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the meatlockers?
| Message Board > General Chitchat > the meatlockers? |
| BigGeek User Info... | For me, the concept of practising is directly related to the meatlockers. So, it conjures up fond memories of opening the door and getting blasted with punk rock and that unique meatloacker stench. It also brings up not-so-fond memories like having to lug gear up those stairs after a show. For the younger musicians out there: The meatlockers were the main place to practise in the city. It was a building on the outskirts of downtown (near Value Village) that was literally full of old meat lockers converted into practise spaces. Tons of Victoria's underground bands practised there. Sadly, the meatlockers burned down in the late 90's and are now a bunch of loft-apartments. Not to sound overly-reminiscient, but didn't the scene feel more like a family back then? In my opinion, it felt more like a community than it does now. Do anyone else out there miss the meatlockers like I do? Ah hell, maybe that's just the beers talking... - Fri, 22 Dec 2006 10:58pm | ||
| Mr. Hell User Info... | I cry myself to sleep at night missing those historic rooms...well, not quite crying, but I get nostalgic from time to time for sure. Some of my favorite musical memories are from there. I am going to post some stories when I have time. I encourage everyone who experienced that place to also post some good stories. The scene was much more community oriented then. Golden years. - Sat, 23 Dec 2006 1:28pm Edited: Sat, 23 Dec 2006 1:29pm | ||
| lonemonk User Info... | We rented three different spots within the lair of Meat-locker... First was mid-hallway / 2nd floor; firmly in the disgusting zone of the complex; Temperature, Power, Atmosphere threatened to kill everyone at any moment. Occasionally there were turds in the hallway and an everlasting stench (as hinted at in the introduction) Then we switched to a ground level unit. Sweet room, low rent, reasonable protection; The ability to spend lunch-hour playing real music for a change. (Sigh; I WISH I had the luxury of this recently) Lastly, we co-operated on the massive ground level unit toward Capital Iron, and not a part of the original building. We recorded a whole lotta Luke Puke on the bitch-skins. I was visiting Ontario when I got the call that the MoFo was on fire. My homeboys rushed in and rescued all the stuff. Not 90 minutes later was a rash of thefts and legitimate water damage... Even though there have always been better and nicer jam-spots, the Meat-Lockers remain the integral part of the music scene of Victoria past. Some of my favourite memories include hanging outside in the delivery zone, smoking cigarettes, weed, and drinking beer. Sometimes the cops came and everyone had fun. With Smoked Out Brains being 20 feet away, you know you're going to have lots of visitors.... I can tell you, they were not specifically looking for The Band per se.... My Doctor happens to practice out of what the building is now. Too bad it is so gentrified. I preferred the stench. . . - Sun, 24 Dec 2006 2:22am Edited: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 2:54am | ||
| Mean Mike User Info... | I remember one time we sprayed fart gas under Black Market Fruits door while they were jamming. Then we hid behind ours and listened to them freaking out. Actually, I think we did that to Belt once too :D - Sun, 24 Dec 2006 12:16pm | ||
| Mutilashawn User Info... | the spaces in Esquimalt by the Wholesale are very much like that ... well I can only assume cause I'm no dinosaur. jk omg - Sun, 24 Dec 2006 1:49pm | ||
| Mean Mike User Info... | not even close.. Esquimalt is alot cleaner. Since were talkin about old, I think the Dayglos were one of the first bands to jam in each location, years before other bands. - Sun, 24 Dec 2006 2:35pm | ||
| Mr. Hell User Info... | The Esquimalt places don't have even one iota of the character the Meatlockers had. Some of the fun: The old alcholic dude who hung out in the loading bay. We named him The Leech. One day he was wandering around on the higher area of the bay and he stepped right off the edge and did a face plant onto the pavement. Bloody mess, broken nose. Poor guy. Very amusing though! Todd yelling at people for vandalizing the building and pissing in the elevator shaft. More than a few times I came around a corner to find Todd freaking on someone for pissing in the hallway and elevator shaft...pretty embarrassing for an adult to be scolded for such behavior. The upper area that was condemned was pretty cool. Jay