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Home > Austin Music Source > Archives > 2009 > June > 15 > Entry
Room 710 is (probably) dead, long live ….. something else, maybe
Tammy Perez FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN
- Photos: Clubs on Red River Street
Although it looks like Room 710 owner Asher Garber will seek bankruptcy protection for the Red River Street club/business entity on or before Aug. 2, he still wants to stay in the club business in the same location.
“It takes about $35,000 a month to break even and the last few months have come in at around $25,000,” Garber said Friday about the club. “South by Southwest can only cover so much.”
But Garber says he’s talking with outside investors to reboot the 710 Red River St. location.
“I’m excited about a new beginning in the same building,” Garber says. “It’s not going to be live music-centric in that we won’t have live music Monday through Thursday, but I hope to be able to compete for more road acts.”
Garber intends to keep the stage and to make some sort of smoking court by pulling the outside wall in, a la Bull McCabes. (Garber has frequently said that the smoking ban contributed to Room 710’s demise. Not only did club co-founders/bookers Woody and Adriana Weideman leave 710 after the smoking ban started in September 2005, but unlike Beerland, Beauty Bar, Emo’s, Mohawk and many more, 710 didn’t have a space where you could smoke and drink at the same time.)
The reboot likely will keep the new room viable as a venue for SXSW.
“But it’s no longer going to be a practice field for new bands,” Garber said. “That’s the big change.” If things go well, Garber says the new venue would be open six to eight weeks after Room 710 closes.
Which raises on oft-debated question in Austin: Are there too many clubs?
Momo’s owner Paul Oviesi says no. “I think there’s room for everyone,” he said Friday.
There will be fewer on Red River Street. Spiros is closed, Emo’s Lounge is no more, and Room 710 will likely vanish, at least for a while. Whether Room 710 regulars — both patrons and bands — migrate to, say, Red Eyed Fly, Headhunters and Beerland remains to be seen.
For his part, Beerland owner Randall Stockton thinks the club scene has too many players. “Yes, it is oversaturated,” Stockton says. “Especially when you add in non-Sixth-and-Red-River venues and factor in increasingly limited parking downtown.”
And he feels the pinch of Transmission Entertainment (Mohawk, Red 7, Club DeVille) and C3 Presents (Emo’s, Stubb’s), who book many of the touring bands who come through Austin. “Those two groups do an amazing job, but when there are three amazing road shows on any given night, it makes it harder to convince consumers to see local bands,” Stockton said.
“I also think a good portion of the Austin music audience is surprisingly apathetic,” Stockton said. “They’ll go to a big festival or a big road show, but they don’t go to a tremendous amount of trouble to see local stuff, which is where the difficulty parking downtown comes in. I’m very sympathetic to what Asher is going through.”
Room 710 will have a mini-festival — 7-10 Days of Room 710 — starting Thursday.
Comments
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By Alexandra
June 15, 2009 3:17 PM | Link to this
This is a bummer! I love 710. I hope the club recovers or can live on in a different location. The closing of TRS parking lot was also a huge bummer.
By Earl
June 15, 2009 4:24 PM | Link to this
Parking, towing, and violence are such a hassle, that we stopped going East of Congress and West of I35 last year. Dream on if you think an area for smoking will somehow give you a lift over those that already provide that amenity. Good luck dude.
By Davidx3
June 15, 2009 6:07 PM | Link to this
Open letter to Asher: I’m so sorry, Asher! The bar business (much less one that specializes in live music!) is a tough, tough way to make a living! Most people don’t realize that once you unlock those doors; you HAVE to make “X” amount of money JUST TO BREAK EVEN!!! I’m sorry the Smoking Ordinance was one of the final nails in the coffin! (hey folks, DON’T let the surveys kid you…It had DIRE consequences for a lot of clubs! By the way…WHERE ARE ALL YOU NON-SMOKERS?!!!) I’m sorry about all the new sources of “Booking Agencies / Entertainment Co. that were slicing into an already thin “live music pie” and pushing the smaller guy in the corner with outrageous guarantees! I’m sorry that the competition for the local acts (of which there are too few of any talent to draw more than 20 people! Ok, let the mudslinging begin…) is getting tougher! I’m sorry about all the new clubs in the area catering to the type of crowd you, Randall Stockton (Beerland) and myself (once of Emo’s long ago!) were open for! I’m sorry that you as a fellow “trailblazer” in the area - helped clean up Red River to no avail or appreciation.
