Steve Bailey, Darrell Dumas, Daphne Blue Underworld & daniprobably Played Space Jam Studio

Words + Photos: Mike Petzinger

Saturday night found me heading out to a show in Brooklyn at a place called Space Jam Studio to catch NYC locals Steve Bailey (of The Sharp Shadows) and Darrell Dumas (of The Royal They, and Bizarre Sharks) supporting touring acts Daphne Blue Underworld and daniprobably.

I first heard of this spot when I was listening to a friend’s preliminary solo album tracks that were recorded at Space Jam. Even at an early stage, the tracks sounded great so when I heard said friend was playing at a DIY-type singer-songwriter show going on there a few weeks ago, I decided to go check it out. (Spoiler alert: This past Saturday was the second show I hit there; this time with a camera.)

True to form, Space Jam is a well-appointed home studio, and the overall sound of the performances definitely benefit from that. Being a home studio, this obviously isn’t a huge setup, but it was perfect for the performances I saw. It struck a good balance between a studio space, house show, and an *attentive* coffee house-communal vibe. That said, this spot is certainly up there with the Secret Loft shows (though much, much smaller scale) that I covered earlier as among the friendliest environments I’ve been to this year.

So far Space Jam has hosted two of these shows and I heard the word “series” a couple times, so here’s hoping lightening strikes a third time (or more.) If you’re into chill DIY spaces and solo performers, it’s certainly worth keeping an eye out for another show here. And of course if you’re looking for a friendly neighborhood Brooklyn recording spot, it should definitely be on your list.

daniprobably

Daphne Blue Underworld

Darrell Dumas

Steve Bailey