Holy fuck. I left the Supergiant show last night at around 1 and walked by GW for the last time. We've played 30+ shows at GW and I can't believe it's gone.

This throws some serious salt into our scene. looks like Ralli's, Burt's and Atomic are the only options for us now.

I wonder if there would be a way to get some type of permit to play outside downtown...

Regardless this just sucks.

And as a side note:


There was a crazy vibe goin on at the SuperGiant show last night. I've never seen those guys rock so hard. I think Joel may have been summoning the forces of destruction that destroyed GW today. I'm just surprised the roof didn't blow off of Launchpad during their set.

Joe told me they're fully insured at the LP so they should be good to rebuild/repair ASAP. he also said they're already in the process of moving show locations so they don't have to cancel everything booked. Some inevitably will have to be canceled, but they'll hopefully be able to save some good shows.

For the record.....I was no where near Albuquerque last night.


Seriously though, with all the problems that I had over the years with the management of the place..I still considered the room to be one of the best places to play. There was something very familiar about playing in an old-west style saloon. It had this atmosphere that a gun fight could break out at any moment.

A sad, sad day for the Albuquerque Music Scene, especially the newbies looking for a place to get there feet wet.

the golden west was always my favorite room in spite of mangement/mismanagement. saw my first local punk shows there: triskadekaphobia, scared of chaka, reddy kilowatt, the drags, the honeys... plus lots of other stuff like nashville pussy, pegboy, cub, heather nova, 7 year bitch, the teen angels, the 440s'...

el ray: nik turner, pavement, burning spear, letters to cleo... plus locals like bonnie & the boomerangs, broadway elks...

i could go and on.

the loss is lamentable but i'm more concerned with what happens to the pad. sounds like they'll be up and running as soon as possible but years of construction work as a kid tells me things always take longer and are more expensive than first estimated.

i'm also concerned about who the new neighbors will eventually be. if the gw is a total loss and if mayor marty/the DAT have their way, we could end up with a TGIF or some shit, places which are not known to be good neighbors to non-corporate businesses.

was the puccini building on the national register of historic buildings? if there's anything at all salvageable, there might be some funds to help but sounds like there's little left to preserve. in any case, i can't imagine anyone having any financial interest in rebuilding a dive bar.

quote:

Originally posted by Five Minute Sin:
And as a side note:


There was a crazy vibe goin on at the SuperGiant show last night. I've never seen those guys rock so hard.

Tell me about it. They killed it last night. And the Lions were great too.

I say use the GW lot for an outdoor patio for the LP.

If there are eventually any plans to hold benefit shows or anything like that, The Old Main will be happy to contribute to the cause...


www.myspace.com/theoldmain

ROOFUS

quote:

I say use the GW lot for an outdoor patio for the LP.

Fuck yeah, that would be bad ass!

OK, I don't know how to go about this kind of stuff, but I just heard whatshername from the GW say that someone set up one of those funds for her/GW at a local bank that anyone can contribute to. Anyone know how to do the same for LP? I know Joe said he's insured, but there's got to be stuff that's neede, that ins won't pay for.

Any Ideas?

Thats a good idea Jon, I was thinking of some kinda big ass Launchpad Local Fest thing to raise some cash to help make the pad that much cooler. I dont have the time to head anything like that, but BTG would be down to help for sure's. Anyone? Anyone?

Time, I've got. It's knowledge, connections,networks I'm lacking. I wouldn't know who to contact, what to say, or any of that.

quote:

Originally posted by Five Minute Sin:


This throws some serious salt into our scene. looks like Ralli's, Burt's and Atomic are the only options for us now.

I heard that some outsider might buy burt's and eliminate live shows in the near future. Just a rumor....

quote:

Originally posted by BlackToothGrin:
Thats a good idea Jon, I was thinking of some kinda big ass Launchpad Local Fest thing to raise some cash to help make the pad that much cooler. I dont have the time to head anything like that, but BTG would be down to help for sure's. Anyone? Anyone?

I'm down!! Oh yeah, I'm in your band....

quote:

Originally posted by DaveFame:

quote:

Originally posted by Five Minute Sin:
And as a side note:


There was a crazy vibe goin on at the SuperGiant show last night. I've never seen those guys rock so hard.

Tell me about it. They killed it last night. And the Lions were great too.

I say use the GW lot for an outdoor patio for the LP.

yea, do what emo's in austin does and have bands outside and bands inside. 2 shows at once. That would be a wonderful thing.

just heard about the G.W. truly terrible.. i haven't been on rocksquawk in a while but somehow I knew i would get more info here than anywhere else.

Me an' the ol' bass player just went down there on our lunch break and might I say that its incredible what little is left... Really depressing...

Why couldn't it have been the Library or something with no history?

I was always proud to show out of town people the GW ... one of the last pieces of the wild west we had downtown.

quote:

Originally posted by BlackToothGrin:
Thats a good idea Jon, I was thinking of some kinda big ass Launchpad Local Fest thing to raise some cash to help make the pad that much cooler. I dont have the time to head anything like that, but BTG would be down to help for sure's. Anyone? Anyone?

that would be such a cool idea... and now that its getting warmer, it would kick ass to have a stage outside accross the street in that parking lot... BBQ and shit, drinks in the pad. maybe bands inside AND outside or alternating... put it all over the alibi and the radio. make a damn festival out of it... 20 something bands, ALL funds go to the pad! (or is that too empire records...? well, as long as no one plays on the roof...)

quote:

Originally posted by listentoblackflag:

quote:

Originally posted by Five Minute Sin:


This throws some serious salt into our scene. looks like Ralli's, Burt's and Atomic are the only options for us now.

I heard that some outsider might buy burt's and eliminate live shows in the near future. Just a rumor....

i heard that too. i also heard that it was because whoever owns it now is trying to pay off gambling debts. whether that's true, i don't know, but it would be total shit if that were the reason.

Hey guys.

Here's the scoop:

No one knows how the fire started. Fire investigators are on site now. AFD is flying someone in from Dallas to take a look at it.

We have not been allowed access to the Launchpad so I truly have no idea how great the damage is. Definitely more than just water and smoke. Our west wall is damaged to some degree, but regardless, that wall must come down at some point. Our bathrooms are anchored to that wall. So, looks like a new west wall and new bathrooms must be constructed. From what I've been told, the PA is damaged. I would imagine our amp rack and stage left mains are wasted.

We have insurance. We are already filing a claim.

Luis and I have been working diligently to relocate as many shows as possible. Some will undoubtedly be canceled. Sorry about that. For instance: Immolation will not be performing due to fire damage. Har.

Thanks for all the well wishing! We appreciate all of it. Once we know what exactly needs to be done, we'll let everyone know.

I feel horrible about this, regardless of the effect on my own business. Golden West was an awesome room and I will always have some amazing memories. I have fallen off that stage at least a dozen times.

I'll keep everyone updated as I learn more.