I’m sorry that there are only so many of those “alternative types” who are supporting the scene. I’m sorry that, as Randall stated, most of the “tourist” are holding their paychecks for the main touring acts rolling through town! And, I’m sorry that we are now in the summer months (and the “winter” of some of the finest live music clubs to EVER grace Austin!) and that these are the tough times! I’m sorry that I can’t make more people come to your club!(my word and reputation don’t carry much weight any more, my friend!) I’m sorry that I too am guilty, of sorts, of not supporting ALL the clubs who were in this for the “love” of the music and supported all the musicians these very many years! I am sorry the City of Austin only uses the slogan: “Live Music Capital of the World” as a bumper sticker! I am sorry that the “noise ordinance” is STILL an issue after all these years (mine started at Emo’s in the EARLY 1990’s…and it STILL has NO end in sight! GEEEZ!) I’m sorry, Asher! I feel every penny of your pain! I’m sorry people took Room 710 for granted! I’m sorry for the City of Austin. I’m really sorry, Asher! Godspeed and good luck in whatever you do or whatever happens in the future! I know Austin benefited from you and Room 710…I’m just sorry you didn’t! take care, my friend! David L. Thomson III
By David
June 15, 2009 7:51 PM | Link to this
The bar business is tough. You can blame it on the smoking ban if you wish. The facts say otherwise. I do not care either way about the ban. What excuse do you give to all the bars that closed before the ban was in place? The smoking ban is a small part this place closing. Asher said it himself….it takes 35 thousand dollars a month to break even. The last couple of months he has been short. He is short because people are not spending money like they were. He also has more competition. Transmission entertainment is without a doubt taking bands that he would normally book.
By meco89
June 15, 2009 9:24 PM | Link to this
That Sucks ! I saw the Psychic Ills for SxSw 2008 there !
By Tarvin
June 15, 2009 10:10 PM | Link to this
The club scene is fluid. No more Steamboat, no more Liberty Lunch, no more Back Room.
By sameschitdifferentday
June 15, 2009 11:05 PM | Link to this
“I also think a good portion of the Austin music audience is surprisingly apathetic,” Stockton said. “They’ll go to a big festival or a big road show, but they don’t go to a tremendous amount of trouble to see local stuff…” That’s the TRUTH right there!~ Austin is full of JADED LOCALS that take the entire music scene for GRANTED.
By Andy
June 16, 2009 8:55 AM | Link to this
Room 710 is one of the most unique clubs on Red River and one of the best dives in Austin. Whether its being over-served on cheap shots and tall boys or sharing a dirty conversation with the door guy, you’re sure to be in for an interesting night. The bands booked here are just as unique and some great rock and roll. Long live 710 in all its glory.
By Mike Webb
June 16, 2009 9:06 AM | Link to this
I prefer venues that are not downtown.I prefer drinks that are not over priced,parking at my destination for free safe from towing companys.
By KingSalami
June 16, 2009 9:20 AM | Link to this
Thanks for the great times Room 710. Best of luck to you with your future project. Sorry for puking in your sink.
By Player...
June 16, 2009 10:28 AM | Link to this
Too many clubs. Social Darwinism is what it is… the other thing is lack of parking, loud, obnoxious punks and absolutely nothing that distinguishes one club from another. Funny thing is, we used to play 6th st. way back when (Antones….) and then shortly after that when a FEW clubs opened and started providing music. After Hours club was downtown (a place to go after clubs closed) and so on. It was fun to play 6th st. then - before it became a high school circus… Sorry for the club owners nowadays but we’ll never venture down thee…
By gus
June 16, 2009 11:19 AM | Link to this
austin music sucks. for starters you have only a handful of talent worth seeing. most of the bands and songwriters have no business being on a stage. if the depressing red river clubs with their stinking bathrooms and crappy overpriced cans of crappy beer ain’t enough to keep you at home then add in wandering pods of crackheads, tons of cops, tow trucks, and bingo. besides, those bars on red river never pay squat to the bands that play there. close them all, nothing but garbage and bad music.
By xxxx
June 16, 2009 12:21 PM | Link to this
Garber’s comment about the club “no longer going to be a practice field for new bands” is telling. Practice spaces are for that, not live music venues. There are far too many “musicians” in this live music capital of the world. Based on the current criteria for being a legitimate band in Austin, if I have a kazoo, a dog and a myspace page, I qualify and will be “playing ” a “show” at Red 7 presently. Maybe if the people booking talent into local clubs would at least make an attempt at discriminating between absolute crap and moderate crap the overall quality of the live experience in town would improve, as well as their business. PS : Hasn’t anyone in this business heard of a business plan ?
By natedodoubleg
June 16, 2009 12:59 PM | Link to this
Hey sorry all the foreigners moved to Austin for the WRONG reasons and destroyed our city. If Marc Ott has his way this place will be asphalted completely over and will be the envy of Dallas/Ft. Worth. The music will never die! It will just be gentrified to another cheapo city that appreciates it and doesn’t suck it’s blood like the vampire developers (FROM DALLAS) and their local attorneys destroy us one walmart and frost bank building at a time.
I moved here in 1998 for the right reason. My local rent house booted me out for some well to do foreigners. Now I live in Round Rock and listen to the radio and occasionally venture in for the “big festivals” TripleFUN/SX/Reggae/…umm not acl. ever. 6th st. , maybe flamingo with the touring acts.
