“This is the most unpredictable time in our history”. An interview with Saint Vitus’ David Castillo
From our PRINT issue.
Over the last decade, Saint Vitus has cemented itself as one of the most important locations to see loud music in the entire world. Since day one Saint Vitus’ mission has been the same: provide a fun and uncompromising environment for the NYC underground music scene to hang out and create. Armed with this idea, long time musician/bartenders George Souleidis and Arty Shepherd decided to transform an old plumbing school in the depths of Greenpoint, Brooklyn into a sleek, dark, club called Saint Vitus. One person who believed in this wild idea was Arty’s bandmate David Castillo, who was given free rein to book the stage in the bar’s back room. Saint Vitus opened in 2011 with an ambitious slate of shows ranging from Metal, Punk, and Hardcore to Goth, Post Punk, and Industrial. Today it has become an iconic point of reference for the underground music community, surpassing the wildest dreams of its founders.
Castillo performing as CONFINES at Saint Vitus 2019.
What’s your favorite memory of Saint Vitus?
It’s really hard to say that I have one stand out memory. There have been so many good shows, parties and fun times. I am proud of it all, even the mistakes because we’ve learned from them. That being said this year seeing Blood Incantation and Kontravoid at the bar were my favorite shows. Two absolutely incredible acts on top of their game.
Why do you think so many people in the underground music scene consider saint vitus a point of reference for music?
I think this is the case because we’ve been true to our aim since the beginning, which is to provide a fun and uncompromising place for the NYC underground music scene to hang out and create. If we could achieve that, then I think we thought people would take notice and we could follow in the footsteps of the many great clubs that came before us. Another crucial aspect is that the ownership all comes from the scene, we’ve known what we want out of a place and what kind of music we love. As the bar got more popular we’ve never wavered on it’s intention. It sounds simple but we’ve always let these ideas guide us.
The most important part of every show: the audience.
Next year Saint Vitus will celebrate its 10 year anniversary. What is the biggest achievement you think you have reached with Saint Vitus?
I think the biggest challenge is just to keep the place going. Achieving all the things that we have is really unbelievable yet the mission stays the same and I try to constantly remind myself that.
I am proud of a lot of things. But I’d say for me, I am most proud of the fact that we’ve been able to cater to lots of different music scenes without compromising our intention. I like when I see the calendar and there’s lots of variety but in one way or another it seems to make some sort of sense. When I see that, I feel like I am getting things right.
How different was the relationship between the venue and the NY music scene in 2011 compared to now?
I think it's still a strong relationship and I am always thankful that bands want to play. That being said, the scene itself right now is in a different place aesthetically than it was 2011 but that’s to be expected. There are always shifts and new musical waves happening. Lives change and the same bands, people, etc. aren’t here anymore.
In our case, we are in it for the long haul, so we try to control what we can. From a booking perspective, it’s important for us to be open to new things while not getting too caught up in any trends. From an operations standpoint, we just want to give a great experience to artists and audience members across the board. We’ve continued to refine and adapt these practices over the past decade, we have an amazing staff and hopefully the quality shines through.
Vitus circa 2017
10 years is a long time. How have you seen NY and Greenpoint changing over the years?
Greenpoint is pretty unrecognizable from when we started. Down where we were was a wasteland and now there is luxury housing everywhere. NYC in general is very different.
A lot of people’s living situations have been pushed further and further away from North Brooklyn which impacts how much people want to make the journey to our doors. It’s ever evolving.
This pandemic has hit many venues in the city, how do you think we should all contribute to keep the venues alive during this hard time and when everything will be back to normal?
I think it’s important for all of us to support small businesses across the board. It’s a good time to examine what you buy, why you buy it, and where you are putting your money. That being said, many venues that you may want to support are now selling merch, streams, to go drinks, etc. to get by. Follow them and see where you may spend a few bucks. On a macro level, Follow and support NIVA’s efforts to fundraise and pass legislation through the Save Our Stages campaign. They’ve done an excellent job of spearheading independent venue organizing.
Anthrax at Vitus back in 2017
How do you see the future of Saint Vitus?
I see us doing our best to continue to survive this hellish situation, while also growing into some new exciting things like doing more merch projects, streams, and content.
In the best case scenario we get back to doing live events quickly and these other offerings are thriving alongside them. With all of that intact, I think we will be in a really strong place to continue on our mission and grow.
PAWNS back in 2017
How do you think the NY's underground music scene will evolve in the coming years?
To be honest, for the first time in a long time, I feel like I really don’t know. This is the most unpredictable time in our history, whatever happens I just would like to be able to continue to do what we love. I miss it.
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PHOTOS: A.F.CORTES