On first blush, Studio Vostok – located in a disused retail space in Chinatown, at 246 Keefer – reminds one of classic East Hastings underground locations: those small, off-the-grid venues for local metal, punk and noise events that spring up in abandoned offices and such. With names like the Emergency Room or, indeed, the Secret Location, such spaces usually exist for a limited time only, before the rigours of No Fun City catch up.
But that’s only how it looks on the surface. Studio Vostok is aboveground, and proprietors Mitch Ray and Taya Fraser plan “as much as possible” to meet city bylaws and get all required permits and licenses. They borrow at least one aspect from the underground aesthetic, however: the address of the venue, while not a secret, isn’t visible on gig posters, and may take just a little bit of insider knowledge or effort to find.
“It just looks tacky on a poster,” Fraser says, sitting at a table at Vostok, where the two have been cleaning up after a successful launch party last month. “If people are actually interested in the shows, if they’re interested in the space, they’ll come, they just have to do the work [to find out where it is].”
Ray picks up the thought. “I think by not concealing the address, but by making them work just a little bit, you attract people who are more invested in the music community, and less likely to be assholes” – meaning people more interested in alcohol and causing trouble than checking out the bands. Which is a valid concern, because “if you are running a DIY venue” - even aboveground – “there’s a risk of getting shut down, always.”
“The only way we’re going to stay active is if people respect the neighbourhood,” adds Fraser. “The neighbours, the space, the landlord, everything. Like, you have to actually give a shit about the space to come here!”
As part of the collective Art Signified, the two have been booking shows these last three years. “We’ve probably done over 300 shows, since we’ve been operational,” Ray recounts. “And it’s all over the map. It could be metal, punk, jazz, funk, acoustic: everything. Our thing is everything, as long as it’s good.”
They’ll continue to promote shows as Art Signified, at venues like the Astoria, the Cobalt, the Rickshaw, Lanalou’s, or elsewhere – but they also plan two or three shows per month at Studio Vostok.
“That’s all we can do by the licenses,” Ray explains. “You’re allowed three per month, or 24 in a year; on average two per month.”
The two also plan things like “art exhibits or any sort of idea that people come up with, of how to use this space. We don’t see this as a conventional space in any way. It’s a room where, if you have an idea, we’ll try to do something with it. Anything’s on the table, things that haven’t crossed our minds before. Film screenings, music video production ideas…”
“Ninjaspy just filmed their music video in our basement.” Fraser chimes in.
“Because it’s an open space, we can configure the room however we want, depending on the event,” Ray offers. “We’d like to get to the point where there’s something here every single night and every single day. It’s at the disposal of the artistic community. We’re willing to work within the budget of whatever people have – it’s totally flexible. We come from a background of putting on events where what drove us crazy was having to work within the guidelines that a certain venue has, like: you can’t come in at this time, you have to have this done by that time, this is the fee for this, this is the fee for that. We want to remove that and be flexible, which is what we wanted from other spaces - total flexibility, and very artist-minded.”
The two have had lots of community support - from donated hours from various helpers, getting the venue up and running, to a PA lent to them by former Scratch Records honcho Keith Parry, who used to put on shows at the Interurban. Their friend April-Lee Rivera Johnson – of the bands Passive, Career Opportunities, and Want – designed their logo and the mural to the left of the stage.
“She’s probably our main artistic collaborator,” Ray says.
Studio Vostok has lots in the works, though July shows haven’t been confirmed at press time. The next gig Ray and Fraser have scheduled in the space that they can actually talk about is Peregrine Falls and Molten Lava on Aug. 5. The Studio Vostok and Art Signified Facebook pages should have plenty more information before that time, however.
In the meantime, there’s still work to be done on the space.
“The essentials are done, it’s just adding little bits and pieces as our resources build up,” Mitch says. “We have to make money from shows to be able to afford to do shit, so we’ve got to build it up as we go.”
