The Groundhog Issue #1 - Grey Lab

Dark, sweaty, loud. Shoes bounce up and down on the floor. Graffiti jumps off the wall. Gold trim lines the room. Cables connect the stage to the sound booth above. Cramped stairs at the back lead to a smoke pit. Sweat and smoke combine into a unique aroma. Sound waves push through the cracks in the back door while attendees rush to get back inside.

What is a Music Scene

Community driven initiatives are the backbone of local music. Grey Lab. Victoria Event Centre. Black Lab. Little Fernwood. These places carry on a collective spirit and provide the community with a place to experience the magic.

Most people find their way into live music for the bands. If they return, it's because of the people they meet. The local music scene starts with the musicians and venues, but it is built upon the friendly faces at the shows. These environments offer chances for real human connection that may not happen in larger venues, and they can open the door for people on the outside.

The Birth of Grey Lab

Before there was Grey Lab there was Black Lab.

Mungo cut his teeth as a photographer at Black Lab and other Vancouver venues. That first basement show got him hooked, but the idea for Grey Lab came to him because of his experience in the community. Noelle from Black Lab was cited as an important mentor while Mungo got his own venue started. Even the name Grey Lab is a direct homage and shows that community led venues can inspire action.

Mungo’s eagerness to get started quickly meant learning on the fly.

But first, Mungo needed help.

His experience as a photographer in the local scene meant that he could lean on his connections in the community for support. But to get the place running smoothly, Mungo needed to assemble a team around him.

Significance to the Scene

Grey Lab provided an open and welcoming space for people to let loose and enjoy the music. Mungo and his team weren’t in it for the money, they were inspired by other people in the DIY scene. Community-oriented spaces like these open the door to people who might not otherwise feel welcome. These community builders provide soil for the scene to grow, even if it’s not always immediately visible. Seeds take time to sprout.

Grey Lab was a space for new bands to start and for existing bands to hone their craft.

DIY venues allow up and coming bands to avoid the greedy “promoters” who’ve monopolized most of the booking for mid-sized venues in the city. Grey Lab was a place where popular bands in the scene, touring bands, and groups playing their first show could all exist under one roof.

On top of this, Grey Lab became a space for people to gather, whether it was for music shows, art markets or parties.

The financial pressure to attract large crowds isn’t as much of a factor for bands when playing in these smaller spots. This allows new bands to start up, which leads to growth within the scene.

Many bands played their first gig at Grey Lab and have since gone on to gig consistently in the scene.

Sound

Mungo and his team turned a 100-year-old shell of a building on West Pender into a quality space for music and community. But it didn’t happen right away, and they're the first to admit it. The sound system was one of their biggest challenges, but Mungo and head sound tech Gio worked together to sort it out.

Throughout the year, they experimented with different gear and set-ups, working around the limitations present in the building and budget.

Feedback from the bands and audience was an important part of the process, but behind the scenes, Gio and Mungo were on a mission. Speakers were replaced. The speakers were moved. The sound booth was moved to the balcony above the stage to protect the mixing board from the audience. The constant tinkering led to a successful set-up, even though it was unconventional.

Safety

Another crucial box to check concerned the safety of the community. Grey Lab’s security team was managed by Scarlet. Her experience in the local arts scene as well as her training as a behavioural interventionist made her an important piece of Grey Lab’s management team.

Scarlet’s dedication to safety at Grey Lab has increased the prevalence of harm reduction practices in the Vancouver scene. Many of the DIY venues are now putting policies into place with the intention of increasing safety in the community. This is another way that Grey Lab has positively impacted the music scene.

The topic of harm-reduction will be addressed in a dedicated article in the future.

The Final Show

Police raids. Increased financial pressure. Plans for the building to be torn down. A variety of factors led to the decision to close the venue.

Mungo called the only staff meeting in Grey Lab’s history and announced that the venue would close in September. Grey Lab’s send-off took place on August 31st and was a day to remember. 15 bands. All day and all night. And the final show was delivered in full.

The place was sold-out wall to wall. Being in the audience for that show was surreal. There was a contagious feeling of positivity. Every band played their hearts out. Everyone danced even when they were exhausted. Audience members and performers crowd surfed throughout the night. It was an incredible send-off for a beloved venue in the community.

Farewell for Now

The closing of Grey Lab doesn’t mean that the music scene is dying out. The fact that Grey Lab was inspired by previous community builders, shows that there is hope. Mungo’s efforts will undoubtedly inspire others to start their own art spaces.

With the opening of The Mezzanine and the efforts from other local staples like Green Auto, Red Gate, Bully’s Studios, and Take Your Time Back, the loss of venues might just be a natural part of the music scene’s lifecycle. Maintaining a community-centered space takes significant resources and commitment, so the people involved may change over time.

But the local scene has proven that they’re willing to embrace community-run venues. Yes, the city presents countless challenges to DIY spaces, but the existence of places like Grey Lab proves that people care about keeping the music scene alive.