Sometimes I Can't Get Into Studio No. 7
We've had a whirlwind few months at the space. (I'm clearly using this to excuse my disappearance. Please go with it.) There were quite a few conferences in town in April and May so we were slammed with corporate stuff. Then Prince passed away and we had a tribute party that 817 people came to. (Yes, that's ridiculous. Yes, I'm still recovering.) Then a few weeks ago Lalah Hathaway dj'd at the space. It was an amazing night and one of the few times that I was actually able to just hang out with a few friends.
I like that we're able to have a wide range of things. We can do a corporate event one night and have a really cool eclectic event another night and we've avoided the trap of falling into the nightclub category. (I detest the idea of being a nightclub. Please reference the parking story to understand the lengths I'll go through to avoid it.) The reality is that I'm just not built to be a nightclub owner. I realize it every time we have a late night event and I can't get in. Yes, you read that correctly. Sometimes I can't get in. The first time it happened it was incredibly awkward.
Scene: Late night event with a DJ. I get a call from a friend that is a frequent visitor to the space wondering what's happening. I let him know it's a really cool party and I'll come out to get him. (Who did I think I was?) I go outside to meet him. We're walking inside and the person at the door stops us and says something about a cover.
I politely say, "Oh no sir. It's okay, he's with me."
To which he replies, "Well, I don't know who you are, so you can't come in either."
Hmmm...awkward.
At this point I was really unsure of how to respond to this. I find it incredibly weird to yell," Oh, you don't know who I am?!? I own all of this. Get outta my way." Maybe I could have a cool alter ego to pull something like that off, but not normal me. I don't live my life like I'm in a Scorsese movie. Instead, I just had to wait for someone to come and get me.
So yeah, I can't do the nightclub thing. I like art and culture and serving as an outlet for creative people that might want to hang out with a crowd at night with like minded people and would feel just as comfortable coming back for their friend's wedding or a company mixer. It's a delicate balance that's why I'm super particular about everything that I allow to happen here.
In the two years that we've been open (crazy right?!?!), one of the things that people have constantly asked for is live music. I've had many people come by the space wanting to do a live music event weekly or monthly, but I just couldn't stand behind what they were doing. Finally, we've found the perfect fit. Every Wednesday from 7pm-10pm (yup, you can now make this your thing to do on Wednesdays), Milk and Sizz, a two-time Grammy award winning songwriter and producer duo (that was a mouthful) curate an event titled Soundboard.
It kinda reminds me of MTV Unplugged and I'm extremely proud of what they've created. We talked about it for weeks and it's been really great to see it come to life because it's everything that it was supposed to be and I can't wait to see what it will grow into. One day we'll have Andre 3000 perform. (This is just me putting it into the universe.)
There is a cover for this one and clearly I can't help you sidestep it. We'll both be outside the door looking silly. Plus, it supports the band and they completely deserve it. See you Wednesday?
I hope you guys have been doing great. Thanks to everyone that dropped in or emailed asking for another post. It's been a struggle working through this writer's block (fear) so thanks for being patient with me.