You Are Invited: Infiltrating Scenes as Teenagers
Words and photography by Chloe Flaherty.
No matter what city you’re in, there is currently a teenager sneaking out of their bedroom window.
In some cases, they might know where they’re going. In others, they’re grabbing a case of beer and heading to the park. In Los Angeles, more often than not, it’s to head to a show at The Smell, a grimy venue downtown that opened up a new world to my friends and I in high school. It was the entrance to a web of shows across the city, east and west sides, from backyards to newly opened clubs on Hollywood Blvd. None of us were invited, but we all climbed out the same window.
(This teenage interviewee asked to remain anonymous)
How did you infiltrate the music scene?
The biggest thing, which is the most twenty-first century shit ever, is the power of the internet. You have to become your own person enough to know how to navigate the internet. Because, dude, I could have been on the internet and been obsessed with Sabrina Carpenter.
You and your friends were driving all the way to the city for shows—it wasn't your neighborhood. It wasn't accessible.
That's why we found it extra funny. Like, we're putting in this extreme effort because we'd spent our time in our neighborhood and we knew that there was nothing going on. It wasn't like we wanted to go to a party from our high school and that was the move. Or a football game. But, being at a show, you're looking around and everyone's cool.
How did you navigate being a teenager throughout it all? So much of the venue scene is not catered to teenagers.
I think, being a teenager and making music, because it is such an adult-run industry, you just have to be ridiculous. You have to be okay with the fact that you're just a fucking kid. You obviously want to think you're the biggest rock star that has ever graced this earth—and that will get you far. But, at the end of the day, you're showing up to your soundcheck straight after school and you have to make sure your show is all ages, because if you did sixteen plus no one would show up.
Tell me about sneaking into venues.
A lot of places don't ID, but only if you walk in super fast, show your ticket, and don't look nervous. You have to kind of be like, I am supposed to be here. I love this song by Dismemberment Plan called “You Are Invited,” because you literally are invited to everything by everyone.
Have there been any moments where you're like, oh shit, I'm really not supposed to be here?
This band did a house party for their friends, but one of them posted it on their private Instagram or, like, their secret Instagram with the address and we went. We were seven fucking teen and we went—it's perverted as fuck, but still, like, what made us think that we could go? We knew we would walk in and not know anyone. But, we just hung around and drank beers because we don't really give a fuck.
Sometimes the realest thing you can do is show up and show face.
Yeah, but not even show face. I hate it when people are like, I like to show face. It's more than showing face. It's being able to be a person at a party. Everyone wants someone to talk to. Just showing face and looking good, genuinely no one is going to remember you. But, if you go in and you say to someone that your name is Lily from Mississippi, at least one person is going to have a lasting memory of that and you're going to have a lasting memory of that party.
Think about how many times you've gone to something and never talked to anyone and forgot about it the next day. Think about people who are always fucking comfortable. They go to a party and they know everyone and, you know, that’s fun and you need that in order to have a good life, but, you have to put yourself in situations where you are not invited by anyone to do anything and think, well, I'm invited.