Mutherfucker and Dizzy got rights to clean it out and turn it into a jamspace/musician's lounge. We pitched in and got rid of the 3 feet of sawdust on the floor. Found some old cool chests with old City Of Victoria documents up there. The Satanic cow. What a mindfuck that was. A plastic cow was placed in front of our door, so we promptly took it and threw it into a room that was unoccupied and inhabitable. The next day the fucking cow was on our doorstep again so we took her in. We placed the cow on top of the fridge up in our loft and it was there that it started lashing out at us. We were jamming and suddenly for no reason at all the cow came flying off the fridge and hit me in the back of the legs. A friend of ours, Dylan Munch was lying upsidedown on the couch up there grooving to the music and he kicked the cow by accident and proceeded to fall headfirst to the floor below. He was ok. At one point I had enough, so I climbed the ladder to the loft like I had hundreds of times with no problem. I was yelling about cutting it in half and burning it as I climbed and halfway up the ladder inexplicably kicked out from under me. That was the last time I fucked with the Satanic Cow. The fucking toilet perpetually filled with shit was also an adventure everytime. The day it caught on fire I got a phone call from Tony or Mike. Sure enough I looked out my front door on Fifth and Quadra and could see the building smoking like a motherfucker. I swore if my gear got burned up, I was done with music. Unfortunately for some, it was unscathed. A few people weren't so lucky. Todd suffered the most as his whole living space collapsed. Pool table through the floor. Poor guy! He was a stand up character. Damn, I miss that place! - Mon, 25 Dec 2006 6:39pm Edited: Thu, 28 Dec 2006 4:11pm | ||
| _Griphin_ User Info... | I actually was surprized about the Esquimalt jam space, even though I'll never be there anymore (I thought it was cool to go to after the gig at the HalfWay), it was a cool place to hang around. - Mon, 25 Dec 2006 10:14pm | ||
| lonemonk User Info... | What exactly were you surprised about again? - Tue, 26 Dec 2006 12:12am | ||
| Curmudgeon Rocker User Info... | In one of our meatocker jamspaces there was blood all over the walls - made for cool inspiration, and hygiene. And I believe it was meatlocker #1 - the very first room on your left as soon as you go through that immortal steel door - that was really super narrow, so that the only way you could jam is to set up everyone sideways to each other, including the drummer. None of them compared, though, to the Deathpit, which we started in '89 at the Esquimalt space. Luxurious pimpdom, and GREAT fuckin outa town bands playin there. /poor, beleagured Todd, though...... - Tue, 26 Dec 2006 12:26pm Edited: Tue, 26 Dec 2006 12:50pm | ||
| lonemonk User Info... | Todd used to get very irate when people called him a slum-lord. What exactly would you call him if not that? . . - Tue, 26 Dec 2006 4:12pm | ||
| _Griphin_ User Info... | That it was actually in an apartment block and no-one complained about the noise?!? - Tue, 26 Dec 2006 4:33pm | ||
| Curmudgeon Rocker User Info... | From our experience, Esquimalt neighbours never complained as long as you didn't play past ten. When out of town bands played, we'd throw on an extra mattress or two, and could play past twelve. /back to the meatlockers - smellin all that home-boag in the hallways - you knew SOB was practising. - Tue, 26 Dec 2006 4:58pm Edited: Tue, 26 Dec 2006 5:11pm | ||
| Name / Alias User Info... | Hey Lonemonk, I too used to rent that big fucker on the end closest to Capitol Iron. Was a very sweet spot indeed. From what I remember it was the size of a small stadium. I remember after jamming one night, we were walking up Chatham St. & there was a band practicing in one of the street level spots. Well they had their door closed but left the padlock hanging in the hasp. Someone I was with, I won't say who, decided to close the hasp & lock the poor fuckers in their spot. I wonder how long they pounded on the inside of their own door before someone cut the lock off. I think one of the guys plays in Hot Hot Heat now. I also remember going to watch Malevolence jam & my buddy Dave Ross came stumbling out into the loading bay & walked right off the edge. I think he was so drunk that he just absorbed the impact & didn't even realize he did it. - Wed, 27 Dec 2006 2:10pm Edited: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 2:14pm | ||
