Local out of touch DFW music promoter, Parade of Flesh [named John Iskander], continues to prove to the punk rock community that he hasn’t changed his ways with his latest fiasco: accusing former 1919 owner, Al Rios, of stealing money.
This isn’t the first time Iskander has publicly accused 1919 of stealing money. Back in October, on Twitter, he reached out to local publications Fort Worth Weekly and Central track, pressuring them to write an article on the matter, even going so far as to mention “thievery,” with tweets that look like they could have been written by a freshman in High School.
For those who aren’t aware, 1919 Hemphill, whose name is shared with the actual address of the building, is one of the country's longest running DIY venues, opening sometime in 2002. Almost a year ago to the date, the venue had to close its doors after alt-right 4-chan users had a spree of reporting DIY venues all across the country to their corresponding Fire Departments with fake city code violations. The /pol/ users did so under the assumption that most DIY venues were probably under some type of violation, whether big or small, and that could maybe somehow hobble the Democratic Party if they could get any of these places shut down. That’s when renewal of 1919’s Certificate of Occupancy came into play, and the City of Fort Worth, upon visiting the location, cited repairs to the building needed in order be able to renew the certificate and keep its doors open. The bills for the repairs starting piling up almost immediately after, and a fundraiser was made to help with the costs of the repairs.
The Indiegogo fundraiser, which states that it was started by Al Rios, was a massive success. The fundraiser helped raise more than $10,000 in less than a month, but was immediately struck with a dose of reality as quotes from contractors started to roll in. Rios, who had been a volunteer there for 15 years, then retired his involvement with the building and left the matter to the other volunteers, including Chris Cotter, a major player for the venue.
Bad Grammar got wind of the initial amount necessary to make the repairs to the building, and the venue was staring at an estimated 60 grand bill, according to anonymous sources. Immediately, Cotter got to work, applying for grants from the State of Texas, while using the fundraiser money to pay the rent and keep the place from being bought by another entity. This was made public by a post on 1919's facebook page August 8th, making the tweets from Iskander that much more cringe-worthy. Adding to the delays, the city's game of rules and regulation ping-pong it played with Cotter, made for an even longer timeframe for when the venue would have a real update. Bad Grammar also got wind of and exclusive tip you'll only hear here: that 1919 was approved for a *massive* grant from the State, shadowing the amount the fundraiser had contributed, here just in the last few months, all but sealing the deal that the venue will be able to continue running. At that point, it was up to the hands of Cotter to tie all the ends together, and it seems as if the ball is rolling in the right direction.
Today, another post was made on 1919's Facebook page stating that volunteers have cleared out most of the venue, and that the building will be ready to break ground soon. Arguments against how transparent Cotter has been in this whole process for the most part seem to be valid. But, false accusations regarding theft of the money by specific individuals, based on almost no information, is certainly out of line by Parade of Flesh. Keep checking this blog for more updates on this developing story. We're guessing it won't be too long before Parade of Flesh makes headlines with us again.
This isn’t the first time Iskander has publicly accused 1919 of stealing money. Back in October, on Twitter, he reached out to local publications Fort Worth Weekly and Central track, pressuring them to write an article on the matter, even going so far as to mention “thievery,” with tweets that look like they could have been written by a freshman in High School.
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