By Nick
June 16, 2009 2:10 PM | Link to this
Come out to Room 710 this Wednesday for Space Rock night!
By Metalhead
June 16, 2009 3:37 PM | Link to this
Another sad day for the Austin music scene, and especially for the heavier bands…one less place to rock.
By Reed
June 16, 2009 6:19 PM | Link to this
I like 710 and have played there several times. Dustin is a great guy and has helped lots of new bands get their music heard and Jason is a great live engineer. Sure, Transmission makes it difficult for clubs to get bigger acts but that’s the nature of competition. Smoking ban, closing the teachers parking lot, a bad economy, the recent violence; it takes more than one nail to close a coffin. While I hope the rest of the Red River district can make it, places like Scoot Inn and Hole in the Wall prove that a club can provide a place for up and coming bands to play without being on Red River. Without places like these there is no new kick *** music. You may hone your songs in the practice room but you don’t learn how to be a rockin’ band in a vacuum. You don’t learn how to entertain the crowd while your guitarist puts a new battery in his wah pedal when you’re in the practice space. You don’t learn how to be a confident singer or use your nervousness to play a frantic solo when there’s no one there to witness the moment. That’s what small venues are for, up and coming bands playing intimate gigs with people who dig the raw energy. It’s that rock n roll energy that will keep the Austin soundscape from being just as boring as Dallas. To those who say that Austin music sucks or there are too many bands out there I say get off your high horse and remember what it was like when you had to bust your hump to get a gig, scratch up enough friends to come see you, play your heart out for an hour, and even though you didn’t get paid you couldn’t wait to do it again. If you’ve forgotten that rush, it’s never too late to dig into it again. However, if you just want to hate on those who are out there doing something you can’t or won’t do, then screw off.
By Stephen
June 16, 2009 9:32 PM | Link to this
Bar businesses as well as ALL business is slow during the summer months when most of the UT students are out of town. That has been the case for the 30 years I have lived here. It is only exasperated with the weakened economy.
By Stephen
June 16, 2009 9:33 PM | Link to this
All business is slower during the summer when the UT students are everywhere except Austin. That has been the case for the 30 years I have lived here, it is exacerbated with the weakened economy.
By Asher Garber
June 17, 2009 12:23 PM | Link to this
I’d like to thank Joe Gross for his article on Room 710’s closing. I’d also like to thank Dave for his touching words, and for everyone else who has read the article and articulated an opinion.
Admittedly, “practice field” was a poorly chosen set of words. I was thinking about being a 221 person venue vs. a 500 person venue. I was trying to describe the folks who are willing to play for $100 per band member on a Friday night as the headliner if they were real lucky. Folks who see their live music as a passion, and their bands as creative projects. Those are the folks whom we strive to put on stage. They’ve got a crowd, and they do put on a show with a particular genre of music. And those shows are affordable at $5-10. So… my bad.
What I tell people about my business experience is that, if I were a real businessman, this place wouldn’t be in business. (So, maybe I’m graduating.) 710’s story began as more a conventional Ma-and-Pa shop than a heavy business. Where we sell the kids bottles of Lone Star instead of Coca-Cola; and we’ve got bands on stage that are pretty good… just watch them fellas go…. That was 9 years ago, when passionate interest to “give it a go” ruled the mindset. At that point, it was easy to accept the notion that, hey, no one’s going to get rich by doing this. We’ve been in it for the community. Again, my bad for not caring to know much better.
It is one thing to never make a lot of money; it is another to struggle to pay the bills; and then a whole other to suddenly not be able to do squat. Room 710 is, right now, at the squat stage. A bad economy has got us here. 710 has seen a quadrupling of its property value since opening (Hello, City?… We are on a crack corner.); a declining to bad economy since around 2004, that a year ago saw a drastic rise in the cost of goods; a general lack of interest by a greater sized, outside public which is spurred by both a not so easy sense of downtown mobility, and, quite frankly, a lack of media notice for the local economy based in the local, creative mindset of those who happen to grace the 710 stage.
(As for the smoking ban, it was instrumental in getting us from never making a lot of money, to struggling to pay the bills. That, alongside the breakup of the partnership, gave the bar a different perspective, and a lot was learned over the the following five years.)
I hope this puts things in a proper perspective. Thanks.
By jon dishon
June 23, 2009 9:07 PM | Link to this
I am sickened by some of the things i’ve read here.The musicians of austin need to get more united,and the people who live here need to remember why they chose to live in the coolest city in texas in the first place. If we want to stay the live music cap.,we all have to support live music.And to the guy who said austin musicians are bad,and talentless,then you are either deaf,or jaded,or jealous,i would also assume you don’t get out much.I could not begin to name all the amazing groups,but Chant,hollow,wartime social,murder,my sweet, mothers anthem,subnatural,hipnautica,dremnt the end,horse plus donkey,flametrick subs,belgraves,faceless werewolves,are only a few of the amazing talent,and variety of music in austin!!!