STOP SNITCHIN
Tonight, Atlas was shut down by the fire marshall/police, DIRECTLY DUE TO THE ARTICLE WRITTEN IN THE STRANGER BY ERIC GRANDY
Atlas was given an unnecesarilly destructive review by this writer.
I have been volunteering with Atlas, along with several other friends, for quite some time. An article came out in this week's's Stranger's Editorial that completly misrepresented and discredited what we have been working on for months. As a group of volunteers we worked like dogs to get the place running and LEGIT. The article in The Stranger that CAME OUT YESTERDAY, has ruined what we have been working on. THANKS TO THE STRANGER, capitol hill NO LONGER HAS AN ALL AGES VENUE.
When you go http://www.thestranger.com these are direct quotes/links to the article:
* "Atlas Clothing, a vintage clothing store on Capitol Hill that's been hosting covert all-ages shows in its back warehouse."
* "the operation is still somewhat underground, unlicensed, possibly not up to fire code."
Who would knowingly publish that something was covert and underground without the direct intention of putting it out of existence?
Boycott the Stranger
FUCK ERIC GRANDY
Write to the Editor: editor@thestranger.com
Write to Eric Grandy: http://www.myspace.com/fuckinginthestreets
It takes a lot of work, dedication and time to put something on that you believe in. We are of the age to go to shows at bars yet our main concern was to have a place for kids to go conviently located in the middle of the city where they could listen to music. That is ruined. I am both angry and unimpressed with the lack of concern, compassion or understanding involved in this article going to print. We asked them not to. Please repost and help us in boycotting Eric Grandy as a writer and The Stranger as an irresponsible, gossiping, desperate music news source.
Nice one. Douche.
There was speculation that some older, odder attendees at recent shows could've been undercover cops, but someone else weighed in that "they'd send the fire department before they'd send an undercover cop." There was some discussion about what exactly might need to be done before an inspection happens—this constantly looming inspection, even more than the business's bottom line, has been a driving concern for the Atlas collective. (It still hasn't happened yet.)
Oh, dear.
Way to go, "Scoop" Grandy. Think you'll pick up a Pulitzer for this? What was your motivation for that article, anyway?
Dude, when is Great White playing?
As I read that article about Atlas Clothing, I thought, um... is this really the best idea, if you don't want to get this place shut down? Anyhow, congratulations, Eric Grandy, for establishing yourself as Seattle's music douchebag extraordinaire.
You are such a no-nothing clown, that you couldn't resist blowing your wad the moment you could report something that wasn't just re-typing a Pitchfork press release.
No Josh Feit prank is going to allow you to weasel yourself out of this one, shithead. You fucked up royal, and now you're going to have to fess up to people that you can't just mock on the internet and walk away from. Welcome to actually being part of the music scene and not just some pseudo-omniscient observer. Hopefully you'll learn something from it.
so you are pissed because something you were doing that was against the law got shut down. Well guess what this will always happen so grow up and work to make what you want to happen legal. Don't blame the messenger when your shit got too popular. Maybe your hard work should have been spent doing things that could have actually prevented this mess more effectively.
Oh, and @6. Great comeback to the criticisms posted above. Because if you speaxxorr in l33t speak it t0tally invalidates anyth3ing anyone says on teh internets. teh teh teh teh teh teh teh teh teh teh. Ha ha I m in yr base with your guys teh teh teh teh teh.
Welcome to Adultland children.
Yeah, it sucks that your super-secret music clubhouse got shut down, but you know what? The Fire Dept. doesn't go around doing this because they're anti-music (or anti-art in general - ask us theatre folk how many venues SFD has shut down in the last few years), but believe it or not, they've got a JOB to do, namely, to prevent situations where lots of people congregate in buildings with the potential to KILL lots of people if (insert diety here) forbid, some conflagration should happen to occur while all those people are in said building.
I'm absolutely certain you took all the necessary precautions - you DID, didn't you? - and sure, somebody spilled the beans, ratted you out, called undue attention to your clandestine gig, but if something HAD happened, wouldn't you have felt like absolute DICKS?
Next time, maybe try working WITH SFD. They're generally pretty good people, and will do what they can to help you out. It's just that, you know, their job is to make sure nobody fucking DIES at your show.
Wasn't Slog recently crowing about that recent article in the Weekly that got the high school basketball coach fired, and how irresponsible the writer (and the Weekly) was for publishing an article that was of course going to draw negative attention to the subject?
