This last week in Edmonton has seen the Studio Music Foundation in the news for all of the wrong reasons. The Studio, for those who are unaware, is a local venue that has hosted many up-and-coming bands, as well as a some more established artists. Located in an industrial area of the city, the building houses the Studio on the main floor.
From what I can gather, the drugs and cash were seized from an office on the upper floor of the building. The promoter, who runs the studio (from my limited understanding), has apparently been included by fact that his name is on the building lease. While I do not personally know anyone involved, it appears that the media misrepresented the story. At least in the original press and TV news releases. Whether this was negligence or an attempt to create a more sensational story, or whether misrepresentation truly took place, this is something that the reader should decide upon considering the available information. One thing that has not been made clear is whether drug-infused baked goods were being sold out of the Studio itself. It was implied in some of the first news releases, but later releases suggested this was not the case. The police have not directly addressed this, other than to say the operation took place in the building, which houses more than one business. There is no indication that the baked goods in question were offered for sale at the Studio’s concession during concerts in the venue.
If the Studio itself had no direct involvement with the sale of drugs, other than the misfortune of being in the same building, this is a shame for the music community in Edmonton. Without having any inside sources, I tend to believe that this may be an unfortunate situation for the venue. I’d like to give the promoter interviewed and those that are involved with the Studio the benefit of the doubt in this case, as most people involved in the local music scene are genuinely trying to do something good for the community of musicians and music fans. That being said, drugs are prevalent everywhere if you know where to look and it shouldn’t come as a real surprise to hear of a drug bust almost anywhere (without referring specifically to this case).
While I’ve only been to the Studio a handful of times for shows, it would be a shame to lose it. The location was somewhat different, which personally, I found refreshing. You didn’t have to deal with the crowds and lack of parking present at other venues located downtown. The only people in the area during a show were like-minded; there to listen to live music. As a venue, the Studio comes across as pretty rudimentary. There is nothing fancy about it, other than a decent stage set-up, but that tends to be part of the charm of going out to see local up-and-coming bands. As mentioned in a few of the articles, it is one of the only (if not the only) venue that still had the capability of hosting shows with minors allowed. I’m long beyond the point of personally caring whether minors are allowed into a venue or not, but from a wider perspective, this would be a huge loss. Many of these bands looking to get their start have minors as band members, and many of the music fans of today (and tomorrow) will inevitably gain their love for music before they are legally old enough to enter a bar. It will be interesting to see exactly how this situation plays out. Hopefully the outcome can, in some form or another, reduce the harm already done to the Edmonton music scene by this event.
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