More than 40 artists and vendors have signed on to participate in Tucson’s first ever Dirty T Flea punk rock market this Saturday and Sunday (March 14-15) at the Steinfield Warehouse Community Arts Center, 101 W. Sixth St.
The event promises a weekend of live music, art and shopping that even bands like the Dead Kennedys or Black Flag might enjoy.
Dirty T founders Bridgett and Bryan Scofield, owners of the When + Where Co. space on East Speedway, wanted to create a different type of flea market for Tucson in the same vein as other punk-themed markets happening across the country, in cities like El Paso; Reno, Nevada; and Trenton, New Jersey.
The Dirty T will showcase local vendors that exemplify that do-it-yourself punk spirit, selling everything from comic books to clothing to vintage vinyl and denim, Bridgett Scofield said.
People are also reading…
Bridgett said that she and Bryan Scofield learned quickly after hosting their first highly successful oddities market in November that there was a need for weird and quirky markets in Tucson.
A punk-themed market fit the bill.
“There are a lot of vendors who make stuff or sell stuff that doesn’t fit in with any of those other vintage markets,” she added. “To do an event like this, it opens up a door for them, an opportunity to sell.”
While a variety of Arizona-based vendors and artists, including illustrator Gabby Vee and purse designer Zombisaur, sell at Steinfeld, next door, the makerspace Xerocraft will be holding demonstrations throughout the weekend.
Tanline Printing will also be there, debuting its new Mobile Art Mart at the event; a 1950 GMC military transport truck converted into a screen-printing shop on wheels.
And because no punk rock market would be complete without live music, the Dirty T will be hosting a battle of the bands during the event with groups recruited by Bryan Scofield and Dirty T associate Matt Mier.
Better on the Inside, a local post-hardcore band made up of guitarist Anthony Reffruschinni, bassist Jasmine Garland and drummer Tony St. George, is one of the groups in the lineup.
“I’ve been playing in the music scene since I was 13 (and) I’m 22 now,” St. George said. “For older folks like Bryan Scofield and (bassist) Matt Mier to bring awareness to the younger punk scene and give us somewhere to play...it makes us really happy that someone is looking out for us.”
Garland was interested from the jump about the Dirty T because it cultivates an environment where people in the local scene can network, communicate and be around people who share common interests.
“I think that’s such a positive environment that we need to be fostering in this community,” Garland said.