I know that the subject issues here are way different, but "WTF did you THINK was going to happen?" factor is the same.
Kudos to Eric for putting an end to these illicit hootenannies. I can only imagine how betrayed all those kids at the shows must have felt when they learned that Atlas hadn't even filled out the appropriate paper work!
Safety first!
Unless you wanted them to work with the SFD to get up to code... this wasn't too good of a move in terms of keeping the gigs going.
"Why bother with newspapers, if this is all they offer? Agnew was right. The press is a gang of cruel faggots. Journalism is not a profession or a trade. It is a cheap catch-all for fuckoffs and misfits— a false doorway to the backside of life, a filthy piss-ridden little hole nailed off by the building inspector, but just deep enough for a wino to curl up from the sidewalk and masturbate like a chimp in a zoo-cage."
blech.
Pssst, Eric. I know this guy who sells the stickiest, ickiest buds west of the Mississippi. I'm heading over to his pad right now, want to come with?
bare with this is kind of a jumble...
there will be a letter to the editor about the factual errors in the story and about our general distaste for it. (personally, this really empty piece didn't really bug me -i AM balding and hard to get a hold of! re: not gonna jizz myself just cause the stranger comes a knocking- ...except mostly that it was painted as my ship when in fact i have never wanted it to be that which is why we pulled in alicia from the paradox, keenan/sarina/calla from the vera project, nate from the ss marie and more, sharlese from kexp, adam from the croc and countless other F.O.H.'s).
we will prevail. shows will still happen, the neccessary changes will be made. we were already in the process of making them. see you in august!
being constantly bugged for months by eric and the stranger to "get the scoop" and write about the shows we were doing... so funny (especially the later conversation with jonathan and eric how "with our without our -atlases- input, the story was going to run" and "our -the strangers- first/only obligation is to the readers, not the people/events/things we cover." well, we -atlas- pay for ad space, which seems to be another loyality of most rags. also, TOTAL masochistic move: stranger kills atlas (in order to "get the story RIGHT AWAY" --> even though we promised them the FIRST story), atlas no longer doing show events, stranger has less overall to cover on a week to week basis. all we asked for is patience, because WE KNEW.
it takes two hands for me to count the amount of all-ages venues and spaces that have been shut down SOON after getting press from the stranger. i miss the rocket. remember? but i (re: WE) a(m/are) paranoid for saying NO tons of times? i guess i am paranoid. because i can see the history: stranger writes about local under the radar venue, said venue gets shut down NEXT WEEK.
we will prevail.
we are also, SERIOUSLY AND SINCERELY, super thankful of all the support our neighbors (ballet for lunch anyone?) at the stranger have given us. we came out early and said we would love it if they could give the shows support, but it was super important to us that the venue was not high-lighted but only the artists playing here. and they TOTALLY were into that, often doing 2-4 showcases (via up and coming or music features or cd revies) of bands etc that we were bringing to atlas.
a bit of a rant... drunk, on tour, in arcata, ca...
ALSO:
we were kind of in a bind:
1) we knew there was changes that needed to be made in order to be legit.
2) we knew these changes would take money.
3)we knew jaime the owner would not invest in such changes unless he saw that the shows were gonna be profitable enough: ie, he needed to see a few months of action/shows before investing in fundemental building changes.
ie: we needed to float under the radar with strength in order to get him invested into the legitimacy.
... he is currently investing.
OH, AND:
we paid defiance:ohio/TBIAPB 850 dollars when they toured through.
maybe one in five shows we have taken 50% or more. mostly we try to float around a 20% venue take. the way eric phrased the sentence made it seem like 50% is our goal at ALL shows, when in fact, he was borrowing from hypothetical statements made at a group meeting that he sat in on where i mentioned that maybe, in order to try and reach or money goals, we should try our best to get the LOCAL bands on ALL-LOCAL bills/shows to be okay with and into the idea of take a smaller cut, since they live in town and such and aren't touring...
AND: it is/was news to me and our group that when eric talked to jaime the owner, he seemed not concerned about the money we were trying to make. IT. HAS. BEEN. A. CONSTANT. PRESSURE.
Frankly, this is an all-ages venue trying to go legit. And yes, We have made attempts to contact the fire marshall about looking at the space, and as of three hours ago this article speeded up the process and got us shut down. More so, I don't think I've ever read an article that was so unprofessional, snarky and reeking of vendetta. I mostly just feel sorry for Eric. How embarrassing... Don't pretend to be invested in the community when you do things like this.
