Today we’d like to introduce you to Dominic Felice
Hi Dominic, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I got into punk, metal and hardcore all while I was in college at Bowling Green State University (I majored in Film Production and minored in Marketing). It was during COVID of 2020 I first really started getting into these genre’s of music and expanding on what I listen to. At first these genres were just something to bang my head to, but as the lockdown continued and I learned more about the world around me as I grew older and more aware, the themes and raw emotions of these genres appealed to me more. I would drive out to Detroit and Toledo for some shows while at college, but it wasn’t until I returned home from college that I started going to Cleveland shows in 2022 that I really felt apart of a community. Cleveland’s local scene was vastly larger than anything I had prior knowledge of. There were always shows happening, new bands appearing, and people booking wild shows. Basement shows, punk bars, DIY spaces, Cleveland had it all. There was just so much happening, and to my knowledge no one was really documenting it (I would later come to find that this was very wrong). At the time, I was working at a dry cleaner and not really putting my major to use, so I decided I’d start documenting the scene. I started by just showing up to shows with a camera and taking photos. While taking photos was fun, I went to college for film, and wanted to make films. So I decided to ditch the photography angle and just do straight video of the shows. Luckily, Ripper Fest, Cleveland’s biggest punk fest that I know of, was right around the corner when I made this decision. I started getting clips and shooting full sets of bands. At first, I was really just going to use the footage for my documentary and not release it, but some band members reached out to me after I posted some compilation reels of the fest if I would release the full sets, and thus CLEVO_STYLE was born. Since then, I started to film more and more band sets and make more and more friends of very great and talented people. In hindsight, starting to post full band sets was incredibly helpful, as it virtually spread the word of me documenting the scene, so when I would eventually reach out to people for interviews for the documentary film I plan on releasing, they already had an idea of who I was, they’ve seen me around at shows before, and knew I was passionate and willing to put in the work. As for where the project is now, the scale of the documentary has grown larger than I ever could have imagine. I have well over 400 full sets of various bands at various venues spanning several genres on my YouTube channel, I have probably over 20 hours of interview footage as of right now, and I still plan on collecting more. Ripper Fest 2024 is coming up at the end of February, and I plan on filming all 72 bands that are booked to play over the four days of the fest. After that I am going to be taking a break from filming, as I have been filming every show I could make for the past year now, and the fatigue is starting to catch up to me. If things go well, I have a planned release for the documentary in spring of 2026, and I don’t think I will ever stop filming bands live sets completely, but I do think my pace will slow down.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Genuinely, it kind of has been fairly smooth for me. I really haven’t faced any type of pushback, although, in terms of the documentary project, I feel I am still in the beginning stages and the hardest parts of putting it together have yet to come. If anything, the more shows I film and the more people I interview, the more weight I feel this project carries, and the more pressure I feel to put out the best art possible. I really do not want to disappoint the people who took out time of their day to help me with my project, showcasing a community and scene that people care deeply about. I’ve heard some older people in the scene talk about doing interviews in the past, only for their words to misconstrued and pulled out of context to make them look bad. This is the last thing I would ever want to do, and these people put their trust in me that I won’t do that. I don’t want people to watch my documentary and pull the wrong idea’s of how the Cleveland scene used to be, I want them to have the resources to learn about a time of the Cleveland scene that they weren’t around for.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Currently, I am known for filming local Cleveland punk/metal/hardcore live shows, so by default many people will know for my camera work, and pick me out in the crowd cause I’m usually one of few people with a camera at a crazy show with lots of moshing. However, I really enjoy editing, and hopefully when the documentary comes out, people may be able to recognize me as a decent editor as well. I feel like once completed, this documentary will be what I am most proud of in terms of work, however I am generally more proud of just how happy I make bands and the people who attend the shows. They always thank me for what I do and say they enjoy watching my videos, and making someones life a bit better is something I wasn’t really expecting from this project but more than happy to do. There are other people who do document the Cleveland scene, shout out Hell is Ohio and Ohio Hardcore YouTube channels, they both do incredible work in their own right, and I actually prefer both their content to mine. However, what sets me apart from them, in my opinion at least, is my consistency. Within the last year, I mentioned filming well over 400 bands live sets. I do plan on taking a break at the end of February, because the pace I am filming shows at right now is kinda impossible to keep with other aspects of my life ramping up.
What makes you happy?
Currently, art makes me really happy. Despite going to college for Film, I’d argue I am surrounded by more art now in my day to day life more so than ever before. My views on art, what I enjoy and what I like, have changed significantly over the years, and I am sure they will continue to do so. But, what makes art good to me right now is art that makes me want to go do something. Art that motivates me to try a new sport, motivates me to improve my health, or hell- just motivates me to throw my body around -and there are plenty of Cleveland musicians that make me want to do that. I’ve come to love trying new things and branching out of my comfort zone, I love doing something more than doing nothing, and art that expands my views and motivates me to take action in anyway makes me extremely happy.
Contact Info:
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CLEVO_STYLE
