Michael Dubin has been a patron of the arts for nearly thirty years now — a patron in its purest form. Above all, Dubin wants to support the musicians he admires, share memories with those in which he cares, and above all, preserve priceless memories and moments in the scene.
Dubin’s love of live music began during high school when he attended his first DIY show. During school, he was considered a “weirdo” for his interests, which included music, skating, and BMX; the latter of which helped to spur his fascination and passion for documenting moments in time. Some of the other misfits (namely Ben VanDyke of Silent Majority and Ariel Telford of Glassjaw) decided to start a band, and Dubin decided to support them by attending a show of theirs. Little did he know, all hell would break loose at this concert when some of the jocks from his high school showed up and started a fight with the members of VOD after not understanding mosh culture. Once the fight eventually broke up, everything was destroyed. “But for some reason, it made sense for VOD to get on stage to perform a single song after this,” Dubin remembers with a laugh.
From there, he was hooked, likening the performance to Pantera, a favorite band of his. The rest is history as he would then spend every weekend after going to a show. He truly came of age during the birth of the Long Island hardcore scene.
To fill an elective credit during his freshman year of college, Dubin enrolled in a photography class and turned in some photos he took during a show to his professor, who urged him to minor in photography.
Around the same time, he began shooting more and more of his friends’ shows, which is who he credits for his success. Within the same vein, in the late 90’s, he and Neil Rubenstein began an independent record label called Fadeaway Records. Most notably, Fadeaway put out early material from Movielife and unreleased material from glassjaw. Unfortunately, the label only operated for a few years before being forced to close due to increased distribution costs.
In 2013, Fadeaway Records rose again — this time as a not-for-profit organization — to release Friends, a compilation of new and unreleased songs. The compilation features over 35 songs from artists such as Frank Iero, Matt Pryor, Walter Schreifels, Head Automatica, Judy Chong, Motion City Soundtrack, and many more. The 3XLP raised over $30,000 in support of pancreatic cancer research — how Dubin’s father died. The compilation is indicative of the impact Dubin has had in the scene through his patronage of the arts. For Dubin, music is about friendship and shared memories, and this compilation drives home this fact. Fadeaway Records also recently released a tribute to the late and great Elliot Smith titled Between the Bars, benefitting a suicide prevention charity.
Recently, Dubin could be seen on tour with bands like L.S. Dunes, Scowl, I Am the Avalanche, Bayside, and Koyo. The latter of which he believes is on the precipice of blowing up. In fact, he said that he can’t wait for fans to hear the new Koyo album, confidently saying that it’s going to be one of the best releases of 2023. When it comes to championing specific artists, he says, “I have no stake in it, other than watching a band I like blow up.”
Coming out of the pandemic, Dubin had an insatiable need for live music — much like everyone who missed the thrill and camaraderie of live shows. Last year, he photographed over one hundred shows, taking to Instagram for help in counting this massive feat.
When asked about the prospect of creating a photography book, Dubin says it’s on his to-do list. Though hesitant about the idea at first, many of his friends — many of whom have been his subjects — have urged him to do so. Dubin says he’s in the right place right now to start getting things together.
While most photographers scoff at phone photography, Dubin realizes the power and accessibility a phone camera can have. For the past couple of years, he’s had an idea to create a photo book strictly from his iPhone photos. Occasionally, Dubin will post a concert photo to his Instagram with the tag #dubiniphonepics. “I would go hang out with my friends who were on tour, and they would just randomly give me a photo pass, so I’d take my iPhone down into the photo pit.” Ten years and over five-hundred photos later, it’s safe to say he has his pick of photos to choose from to include.
Dubin is also a contributor to Amy Fleisher Madden’s — founder of Fiddler Records — upcoming hardcover release Negatives: A Photographic Archive of Emo (1996-2006). Scheduled to release October 24, Dubin’s photos can be seen in the section that chronicles the east coast, accompanying essays from Geoff Rickly and many others. Negatives appears to be a love letter to the scene, preserving the beginnings of a genre that has gone on to influence not just some of the biggest artists today, but also the emos who have reclaimed the once negative term, fashioning it to describe their lives.
Only one thing rivals Dubin’s passion for live music: the love he has for his daughter, Olivia. The two regularly go to shows together, each introducing new bands to the other. Dubin boasts with a smile that there’s not a day that goes by that he and his daughter don’t talk. It’s clear to see that he is bursting with pride at the person his daughter has become.
Michael Dubin is one-of-a-kind. As for plans for the future, his work will be featured in a gallery this fall, with more information to come.