Let's not think that this is simply the doing of one, Eric Grandy, but remember this is the SHIT that The Stranger purposely puts forth so that they can keep their elitist position and feel good about themselves. I fucking hate The Stranger altogether.
Stupid stupid article. What a dumb ass. This puts so many people in a shitty position. I have to tell two touring bands that they don't have a show on July 12 not. That's fucking awesome Eric, that you were able to write a big article and ruin so many people's good times.
I think Eric knew what would happen and just wanted people to talk about him.
The show went on over at SS Marie Antoinette (minus The Ruby Doe) and was quiet good. Police Teeth... awesome!
i usually expect eric grandys articles to be regurgitated scenester pulp but seemingly intentionally blowing the cover of some hard working kids trying to rock out is an all time low.
It's kind of like the way their Editor-in-Chief refered to trash "controversy" at the Pride Parade: zzzzzzzzz.
Writers like Grandy tend to be smart people, but even smart people get lost in their own creative horsewash. My question lies more with the editorial staff: was this article really necesarry? What was accomplished besides alienating people you count on to fill space? Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you'll have no trouble filling space, but where is the real news value? Fire codes? Was Grandy not able to enjoy a show because of the trecherous fire hazzard posed by derilict boxes of clothes?
Having just gotten wind of this, I'm having a hard time understanding what the point of writing this article was. Pseuso self-importance, perhaps? A want to be a part of something when clearly just an outsider that apparently had an agenda much like that scorned highschool lover, trying to sabotage their exes happiness.
Having only been in Seattle for a short time, but a part of the diy scene for well over 10 years, putting on shows in basements, back yards, alleys, etc. I recognize the need for an alternative to the -usually shitty- bar scene that an all ages venue provides.
I feel that it really is a shame that you felt for reasons only known to you the need to highlight this space, and not only that, but make it known repeatedly that it was opperating most likely outside of the city's requirements. I don't deny that there should have been, maybe a speedier attempt at bringin' the venue up to code, but having attended several shows, I for one never felt unsafe. There were no pyrotechnics being set off, rather kids dancing and having a good time, with a clearly marked exit/s.
Kudos on an awesome piece filled with journalistic integrity.
Xo
Ooooooh! Eric Grandy is freaking OUT! Being ganged up on by a bunch of inarticulate 18-year-olds causes TOTALLY irreparable damage! BOYCOTT ERIC GRANDY! Do NOT get coffee with him! Do NOT accept any beers he offers you at house parties! Do NOT use the letters E or G in sentences spoken or written!
Tell Eric Grandy you hate him and you hate his ASS FACE!
FD regulations are important. It prevents stuff like the nightclub fire in Buenos Aires that killed 175 people a couple years ago. Just because you feel safe doesn't mean that you are. Most folks feel pretty safe when they drive, yet it's the most likely way you'll die up until age 45 or so when heart attacks kick in.
Who watches a concert in a fucking clothing store's backroom? Get a life. I thought it was weird the high traffic going in that place.
imagine that a landlord rented property in violation of the fire code.
imagine that this landlord was raging mad because a reporter wrote a story about the threat to public safety.
wouldn't that landlord look like they were just trying to protect their profit, public health laws be damned?
wouldn't we howl about how Republican that kind of scheme seems? profits over people and all that?
The people flat-out blaming Grandy for the closing of their illegal little venue are obviously fucking retarded. Yeah, we're breaking the law!!!!!!1111111 and it's all his fault!
Oh, whatever. You scene kids should be proud that your all-ages project finally became newsworthy, but when you open a commercial venue, no matter what the scale, you have to jump through a few legal hoops. Attacking a journalist for granting you some press may make you feel better, but if the fire department says you're dangerous, then ultimately you've got no one to blame but yourselves. Cut your losses and get started on Atlas v2.
Now, this might be odd, but I just read @ 19 that Atlas was trying to contact the Fire Marshall for an inspection. That doesn't particularly sound like they were operating under the radar.
Second COMTE and Dade:
Good idea, kids, but safety IS important and in fact required by law. It's the world of Adulthood we all have to move into after all. You have to wear the Suit Of Rules to be longstandingly legit.
Sucks, but keep your motivation and energy up, get a new place going, and do it up right.
Blame it on Grandy all you want, but these kind of places don't fly under the radar forever, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE SUCCESSFUL. Any A-Hole's gonna notice that something's up at a line-out-the-door clothing store.
