By Benjamin Joe
(Image above: View from the back at an all-ages, ‘Pay What You Can’ show at Area 54. Photo by Benjamin Joe.)

For those into hardcore, emo, screamo, punk rock, indie music, electronic, hip hop and more, the acronyms PWYC and NOTAFLOF may make or break whether they’ll get to see the show.

Known as “Pay What You Can” and “No One Turned Away For Lack Of Funds,” the inclusions of these on a flyer or poster tells the viewer that while the door price for a show is $10, the bands and promoters are willing to take $5, $3 or nothing at all.

Aidan Howard, the co-founder of G.A.G.S., is one promoter who puts on these shows. She pointed to the “kids” — the shows she promotes are also all-ages shows — who want to see every show during the week but don’t have the money.

“We do Pay What You Can shows because we had gone to a lot of shows and a lot of them are $15 to $20 and it’s hard, especially if there’s four shows a week. That’s almost a $100 and we wanted to go to all of them,” she said.

“We started to do Pay What You Can because we just want the community aspect of it. We would rather have a bunch of people come in and have a good time rather than make a bunch of money. Also a lot of our clientele — like the people who come to all our shows — are kids. All of our shows are all ages, all our shows are Pay What You Can, and I feel that a lot of the people who come to our shows consistently are under 18 and I’m not going to expect them to fork up $15 (and) buy a shirt,” Howard added.

“Because they’re kids. They don’t have jobs or anything. So, a lot of kids will pay me a $1 or $3 for four kids, and I’d rather have them come in and have a safe time,” she said.

Howard started putting on shows with G.A.G.S. (Get A Grip Studios) in 2023, directly after throwing her first show on their 21^st birthday. The bill included Selfish Act, Muddle and Torture Agenda and started their organizing career.

By and large, the bands Howard has booked have tolerated the arrangement and the shows are vastly popular.

“When it comes to some bigger bands, they have guarantees, so if they’re on tour they’re paid well, but a lot of the people are cool with just the traditional split of the door money. All of the bands — however much money comes through the door — split that with how many bands are on the bill and pay the venue. That way, everybody gets paid fairly,” Howard said.

The mantra of PWYC and NOTAFLOF isn’t embraced by everyone. Blaise Przybyla of Gulf of Mexico Productions said he is not in a position to do that.

Currently going to Buffalo State for Applied Math and front man of BP and the Oil Spills, Przybyla said the most important thing to him is paying the bands.

He also said he deals with a large volume of shows, and while he doesn’t look down on PWYC — he actively gives breaks to showgoers or just bar patrons as he works the door — he intends to be doing this for many years. He said he will never forget or split from the local bands.

“Over the course of the next five years, I’d like to be financially making a comfortable — not extortionate — amount of money that I can do this full time if I am consistently putting 40 hours into it,” he said. “But regardless of how big it gets, I really want to maintain the ethos and I don’t want it to get to the point, even if could, where I’d cast aside the local scene.

“Honestly I’d love to get to the point where with the local shows I’m putting on, I can give those local bands even more as a percentage of the show (earnings) because I’m making money elsewhere. Like if I’m booking national touring acts. … making a grand on national touring show … I can give more (to local bands),” Przybyla.

So who is correct? While she’s not changing course, Howard went on the record to say PWYC isn’t perfect.

“I wouldn’t say I’ve taken a loss,” she texted when asked if she’s ever been disappointed with the end financial result of a PWYC show. “But I will say there have been times I’ve sent touring bands away with a lot less money than I would have liked.”

Benjamin Joe writes about music and the arts – particularly hardcore punk – for The Buffalo Hive.