The Trunk Space is an all-ages music venue in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the o ...

, United States. It is located at 1124 N 3rd Street.

Background

Originally a coffee cart called ''The Paper Cup'' in the now defunct Paper Heart Gallery, in its original location on Van Buren Rd., co-owners JRC and Stephanie Carrico split from the Paper Heart Gallery to form The Trunk Space. The Trunk Space is an art gallery,

coffee bar A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

, and

performance space Performance Space is an arts organisation based in Sydney, Australia, that develops and presents interdisciplinary arts and experimental theatre. It was established in 1983 in a venue in Cleveland St, Redfern with Christopher Allen as its mana ...

. There are gallery shows twice a month, for Phoenix's First Friday and Third Friday art walks, with randomly occurring private events. The

features a full-service

espresso machine An espresso machine brews coffee by forcing pressurized water near boiling point through a "puck" of ground coffee and a filter in order to produce a thick, concentrated coffee called espresso. The first machine for making espresso was built i ...

which uses Xanadu coffee beans. The performance space is used for

improv Improv may refer to: *Improvisation, an act of spontaneous invention ** Improvisational theatre (includes improvisational comedy) **Musical improvisation Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of i ...

comedy, MST3K-styled movie showings and most notably, musical performances. Performers vary in genre, amounts of experimentation and experience levels. Presently, the featured mural on the brick wall which hosts the front entrance of The Trunk Space was painted by Luster Kaboom.

Music

The Trunk Space is a notable venue for touring acts that are on the rise. Some notable acts that have come through include;

Matt and Kim Matt and Kim (sometimes stylized MATT and KIM) are an American indie electronic duo from Brooklyn, New York City. The group formed in 2004 and consist of Matt Johnson (vocals/keyboards) and Kim Schifino (drums). The duo is known for its upbeat ...

Nobunny Nobunny was the stage persona of musician Justin Champlin, performing under the moniker since 2001. His debut LP, '' Love Visions'', was home recorded and released in 2008 on Bubbledumb Records to positive reviews. It was re-released with 1-2-3- ...

Japanther Japanther was an American punk band established by Matt Reilly and Ian Vanek, then students at Pratt Institute. Japanther was featured in the 2006 Whitney Biennial and the 2011 Venice Biennale, and collaborated with a diverse pool of artists su ...

, Mark Sultan (of The King Khan and BBQ Show fame),

Julian Koster Julian Koster (born July 26, 1972) is an American multidisciplinary artist. As a musician he is a member of the Elephant 6 Collective, the leader of The Music Tapes, and a member of Neutral Milk Hotel. He is known for writing, directing, and a ...

Kimya Dawson Kimya Dawson (born November 17, 1972) is an American folk singer-songwriter, one half of the anti-folk duo the Moldy Peaches. Dawson's work with the Moldy Peaches earned them a cult following and critical acclaim, with their 2001 song " Anyone El ...

Quintron Quintron (real name Robert Rolston; born c. 1967 in Germany) is an American musician and leader of the eponymous one-man-band, "Quintron". He is a nightclub organist and inventor, who has patented a number of his own inventions and often perfor ...

and Lightning Bolt. Some notable acts have gotten their starts and have come to prominence through frequent playing at the venue, including opening for some of the bigger, touring acts.

Andrew Jackson Jihad AJJ is an American folk punk band from Phoenix, Arizona, originally formed in 2004 as Andrew Jackson Jihad. Their lyrics handle themes of shyness, poverty, humanity, religion, addiction, existentialism, and politics. Singer/guitarist Sean Bonnet ...

, Michelle Blades, and

TreasurE MammaL Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions ...

are a few notable bands that fall under that category.

Performance Art

On top of monthly Improv and a Late-Night Talk Show, there are performance arts pieces of varying types, such as roasts of those living and deceased.

Community

Through its years of being open, The Trunk Space has a developed a very close and personal group of volunteers and regulars, whom consider the venue and its involved members to be family. These regulars can be found helping run the door, running the espresso machine, setting up bands and running the sound board. Sean Bonnette of

got a tattoo of The Trunk Space's street numbers, backwards, after noting them from frequently while performing on the stage, where the street numbers can be seen reversed above the door facing Grand Avenue. Since he has gotten the tattoo, numerous other family members have received the tattoo, including Carrico and JRC. At last count, at least a dozen presently have the tattoo. In April 2014, the community celebrated The Trunk Space's 10th anniversary with a multiple-day concert festival, ''Indie 500'', which featured dozens of bands, performing over the course of 10 days, with some 500 songs played in total.

References

External links