How has development in Atlanta affected your music?

“Even if it’s in a passive way, you have to accept change and absorb the sounds surrounding you. Industrial South Atlanta has an eerie and forgotten, but somehow loud as shit ambience which is waayyy different from the cute and chill Reynoldstown/East Atlanta vibes I lived in comfortably a few years ago. I live in a cheap forgotten neighborhood now but where I lived before used to be a cheap forgotten place, too. I’m a musician, we’ve always been on the move.” — Adam Babar, Suffer Dragon, Easily Suede, Faun and a Pan Flute

“As I’m sure anyone in the Atlanta music scene already knows, the spot where the majority of bands practiced is being bulldozed and turned into more condos. I’ve been through the same shuffle before. I know it will work out. We’re in the middle of writing our next record and we have a pretty big support tour in the fall, so we’re not going to let anything slow us down. It’s a bummer for sure. Every city worth a damn has to go through it. Artists turn a formerly sketchy neighborhood into something rad, and then it gets taken from them. It’s not a new story. But it still sucks.” — Christian Lembach, Whores

“Art and music in Atlanta have always been underfunded. There are enough musicians in the city that are passionate about developing music life here so great things happen, but it isn’t easy. Some amazing new venues have opened, but mostly in unsafe parts of town, leading to violence and controversy. This has impacted the subject matter of my art, ultimately making me an advocate for change. Nevertheless, all types of development affect our music culturally: It helps integrate different types of people, social classes, and different networks. That development may force people to become more open-minded. I’ve noticed a fusion of musical tastes and genres happening across the city. It has made my audience more diverse. I have always felt like a pretty ambiguous artist. Being part of a diverse culture has definitely influenced my music for the better.” — Michika Skyy McClinton, Tantrum

“Development in Atlanta is what it is, it’s got nothing to do with musicians, and there’s practically nothing that can or will (or should?) be done about it. But to say development in Atlanta is making audiences ‘more diverse’ is either pitifully naive, or pandering to not sound like an asshole. I’ll be the asshole: No one is moving here for the music. I’ve seen an increase in noise complaints, complaints about cover charges, rising rent, and a decrease in decade-old practice facilities that meet the basic needs of hundreds of musicians, but not an increase in concert attendance.” — Andrew Wiggins, HAWKS, Wymyns Prysyn

“Developmental fluctuations keep music making avenues in my realm dynamic. My first practice space here was at the Goat Farm, which has since become an interdisciplinary venue/studio space that still lets goats hang. That’s a nice example of respectfully abiding a pre-existing environment rather than blindly razing old for new. Some friends have been clobbered by big-bucks cardboard villas and seen their zones upended (Yellow House, Thunderbox), but they’re resilient and always go on to build up the next spot (Downhouse). Atlanta unfolds into microcosms and functions as an outward port of many springboards. I get weirded out by tendencies toward growth for the sake of growth, but I’m happy to see a variety of non-traditional venues and resources for no-stakes exploration come up amid less mindful additions to the city.” — Valentina Tapia, Shantih Shantih

“I am mostly affected by the lack of development. As Atlanta changes, most of the development caters to the privileged, as opposed to those who actually benefit from urban living. As multi-thousand dollar lofts and markets geared toward ‘cultured’ professionals pop up in the Old 4th Ward, the development of our public transit system is stunted. The streetcar serves tourists, but doesn’t cover an effective radius to help residential areas. It’s great that more people want to live in our city, but there’s no denying the term ‘up and coming’ has disturbing undertones since it usually means one socioeconomic group is being pushed away from an area where they once lived and thrived.” — T. Lee Gunselman, Breathers

“After moving to Atlanta from Seoul, one of the first local bands I saw live was the Licentious Five at Lenny’s on Memorial Drive. When I think of this city and its music, I think of long-gone places like Lenny’s that introduced me to the Atlanta music scene. There are many ways to enter a city; I was fortunate to enter Atlanta through music. We have developed a buyer’s — commercially collective — gaze; we seek after one song and build a landscape around a customized set list as if the songs are pieces of a personal and historical narrative. Yet, technology and development also allow more varied music to become available globally, so the possibility exists that the scope of music will become more commercially and culturally multileveled.” — Yoon Nam, DJ

“Luckily I didn’t have a space in the Thunderbox, but where I practice is close to there and will probably suffer the same fate after not too long. We’ve already had our once sweet view of the Atlanta skyline obscured by what we call ‘Choate Mountain,’ a 10-story high-rise condo development that surrounds the space. It’s becoming very claustrophobic there. I imagine we’ll have to move further out once the condos stomp out all of the remaining eyesores. However, change is what keeps art interesting.” — Mason Brown, Boating, Brainworlds, Color-Tone Drone

“The development of music in Atlanta has made me want to go further and further away from what someone would identify with said development. I think many of my peers feel the same way, which makes me feel like an even newer ‘development’ could be on the horizon.” — D.T., the Difference Machine

“Having grown up inside the Perimeter, I’ve watched the music and arts scene progress extremely rapidly over the last five years. I’ve found that Atlanta has become a more welcoming host to creatively inclined people than ever before, and as a result it’s much easier to build an audience of friends and strangers alike than it used to be. I’ve never run out of talented peers to play with, and with the influx of musicians moving here from other cities, I don’t think I ever will.” — Maddy Davis, Fantasy Guys, the Lightning Orchestra

“The development on my mind, with the recent closing of Thunderbox, is the immoderation of new construction in the city. Growth is good and fundamental; change can keep you from becoming stagnant. My frustration grows, however, as much of the current development ignores the culture and communities that helped make such development possible. If we’re tearing down those communities that built the value of a neighborhood are we just being ignorant, irresponsible, or greedy? Atlanta is on the verge of greatness but everything is connected. The cultural and arts movement started the Renaissance, Atlanta is primed for its own renaissance. As we fine-tune our city’s culture now for decades to come I hope we can be an example of how to develop correctly and honor the diversity that has brought us to this moment.” — Luciano Giarrano, the Cottage

“Development can be a bad thing, a good thing, and not even a thing at all. On the bad side, renting a house is more expensive than it was seven years ago when I moved here, which means more work and less playing music. On the good side, there are more places to work and play music as well as a growing number of new people to play with. The best part is, none of these things cross my mind when I’m playing music.” — Chris Yonker, Hello Ocho, co-owner of the Mammal Gallery