You guys trying to get squared up should have proceeded with as much vigor as your increase in popularity. Any effort less than that sounds like a lame excuse, sorry. Learn the lesson and keep moving on. It's not like you don't have the skills and that people don't already believe in what you can accomplish. Get back in there!
give me a break. you know what's easier than following the law? breaking it. what's easier than paying for something? stealing. it is insanely irresponsible to open a venue without being up to code. the excuse that you're showing your boss that there's interest before he invests money? bullshit. i can't believe how irresponsible this was, and that anyone is defending it.
thanks to eric grandy. whatever his motivation, he brought attention to something that was not only illegal, but unsafe.
@32: Huh. Good point.
The sensitive little Stranger is feeling the virtiol because if this story had ran in the PI, Times or Weekly, you'd be reading here how THEY ruined it for everyone else. You can dish it out, but you can't take it.
No black people were playing those shows so fuck Atlas and their dangerous, freedom hating drug den for wayward teens.
so is eric grandy is the new kathleen wilson?! ouch.
If the owner of the store/building (whomever has the last word on its usage, is my point) was serious about fronting money to make the place legit all along, now looks like the time to "put your money where your mouth is" and get the club rolling.
It seems as if all hell has broken loose… the fire department shuts down an off-license club! the music is silenced! teenage girls defacing their bodies in protest! Loud people are talking! The Internet is all a buzz! Its summer, what WILL the kids do NOW!!!!
Sounds like ROCK AND ROLL to me.
Being shut down for operating illegally THEN trying to get the proper permits will really make the authorities happy.
That should make your application process go VERY SMOOTHLY.
Good thinking, Atlas.
If you took alot of the logic displayed here then DIY in Seattle would not exist. Please bare in mind that these type of venues are a result of Seattles draconian stance on All Ages. If anyone should know that I would expect it to be Eric considering his history with OFH and the countless house parties and illegal afterhours parties he has DJ'd.
Many of you argue that for a "Covert" venue it's not very covert with the myspace page, flyering etc. But it's not like the myspace page or flyers says "Atlas: ILLEGAL VENUE! come one come all!!!!!!" I feel the article was more about the fact that it was "Illegal" than about the mission of the venue.
Couldn't the article been more about how awesome it is that there is a venue here in condohill catering to the all ages crowd? There have been many articles written about "covert" venues in the stranger. They praised them rather than pointing out their legality.
P.S
So much for the "For the kids" tattoo....
Jamie @ 38, the flyers and web pages don't need to say "illegal" - the SFD undoubtedly saw the ads, notices and sandwich board and recalled that the place wasn't licensed. They don't need to read the Stranger to find out about these places with all the advertising.
Matt From Denver:
Even so ,Every so called "Covert" venue advertises. Be it flyers, Myspace etc. Some of them even get write up's, and stranger suggests. I honestly do feel since he brought up the fact that they were unlicensed, It caught the SFD attention.
Jamie, I used to do all ages work a long time ago and dealt with a few closures like this. The speed of the SFD's response tells me that they likely already knew, but the Stranger article forced them to act sooner. But that doesn't mean that they weren't already aware and planning a visit - heck, maybe they already scheduled this before the article had come out.
weird. in this discussion i never heard anyone say: "hey atlas, how can i help?"
i think the reason that the all-ages scene has sucked here for decades is that no one is willing to step up and do anything about it except small groups of people. those people put their all into it and find that they quickly burn out without even the perception of assistance from the greater community.
the atlas clothing venue was a chance for something to be created by the seattle community (rather than by paul allen or a church or some other group that isn't "us"). sorry, i shouldn't have said "was." i should say "is." because now is the time for you talkers to step up and help.
bring your hammer and a bottle of water. or maybe a pen and your knowledge of building code. or donate some money. or work to convince people that the reason people are good at music when they're over 21 is because they started experiencing it when they were kids.
Matt,
That very well could be the case but it's something only the SFD knows. Even so by all accounts the whole reason for the secrecy was to generate cash flow to pay all the costs to go legit. So yeah maybe SFD were planning a visit a week from now or a month or tomorrow...who know's but it could have been one day closer for them to have had the funding they needed. I know It's alot of conjecture and what if's but it's just something to think about.
why not just, you know, keep having shows there?
ssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Jamie, understood. I guess I have to say that Atlas should have been a little more covert than it sounds like they were being. I don't think a myspace page is very high profile but the sandwich board sounds like it was probably seen by a lot of people.
to the folks who are so quick to condemn a newspaper for pointing out the illegality of a venue:
What if the Stranger suppressed what it knew about the safety hazards, and a fire broke out and people got hurt?
