As some of you might know, I used to grace the presence of Studio A in Downtown as their leading lady (i.e office manager). After the April 14 shooting at the venue, general manager David Slifkin had no choice but to begin packing his bags and locking the doors for good. One month later rumors of what exactly is happening to the music venue are still circling the drain: Are they closing? When are they closing? What's going to happen to live music in the city of Miami?
Saturday, the answers called me, to once and for all clear the air. "Did you see a camera in the liquor closet the last time you were here?" Slifkin asks. "No," I replied. "And what's all this about you saying Ft. Lauderdale Clubs are nicer? I've always been nice."
We go on to discuss my earlier comment posted on Miami Nights and how hard he's been working these last few months to clear up the mess that faithful Sunday night brought upon the downtown community. It was hard enough trying to convince Slifkin's partners to keep Studio A open before the shooting, now it's barely worth the air. The club has changed drastically in the last month, what use to be a day-to-day struggle has become more of a routine, the club might be open but the soul has been long bleeding to death on the dance floor. For those of you who are nervously biting your nails wondering if your show will be canceled -- you can breath -- Studio A and David Slifkin have assured me and are allowing me to say on the record "No worries."
But the buck doesn't stop there.
Unfortunately, there will be no more live music at Studio A. What ever has been booked will stay booked, but that's it: no more, no less. Through all this Slifkin some how still has hope in that big heart of his that the DJ nights he has booked for the next month will give the venue that jolt of life it so desperately needs and possibly allow them to live a little longer (even if it is on life support). "If things go well this next month, I'd be more than happy to bring back live music." Slifkin states, in a hopeful tone, "It's a catch 22."
Of course there has to be a down side to every true underdog story. If the club does not pull itself out of the grave we're looking at the end of an era around mid-June. But I'm optimistic.
Usually I would tell you to hold off on the all black attire, but seeing that we're talking about Studio A, I guess the black is appropriate. So if you ever want to see your favorite local band on stage again you'll put on your Converse put down the Rock Band and head back out to your old spot, this isn't Cheers so no one here knows your name but they know who you are; your that kid that loves live music, and they love you for that.
If they're trying to make Space revenue from fringe crowds, they'll likely just have to close it up at Studio A and just lease out 2-3 smaller venues in the area. I'm guessing shit like liquor licenses and local ordinances make that difficult to do. Regardless, I'm satisfied with the Vagabond/White Room combo for now, but in three months it'll undoubtedly be different coupling of clubs because the nightlife industry is all about constant renewal and rebranding.
CarStar*
CarStar*
70% of our predictable weekly gross income was derived from that weekly sunday party. We needed to cease and desist the party after the shooting, you do the math.
At a certain point if your operating loss is approaching the some cost as simply shutting the doors and paying the mortgage on the building, then you seriously consider giving up. We are at that point without this party in the mix.
Not every week are we blessed with Mode Selektor, Girl Talk, MIA, LadyTron, etc - you need something to keep you alive during the slower weeks and months. That something needs to be a predictable and reliable weekly dj event. We no longer have one.
We are not running from liability. Insurance is a bitch, but it is surmountable. We just do not have a compelling capitalistic reason to carry on.
xo Miami
Easier said than done. PopLife is the only example of this with any longevity (albeit with some time gaps). Sweat's weeklies seem to have a strong chance at longevity as well.
There are two main reasons that I do not see a "a good solid indie/electro/whathaveyou party with a good resident DJs and amazing bookings. " party happening in Studio A's near future.
1 - we only have one room (let alone an outside area!). This is perfect for live music and big headline DJs, but for a weekly hangout, it has many disadvantages.
2 - Limited Human Resources capable of "amazing bookings". I am certainly not up to the task of programming a weekly talent roster to wow the masses. What PopLife and Sweat do is not easy and I give them mad respect. I do believe in my heart of hearts that if I had two rooms (back to point #1), I could have partnered up with either PopLife or Sweat at some point in our 2 1/2 years of operations and made them a nice home here - but that is purely conjecture.
As I said, easier said than done
however, I would be down to play at a weekly event at studio A if the circumstances were right.
Hey Matt:
What about the high ceilings make anything "tough". I am not challenging you, I just truly do not understand the comment.
Also, what would make the "circumstances right"? I would love to create a good set of circumstances.
hey girl, i'm not questioning that lol
just making that point. if people want to bitch about studio a closing, they shouldve been showing up to their shows and parties and paying for their drinks and tickets. sure i'll take a comp - but you don't see me pointing any fingers of blame. if there's anybody in the wrong here it's fickle and cheap miami crowds, myself included.
it's an amazing venue. probably my favorite before the vagabond opened up. i'm with matt about the high cielings being something of an issue. it's harder to create a vibe in a room where the space seems so expansive, it affects the sound, everything.
i think "circumstances" once again means money, which hey! we all need it. I'm all for the community but I can't be a part of it if i'm worried about also becoming a part of the homeless community. other "circumstances" would probably be the right kind of promoter, the right kind of music, the right night of the week. Creative freedom is really what most people are vying for.
I can't blame Studio A for being skeptical about taking risks, especially at this juncture. So many parties haven't panned out their in the past. All in all, it's rough trying to get people to come down to 11th street for anything other than house. Even Parkwest has been having slack crowds lately for their events that haven't involved house music DJs.
Though PW seems to do very very well with big name house acts, I would venture that PW hasn't brought enough non-house acts. They're kind of marketing to their existing mailing list by bringing people like Boris that, while good, don't challenge or grow the biz. For the sake of continuity of their business, they should be bringing challenging electro and other crossover acts and marketing the shit out of them. Then those customers will belong to PW for the next 12-18 months.
They have the cash to bring these kinds of boutique acts that can then build their reputation and help them attract a crowd that's less Kendall house and more Biscayne corridor eccentric. We've already seen house shrink significantly from just a few years ago (try to name a non-house club in '04; try to name an all-house club in '08), and this is just the beginning of the drop into the abyss for that genre.
It's easy for me to be an arm chair promoter, though. What are your thoughts?
or (i cringe as i think about it but i know it's a draw) dwntwn karaoke... i iknow iknow iknow but aren't we already clutching at straws to begin with?