Strange Matter

Welcome to Strange Matter! Richmond, Virginia’s home for the best in underground music, art, and culture, VEGAN FRIENDLY/CARNIVORE APPROVED eats, and the city’s best classic arcade. Follow the links above or below to browse our menu or calendar of events, learn more about the space or the city, find tickets to our upcoming shows and more.
“Southern Americana Rock” band, BIG MAMA SHAKES, wants nothing more than to push the envelope. Formed in Williamsburg, VA, in the summer of 2013, they show their original style and bring back an old sound in a way all ages can enjoy. After crafting their sound, into what they knew was the right direction, they made the move to Richmond, VA to access the diverse scene. The scene responded well and gave the band the platform they needed to move forward. With influences such as Kings of Leon, The Black Keys, and Bruce Springsteen, in May 2015, they presented their debut album “As She Does”. Following the release of the album, they played along side huge names including: Dirty Heads, Passion Pit, Incubus, Nathaniel Rateliff, and more. They announced an east coast tour, then, continued to play multiple festivals for the duration of the summer. Their critically acclaimed EP, “If I Try”, was released in April of 2016 and is now available on all major platforms. Between stepping into the studio to work on brand new music and consistently touring, the group stays busy. Brady Heck (Lead Vocals / Guitar), Gabriel Taylor (Vocals / Guitar), Peter Cason (Vocals / Bass), Bryce Doyle (Vocals / Keyboard), and Chandler Matkins (Vocals / Drums) make up Big Mama Shakes. They’ll be joined on their annual CINCO DE MAMA with DC’s 8 person funk orchestra AZTEC SUN and RVA’s own MCKINLEY DIXON & FRENDS!!
T-SHIRT DESIGN CONTEST!
OMG! I’M SO EXCITED!
Anyone can enter! Even you! Yeah, you know who I’m talking about!
BASIC RULES: Single color design to print on T-shirts (and possibly beyond the stars). Strange Matter must be included somewhere in the design. All designs must be submitted by Monday, April 24, 2017. E-mail your design entry, name and contact info, next of kin, hat size, shoe size & ring size to [email protected]. Once your entry has been submitted, you will await judgement by the Strange Matter staff.
GRAND PRIZEWINNER GETS: $40 GIFT CARD, 2 SHIRTS IN SIZES OF YOUR CHOOSING, AND ENTRY TO 3 UPCOMING SHOWS (of your choosing, within a 6 mo. period)
ONCE YOU TOUCH STRANGE MATTER, YOU BECOME STRANGE MATTER.
Earthling mingles a dark sensibility, which seems equally drawn from Motorhead-ish metalcrust and true kvlt black metal legends like Darkthrone, with some incredible thrash power that comes straight from prime-era Slayer and Metallica. And ohhhhh what a combo it is. Get ready to bang your head and wave devil-horn gestures at the stage as Earthling’s Praveen Chhetri and Alan Fary rip off some ridiculously blazing solos. And you can expect some equally mind-blowing metal power from openers Vorator and Hoboknife. I can’t really tell you anything about Loud Night, but the name sure is promising. So hey, fuck the fireworks shows–get all the pyrotechnics you need from a stage full of blazing metal glory at Strange Matter this Tuesday night.
Many thanks to our pal Armistead Spottswoode over at WCVE’s Midnight Frights for producing this cool little spot extolling our many virtues. All you dingleberries on iPhones (or any dingleberries who can’t see the embedded video) should click here.