Wouldn't the Stranger get blamed for knowingly promoting a death trap?
Wouldn't the Stranger be accused of running a fluff piece, recycling a press release, and pandering to their advertisers?
If you don't want your journalists to report the facts, try Fox. They might be willing to sell out the public for financial gain.
Read up kiddies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Station_nightclub_fire
Replace "flammable soundproofing" with "cardboard boxes" for a look at the future.
In the meantime, invading and rebuilding Iraq will not only free the Iraqi people, it will also make the Saudis aware of the consequences they face if they continue to oppress their own people while exporting terrorism and terrorists. The War on Iraq will make it clear to our friends and enemies in the Middle East (and elsewhere) that we mean business: Free your people, reform your societies, liberalize, and democratize... or we're going to come over there, remove you from power, free your people, and reform your societies for ourselves.
Dan Savage Oct. 2002
But wait! Iraq isn't in cahoots with al Qaeda, so why attack Iraq in the war on terrorism?
Because we're not just at war with al Qaeda, stupid. We're at war with a large and growing Islamo-fascist movement that draws its troops and funds from all over the Islamic world. Islamo-fascism is a regional problem, not just an al Qaeda problem or an Afghanistan problem. To stop Islamo-fascism, we're going to have to roll back all of the tyrannous and dictatorial regimes in the Middle East while simultaneously waging war against a militant, deadly religious ideology.
Dan Savage Oct 2002
DJ Fucking Up All Ages Venues. Boycott his crappy dj nights.
DJ Fucking Up All Ages Venues. Boycott his crappy dj nights.
DJ Fucking Up All Ages Venues. Boycott his crappy dj nights.
DJ Fucking Up All Ages Venues. Boycott his crappy dj nights.
I eat underagers for breakfast.
Just wanted to add to the intelligent dialogue here on SLOG.
Listen, what older people actually know is that they can kick younger peoples' ass all afternoon instead of playing Jarts over pitchers of sweet-tea, while the whole time the little curt-smiling fuckers are rolling around in the god damned dust, still trying to figure out how to dry off their primary feathers.
If your upset that your moshing in an antique mall was disrupted by the press, then I beg you to examine the lives of the chinese 9 year olds who sewed their ways out of the rape room and earned an exta pack of smokes by keepng their mouths shut this week.
Or worse. Imagine growing up in a town with less that 3 All Ages venues.
Also, to everyone spending woof tickets on The Stranger for not shitting on the Egg Room (dumb angle but laets play it out).
Dudes...did everyone sleep through Megan Seling (worst writer in all of creation) taking on FSU?
Or was that Jenniges. That would make more sense. Anyway..google that shit fucktards. I never got into the Egg Room without those Stranger pariahs greenlighting it.
#38, such good timing. Bringing the pox of Kath Wilson upon this steeze. Thankfully tonight I saw The Cave Singers in a warehouse on 6th St in L.A. that the cops could give two shits about.
P.S. Pony is better than the Cha circa 99 with the Colt .45 and hella dude porn on the walls. Marcus, you are like iced tea on a hot afternoon.
Mmm. Out of town for a week and come back to a closed venue. Kudos.
Narc'ing on kids having good clean fun - is there anything less cool?
don't be such a baby, #2. If Atlas was up to code BEFORE having these shows, then there wouldn't be a problem. It's not Eric's fault for reporting..it's Atlas' fault for not following standards that other "venus" have to follow. Why should they get special treatment? The codes are in place for a reason. Who would be crying foul if something had actually occured and put someone at risk?
You wanna play with the big boys, you gotta be prepared for the battle.
There are a few local houses doing shows in their basements regularly in this town. It's terrible! Laws are being broken and teenagers are running wild! None of these venues are up to code, yet how come they are getting special treatment? The codes are in place for a reason, the laws must be obeyed, and if it were not for people like Eric and papers like the Stranger pointing these things out, who would protect today's youth?
"Who needs teenage nightclubs and the punk rockers that frequent them anyway? With their crazy hair and antics? The time to put a stop to this is now..." -Lou Guzzo's editorial on KIRO 7 back in the '80s
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dear number sixty, i was planning on sewing my way INTO the rape room this week and smoking that pack of smokes.
the stranger is not responsible for upholding public safety. far from it. opposite from it, really.
i think these code enforcements are kind of silly. fire hazards? if i am on fire i promise to get out of the way.
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