The fight for a sustainable all age’s music venue has become an ongoing battle for promoters and young concert goers in our city.
Since the closure of the Multi 2003 and Carpenters Union Hall in 2004 promoters have been forced out of numerous community halls and make shift venues due to community noise complaints, irresponsible promoters and a general misunderstanding of all age events.
This fall after the closure of all age’s venue, The New Black, local musician Mike Wallace decided it was time to do things right, and open an official not for profit, all ages venue that wouldn’t be shut down.
With the help of local promoters, artists and volunteers, the former Comercial Radio and Sound building has been transformed into Calgary’s newest all age venue, Comrad Sound.
“We hope having this space gives young artists the push to get out and make music or just come out and watch other musicians,” said Vanessa Gloux, promoter for Comrad Sound.
Comrad Sound became active almost immediately after the space located at 1511 14th street SW was leased out by Wallace in November. However the space will not be officially open until March 2010, hopefully after receiving an official business licence.
With the help of dedicated volunteers, Comrad Sound has undergone minor renovations in order to bring the space up to code before its grand opening.Gloux says the group hopes to make Comrad Sound a safe venue for music, as well as a centre for learning.
“We’re trying to be licensed as an actual learning centre,” said Gloux. “We’ll try to base most of our events around some form of learning.”
Comrad Sound has already hosted crocheting lessons as well as a successful guitar workshop in which anyone could attend by donation and learn how to maintenance their own guitar. The venue will host music work shops every other Monday night, catering to those who wish to jam or learn about recording music.
This summer Comrad Sound will hold bike repair lessons and various other sustainable workshops for urban teenagers and adults.
The innovative new venue holds a movie and craft night every other week in which a film is paired with a related art project. The most recent evening featured Woody Allen’s, Husbands and Wives while a room full of people ranging from their late teens to mid twenties created paintings of the director which were later hung on the walls of the venue.
Comrad Sound plans to make a connection with surrounding community in order to prevent confusion about the venue as well as sound complaints due to evening concerts.
“We want to get tight with the community so that they understand who we are,” said Gloux. “We’d like to send out a flyer to every one in the area inviting them to check out the space and to be apart of it.”
Gloux explains that Comrad Sound hopes that by giving teens a space they can appreciate, they will take ownership over it, making a team effort to protect the venue.
“If they like the space they’re not going to abuse it,” said Gloux. “We’re really trying to set an example for the younger people that come out.”
Sloth Records Manager/ former Just a Bunch of Kids promoter, Kevin Boyer says he’s excited about the new venue catering to teenagers.
“I don’t even want to think about the kind of person I’d be if I hadn’t gotten involved with the all age community,” said Boyer. “The Calgary punk scene gave me a sense of community and awareness that I never would have had other wise.”
Boyer, who began promoting concerts at the age of 16, believes all age concerts kept him out of trouble as a teen, by providing him an exciting form of entertainment in which he felt involved.
“Punk rock and hard core is a productive outlet for kids to let out their anger and angst,” said Boyer. “It’s important to give kids something to do other than drinking and f***ing s*** up.”
Comrad Sound which currently consists of approximately fifteen individuals, welcomes everyone and any one with the time and energy to become apart of planning for the group which meets every other Monday evening.
