Here's the unedited text of this week's farewell to the Soundpost:
The Soundpost, the 108 High St.
venue that’s brought a wide array of homegrown and visiting folk and
alternative acts to Portland
most Sundays in 2007, hosts its final show on September 23rd (see details in 8
Days a Week). Matt Rock and Kate Cox began opening their studio space (fondly
remembered by many in its previous incarnation as the old Stillhouse Studio
Theatre) to public performances at the end of last year. Their scantly
advertised gigs quickly amassed a loyal and sizable following, thanks to the
venue’s remarkably consistent acts and inimitably cozy atmosphere.
Like too
many good things in Portland
these days, The Soundpost’s end comes thanks to a for sale sign (luxury condos,
presumably, coming soon!). Kate and Matt depart for at least a half-year in Germany
in the coming weeks, and while their space’s closure leaves a formidable gap in
gigging possibilities for many of our best musicians (it’s a ripe time to call
on Local 188, One Longfellow
Square, and a few other spots to pick up the
slack), we’d rather use this space to remember the good times...until Soundpost
withdrawl starts next week, and every Sunday in “8 Days” to follow becomes a
gaping hole.
I asked
Kate, Matt, and some of The Soundpost’s BFFs to write me with their thoughts on
the venue’s end. In pure writing-to-your-best-friend-in-their-high-school-yearbook
style, they took up a lot of space. Here are some snippets of their thoughts,
which will be posted in their entirety on the Phoenix’s “About Town” blog
(www.thephoenix.com/abouttown). Fare thee well, Soundpost: you were the best
church I ever had.
From Jon Courtney, SPACE Gallery co-founder:
As the only person (as far as I'm aware) to publicly ask for someone's hand
in marriage onstage at The Soundpost, I feel like I have a slightly different
connection to the Soundpost than most people.
When (former tenants) Tim (Harbeson) and Buffy (Miller) announced they'd be
moving to Philadelphia, it was not only Portland's loss of two fine artists and
individuals but such a wonderful performance space as The Stillhouse.
Thankfully, Kate and Matt stepped up to pick up the threads and, while keeping
in the same spirit as The Stillhouse, to fashion them into something decidedly
reflective of their own personalities and senses of wonder. As a programmer,
there are incredibly valid and worthwhile events that, for one reason or
another, will only draw a small audience in a town the size of Portland. Those
events, with an audience of less than 50, can make a venue like SPACE or Geno's
or One Longfellow, fine places as they all are, feel cavernous and the energy
just dissipates. It's so important to the performance (and betrothal) community
of Portland to have these micro-venues like the Soundpost (and Strange Maine and
Blue and Field and Jay York's and Sunday nights at the old Local 188) as a place
for these intimate gatherings to occur. Just as the New York City loft scene of
the mid-70's played such a critical gestation role for so many avant-garde jazz
musicians, venues like The Soundpost allow the adventurous and exploratory to
occur here on Maine soil.
Best wishes to Matt and Kate. The love, care and toil they put into each
event at The Soundpost was evident and not lost on their audiences.
From Matt Rock, Soundpost proprietor:
Often the richest moments for me are after after the shows are done, when
whatever cocktail of energy is still floating around the room. Last February
Greg Davis and Wind up Bird finished their set where they set up three gongs
across the length of the space, turned off all the lights and did a 20 minute
arc from silence to skull-shattering. At the peak of it I thought my head was
going to explode, the sound was so violent and suffocating. I think everyone at
that show lost a couple of days from their life because of it. Right after they
ended, John Courtney came in all cheery and curious what was happening that
night, and it was so stark that he didn't just have his mind screw-drivered like
the rest of us. It was really clear that night that our space offered a place
for real transformation through music, which is something we've tried to
maintain throughout all of our shows, and in a different way each time. Hosting
shows on a second floor space on Sundays guarantees that the people who are
there really want to be. I think that shared desire really lets things open up
for both the performers and the audience and allows for energy to gain momentum.
The Soundpost has had a lot of facets for Kate and I especially because
it has been a creative space for us during the week, and a venue on Sunday
evenings. From the very beginning we treated the Soundpost like a petri dish, we
had friends who played music, friends that liked to listen to music, and a space
to bring the two together. We just tried to create an open atmosphere and let
things germinate. Our recipe for booking shows has been really simple, to bring
in musicians that we love. If there are only five people in the audience and the
performers really connect with them, every musician I know would take that over
free beer and half the door at a noisy bar. We try curate a space where the
evening is ultimately about the connecting with music. That makes the musicians
play better, and the audience happier, and the energy in the room builds from
there.
Even though this chapter of the Soundpost is coming to a close,
the name and the concept have a long future, in whatever incarnation that may
be. We going to be in Berlin at least through the spring, and hope to continue
to present and record shows while we are there. We both love doing this and
have acknowledge a strong need in Portland for venue for original music where
people actually listen. I'm really happy we were able to provide that to the
extent that we could, and hope that artists and musicians in Portland continue
to see how vitally important it is to take administrating into their own hands.
But-- no tears yet we are going to have a final show on September 23rd,
Me and Dylan, Ben Russell, Gray Cox (Kates dad), Tim Burns (who may be doing
something with Kelly, and we're hoping Orifist will make an appearance.
From Kelly Nesbitt, frequent customer/performer:
Ah woe is me! O grief, o grief, for my heart shall beat like raw piece of meat roaming these empty Sunday streets. A fond farewell to the most amazing, life saving, & life giving Soundpost. I was there for The
Stillhouse beginning till end, and I couldn't have possibly asked for anything more when Kate and Matt leaped at the chance to take over the space with their Soundpost vision. So as this chapter ends now, I am reminded of their incredible generosity, openness, complete intrigue, and excitement, as well the creative comfort I felt there, friends made, and of how precious these times are. Thanks be to the Post!
From Chriss Sutherland, frequent customer/performer:
For me it's sadly interesting to witness the second closing of my favorite performance space in Portland.
I survived the 13 straight Stillhouse Runs of 2003 and it was so nice to hear that Kate and Matt were going to continue the tradition. But like anything cool it came to a quickish end. Weirdly (or not) Cerberus Shoal just finished mixing a record that came from a show we did at The Stillhouse (Soundpost) in May of 2003. That space was/is incredible in that it forced us (CS) to create an all acoustic show but at the same time allowed to stretch out the theatre in us (curtain and all). I don't know I have a veritable shitload of great memories asociated with that space and I think it will be a tall order for anyone to fill the shoes first worn by Tim and Buffy and then Kate and Matt.
Anyway... blah, blah, blah