Studio 52 over on Everett Street has become a beloved cinderblock-colored haven for Allston-area bands, offering crucial rehearsal space in a time of noise complaints and citations. Now, the not-so-little building that could is getting ready to unveil their brand-new performance space on the premises, Allston Rock City Hall (or ARCH). I got the opportunity to talk to Glenn Michael, Studio 52’s Director of Operations and Nick Grieco, ARCH manager, about the new place and what the future holds for, well, everything.
Marc Finn: If I recall correctly, You guys went from being a Redbox distribution center, to Studio 52 with a fairly empty space on the 1st floor, and now to ARCH. Did you want to create a performance space from the beginning?
Glenn: Our building actually used to be a clothing distributor, as well as part of the Newbury Comics warehouse going back some years. 7.5 miles of steel was removed before we started transforming our building into what it’s become. [Studio 52 Founder] Rich Anton and I had discussed the option of opening a private event venue early on in some of the available 1st floor space that we had. After a few conversations and finalizing construction to open some new 1st floor rooms, we decided Nick Grieco would be the perfect candidate to help with getting ARCH rolling.
Nick: I had started working part time at Studio 52 almost as soon as my band moved in a couple years ago, and noticed not only the potential the building had immediately, but how well Rich and Glenn were realizing that potential. When they had thrown around the idea of putting on shows and setting up an event space, I saw an opportunity to create something great with them and knew I had to be involved. Lucky for me, they allowed me to be!
MF: What was the most difficult part in getting ARCH up and running? Any roadblocks with permits or licenses?
Glenn: As with any kind of construction or alteration to your current business, there will always be unexpected delays along the way. Construction was steady and we’re now putting on the final touches on ARCH to prepare for it’s opening in a few weeks. We want to make sure all of our i’s are dotted and t’s crossed, and we’re almost there.
Nick: Permitting for construction and operation is almost always a horror story if you ask anyone who’s had to deal with it. For us, there were always little speed bumps with it along the way, but it was far from discouraging. If anything it’s just made the anticipation for getting the doors open that much greater. But we’re definitely ready to finally get the ball rolling.
MF: Describe the construction process. Any unforeseen challenges in building the space? Any crazy stories?
Glenn: Construction went smoothly and I think people are really going to enjoy this new venue. It’s a great room with a lot of character, and Boston’s always in need of adding another great venue to the scene. I believe we’ve accomplished what we set out to do. I can’t wait to see how it progresses once it’s officially open.
Nick: When conceptualizing the space, I had a lot of extremely lofty out-of-the-box design ideas. Somehow, they’ve all miraculously been included in the finished product, and our team really worked wonders in making the vision come to life. I remember when the room was just a bunch of steel studs, without walls, and I was describing my ideas for chandeliers made out of broken skateboards to our contractor Chris and electrician Andy. They were looking at me like I was out of my mind, and there’s no doubt that I am, but now they’re done and we’re hanging them up this week.
MF: The culture with all the bands at Studio 52 seems really homegrown and supportive. Do you see ARCH developing a similarly tight scene in the future?
Glenn: The culture and community feel at Studio 52 is what we were always hoping for. It really does have a tight-knit feel over here, and we love that aspect of it. I’m sure ARCH will have a similar feel, as we’re going to be doing a lot of diverse events to help give the local art and music community a boost.
Nick: There’s a lot to be said for what happens when a ton of creative minds reside in an environment designed specifically for them. You can see the support in the loading dock around load-in time for shows, when traffic is highest in the building. All the bands know each other, half of them are playing together that night, the other half of them are going to the show, or wishing they could. The goal for ARCH has always been to give an outlet for all of this support, to create a unique playing environment for all the artists. I look forward to being able to offer the bands rehearsing upstairs a place to hang out and perform just by walking downstairs.
MF: What kind of acts can we expect to see at ARCH? Are you guys going for a specific vibe or a wider variety of groups?
Nick: ARCH stands for Allston Rock City Hall, so there’s no surprise that I’m going to be focusing on rock bands. However, I will never limit the space to rock bands only. Our building has a diverse spread of artists all across the spectrum, so there will definitely be a wide array of showcases, and a lot of different types of events as well. We’re ready to open the room to anyone for anything from rock shows to fashion shows to catered events to bridal showers. We also have an art director on the team now, Nikki Dessingue, who will be keeping our walls filled with artwork, and coordinating events to coincide with those art shows. There’s a lot of diversity in the Boston scene that we’re aiming to represent.
MF: How soon can we expect ARCH to get rolling?
Nick: We’re aiming for the end of March to host some cool opening festivities, and for April to be the month where we hit the ground running. We’ve been pretty quiet about everything over the last few months, but we’ll make a bit more noise very soon, I’m sure!
For more photos of Studio 52/ARCH , check out BDCwire’s photo journal from January.
