been host to art openings, as well as national indie acts.
“Some of my favorite shows have been there, like Low, Ida, Milemarker,” said John Quintos, of Bullyrag.
The band, which Quintos describes as “loud,” was also described by an L.A. radio DJ as “emo violence.”
“We loved it, but we don’t know what it means,” Quintos said.
Bizarre descriptions aside, the band is one of the longest-running bands in the local scene and will be playing at Modifest.
“We’ve been playing since December 1995, but the three of us have all been playing together a lot longer than that,” Quintos said. “We’ve lasted a lot longer than some of the other bands (in Phoenix). (Modified) is really the only place we have played — the brunt of our shows, locally, have been there.”
For those who have gotten used to playing shows — and seeing them — at Modified, all hope is not lost. Another venue will open in Modified’s place shortly after Modifest.
“Somebody else is moving in and opening their own venue,” Tennent said. “It’s not related (to Modified). There’s this gray area where it feels like the same, but it’s not.”
That someone taking over is Kimber Lanning, owner of Stinkweeds Record Exchange in Tempe. Lanning was the original owner of Modified before selling the club to Tennent in 1999.
Lanning said that a new name for the club has not been settled on. Confirmed changes to the venue include installation of a new P.A. system and an air conditioning unit.
“There’s not going to be much change,” Lanning said. “It won’t be that different.”
Lanning said she will organize art shows and Leslie Barton will schedule musical acts. Lanning said that in addition to the usual indie bands, patrons can expect an increased focus on theater, film, musician’s workshops and jazz.
Shows at the new club will start immediately after Modified closes, with an art opening scheduled for Nov. 2, and Kill Rock Stars band Slumber Party slotted for Nov. 3.
As a reward for showing up early to Modifest, the first 25 people through the door each night will get a CD sampler of the bands performing. Only 75 copies are being made, so once they’re gone, they’re gone.
“It’s something we try to do every year,” Tennent said. “It’s a really nice take-home sampler of what the bands in this town are capable of.”
But after Modifest is over, Tennent said he hopes people take home something more than a CD — an appreciation for local music.
“I think that for me, what I’ve cared about most is really the music coming out of this town,” Tennent said. “Before Modified, bands in this scene were playing house parties and warehouses, and if they were lucky, they could open for a show at Stinkweeds.
“Modified has really tried to push the scene forward. We want these bands to feel like they have had a home. The music scene here has not exploded by any means, but I’d like to think that we started to put the fire under its ass.”
Modified is located at 407 E. Roosevelt. Shows all three nights start at 7 p.m.
