Division Of Mind And The Fine Art Of Seizing The Moment

"Shit ain't always going to be happening like this." That was Zachary Acosta-Lewis, singer for almighty Richmond heavy-hardcore head-wreckers Division Of Mind, onstage last Thursday at a guerrilla Richmond spot that I will not name. Acosta-Lewis often reiterates some variation of that message while Division Of Mind are playing, and he always means it. His point is something like this: DIY scenes don't just happen. They take work and commitment. People have to put in serious time, without any hope of financial reward and with the full knowledge that their spots could always get raided and shut down by police. It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it -- taking the sweaty fistfuls of cash at the door, cleaning up the empty bottles outside afterward, persistently reminding everyone at the show not to do anything that might bother the neighbors. When people don't do that work, the shows don't happen. When the shows don't happen, a vital community simply ceases to exist.