down to the venues. “I don’t have the talents of actually being a musician,” Young says, “but I do have a good ear for music, thanks to my family background.” In 2012, when she was emcee-ing one of her first Deep Ellum Arts Festivals, she con- nected with Deep Ellum Radio founders Kim Keebler and Chad Lovell. Young would later take her independent online radio show called Hungover With V to the platform, in which she would show- case local artists, play their music and inter- view them, allowing the community to get to know them. In 2021, the show was rebranded as The Veronica Young Show, with the mission to keep music and art alive in a rapidly chang- ing Deep Ellum. As live music is quickly re- turning, Young hopes to lead a future in which artists are compensated properly. “The music is what makes Deep Ellum,” Young says. “The art is what makes Deep El- lum. The food, the artistic expression is what makes Deep Ellum. But I think for the music scene, and for local musicians, is it’s time for them to feel our support, to feel like part of the community. I think that the pay should be bet- ter. We have these venues that are filling up on weekends now. I think we need to be imple- menting maybe something for singer-song- writers, like, ‘Hey, you know, inflation’s here, we went through the pandemic, we realized how much we hated not being able to go live shows.’ I think right now, there’s a turning point for the musicians to develop and the venues that support them. Maybe we can set some sort of precedent to make them the top- paid musicians locally or in the industry, as far as when it comes to unsigned artists.” In Deep Ellum, gentrification is a hot OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 4434 Harry Hines (near Market Center) Near Medical/Design District 214-521-0992 • OriginalMarketDiner.com topic, as several hotels, offices, modernized bars and restaurants have begun setting up shop in the neighborhood. As the neighbor- hood continues to grow, Young hopes new businesses and Deep Ellum regulars can work together to coexist. She believes these parties can create and seize opportunities to collaborate in one way or another. “I do feel that businesses and the things that are moving into Deep Ellum are doing it because there’s something about Deep El- lum,” Young says. “I love saying ‘I live in Deep Ellum’ It’s so cool. It has such a history behind it. I think if we can preserve the his- tory, while also embracing some of the new things, it’s won’t be so bad.” As Deep Ellum Radio’s new station man- ENTER TO WIN TWO TICKETS! DALLASOBSERVER.COM/FREE/ FIVEFINGERDEATHPUNCH ager, Young plans to continue to put in work and effort to integrate artists into local ven- ues and clubs that actively promote artists. She wants to provide a platform in which lo- cal acts won’t have to cut through red tape in order to build a local following. Eventually, Young would love to open a studio where artists can come play a mini set after a show. Ideally, she and her team would record their performance, keep it in rotation and continue to promote them on the radio. “Musicians don’t have to offer us any- thing at all, except for a good original track,” Young says. “The big vision is to just expand Deel Ellum Radio’s reach. That’s going to be my big push — to just get it out there and let everybody know, ‘Hey, we’re here, we’re not going anywhere.’ We’ve been around for a long time, and it’s time to move on to the next wave of Deep Ellum Radio.” SBA Preferred Lender l bankofhope.com Bank of Hope EZ Loan • Business Purchase Fund Amount Up to $350,000 • Business Operation Fund Amount Up to $250,000 • Loan Terms Up to 10 years For more information on our EZ Loan product, please visit your nearest branch. Dallas 2237 Royal Lane, Dallas, TX 75229 Tel: 972 919 9999 Manager: Christi Hong 972 919 9901 Fort Worth 7553 Boulevard 26, N. Richland Hills, TX 76180 Tel: 817 514 4600 Manager: Miki Lee 817 514 4625 17 dallasobserver.com CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | CULTURE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS DALLAS OBSERVER MAY 12–18, 2022
