Jimmy  Darts

SB Mowing

Pattie Gonia

Little Miss Flint

Kalina Silverman / @makebigtalk on Instagram

The Dogist

Samuel Weidenhofer

Patriotic Kenny Foundation

Peter Bond

That Good News Girl

Ben Saunders - Flawless Cleaning

Flavor Flav

Ask Uncle Jack

Amy Jandrisevits

FowlMouthFarmer

Tess Bohne

Latonja and Taylor Richardson

Officer Richard Craig

John Wolfe

Khloe

<div><strong>HEAVY LEMON &amp; CROSSTHREAD PRESENT:</strong>
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<div>It might seem like a weird time to open a venue. Touring is harder than ever for artists, and independent venues are constantly on the verge of closing.
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<div>Despite, or maybe because of that, the DIY music scene is thriving in San Jose. In Jade Cathay Chinese Restaurant on a Friday night, it’s not uncommon to find 200 people rocking out to a band that has less monthly listeners than there are people in the room.
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<div>Heavy Lemon San Jose started in 2021 as a group of friends throwing shows in a practice space, and gradually grew into a vibrant community, hosting 3-4 "pop-up" shows a month at local businesses. As much as we love dragging a PA around town (and we plan to continue to do pop-up shows!) it is time for a more permanent home that will enable us to diversify our programming and be able to say "yes" to more great independent touring bands.
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<div>Heavy Lemon is teaming up with Crossthread, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering safe spaces for all ages through community outreach and education, to open <strong>a new all-ages venue in San Jose</strong>.
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<div>Together, Heavy Lemon and Crossthread plan to <strong>reopen the historic Black Cat Licorice Theater in downtown San Jose</strong> (next to Black and Brown Vintage Clothing) as an all-ages venue and community events space. Having a permanent brick-and-mortar home will enable both organizations to serve the community through more shows and festivals, workshops and classes, and recording and media production services for bands.
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<div><strong>Our mission:</strong>
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<li>A “third space.” Provide an inclusive, all-ages gathering place where people feel comfortable expressing themselves.
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<li>A place to start. Curate inspiring shows, based on music not metrics.
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<li>A place to tour. Support DIY-oriented touring bands, connecting grassroots communities across the West Coast and making touring financially viable for small acts.
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<li>A place to learn. Pass on the legacy of how to book shows, how to make them sound good, and the importance of gathering people.
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<li>Put San Jose on the map. Set up the optimal conditions for a volatile culture bomb to explode in San Jose. You know, in a good way.
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<div><strong>Events we will be able to host in the space:</strong>
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<li>Shows shows shows! Big shows, small shows, festivals, touring bands, local bands, you name it
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<li>Sound workshops - training the next generation of sound engineers
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<li>Recording workshops - teaching artists to record themselves at home
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<li>Festivals - events like New Band New Year and Heavy Lemon Fest
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<li>Media production - production for our web series "Heavy Lemonade"
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<li>Music recording and video - a studio space for music production
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A new all-ages venue and community space in San Jose

<div>From Shawn &amp; Maddy:
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<div>Language is typically my strong suit, but it’s hard to find the words lately. To start with the facts: While we were visiting family on Sunday, October 18, 2026, a fire destroyed our home. Fire crews responded quickly, and no one was injured, but we suffered extensive damage to our apartment resulting in it being uninhabitable.
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<div>It’s difficult to quantify loss, of any kind, but there’s a unique challenge in sifting through depths of ash, insulation, and charred rafters, and ascertaining what it is that you emerged with. For us, we were lucky to recover some precious family photos, jewelry, books, and clothing, but by and large we lost most that we’d purchased with hard-to-come-by disposable income over the last several years of our lives.
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<div>Like many people trying to make ends meet, we had made the difficult decision to cut certain expenses, including renters insurance. Without that coverage, we’re now facing the full financial responsibility of rebuilding.
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<div>We are so grateful for the immediate support we received from close friends, colleagues and family members, who helped us relocate in the immediate aftermath, recover items from the ravaged apartment, feed and clothe ourselves, and heal emotionally.
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<div>But we are now facing a heavy financial burden in replacing the items necessary for us to continue living, doing the work we love, and contributing to the communities that we cherish in the Pittsburgh music, events, cycling, and physical rehabilitation spaces we are a part of. And we are asking for help as we get back on our feet.
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<div>Our ask amount is roughly half of our loss estimation, with priority given to bedding, furniture, cookware, and other essentials of daily living.
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<div>At times in this process, we have realized that much of the depth and impact of a loss of this nature stems not from the past or the things you owned, but from the future you were planning. The one that was almost just in reach, if just a few things went your way.
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<div>We are so appreciative of the support we’ve received thus far, material, emotional, edible, et cetera. We’ve been thoughtful about requests for help as we worked to calculate the loss and done our best to understand and accept it as well. Now we ask for whatever you can offer to help us recover from this misfortune. If you’re able to contribute, we are grateful. If you’re not, sharing this fundraiser or simply keeping us in your thoughts means just as much.
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Helping Maddy & Shawn Rebuild After Their House Fire

Todd Derr

Todd Derr

Todd Derr

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