| lonemonk User Info... | Yes, that end unit was pretty massive. I think there were 3 or 4 bands in there when we used it. It would have made a wicked little studio all by itself. The massive ceilings in particular! Thats a nasty thing to do to a bunch in that building. And that was probably before everyone carried a Cell Phone! . - Wed, 27 Dec 2006 9:48pm | ||
| Brian VIHC User Info... | The Meatlockers, or rather the space directly below them (what was then Buzzard's Lunch, the bizarro art gallery), is where I saw my first punk show on Halloween of 1994. It was Black Kronstadt. There were super drunk nutcases swinging from the pipes on the ceiling and smashing the art exhibits, making the hosts of the show none too happy. Some woman had a fake dick hanging out of her pants which she made a point of slapping everyone with. The following year I was in a lousy band that shared the jamspace with Black Kronstadt. I recall writing something in Japanese on the wall in the hall outside the jamspaces along with my friends putting up various punk slogans, which seemed to irk the ire of some neo-nazi dipshits who were jamming in there as well, since we came back a couple days later to find everything we had written covered over. The nazis' graffiti consisted of crossed out Stars of David, German fascist slogans, and something insulting alluding to what I wrote being Hebrew (!). I guess nazis can't be that smart. Todd got so mad he painted over the whole area with black paint. I remember one night we were screwing around and Jeff Kelland was trying out as vocalist and being the idiots that we were we let him pretend to make extremely stupid and obviously fake lyrics as if we were a bad oi band. I guess the guys in Black Market Fruits heard us and thought WE were the nazis in the building (since no one knew who they were or what meatlocker they were in). We discovered weeks later they had formulated a plan by which they were going to spray pepper spray under our door and nail a plank of wood across it so we couldn't escape. Thankfully we sorted that one out. I also recall Geordie (our guitarist) surreptitiously living in our jamspace since at the time he was between apartments, and trying to keep Todd from noticing. Man that place was disgusting. Fond memories. - Wed, 27 Dec 2006 10:20pm | ||
| Tyler User Info... | these stories are amazing. does anyone have pictures? - Wed, 27 Dec 2006 10:38pm | ||
| Mean Mike User Info... |  | ||
| A. Angus User Info... | Yeah the Meatlockers were the place to jam if you were into punk/metal back in the later '90s. Hiroshima 8:16 jammed there for quite awhile, despite all the break ins happening and shady characters hanging around there. If that place was around now, it would be an absolute goldmine for junkies and thieves; I think all we had was a padlock on our door! We ended up leaving right before it burned down. When exactly did the meatlockers burn down? I remember that the wooden stairs had permanent grooves worn into them from being used for the hundred or so years that place was in existence, and pigeons and rats were everywhere. Fuck that place was sketchy, but awesome. - Fri, 29 Dec 2006 9:55am | ||
| Mean Mike User Info... | and an illegal firetrap that escaped the eyes of the city for so long.. - Fri, 29 Dec 2006 12:08pm | ||
| dooker User Info... | the larger room you are all referring to was actually 40 feet by 60 feet and 22 feet tall - measured it one day - Jho Nek Bhone reheearsed in there for quite a while = amazing sound because of the rubber type materials on the floors, walls and ceiling - such a large room and practically dead in sound - did pre-production with Fine Tooth Combine in there as well as Jho Nek Bhone - many many fond memories - the owner actually supported local music - am glad there are properly prepared rooms (ie Rick May) availible now - much safer - Fri, 29 Dec 2006 1:55pm | ||
| _Griphin_ User Info... |  | ||
| Mean Mike User Info... | I think Armoros also jammed in the big room years and years before the back area opened up.. - Fri, 29 Dec 2006 5:39pm | ||
 Messages Posted: | Betty Ford. 93 - 94. - Fri, 29 Dec 2006 7:19pm | ||
| _Griphin_ User Info... | It's also possible that Mission of Christ also jammed there, as well as Scott Henderson's jam space (I think). I know Armoros played gigs at the Rats Nest. BTW: I'm almost taken out the tape hiss from of the demo, what a hassle but the demo sounds a lot better. (I can't master a recording since i don't have mastering equipment at my disposal). I love some of those drum rolls! - Fri, 29 Dec 2006 9:15pm Edited: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 9:17pm | ||
| Inhalien User Info... | Hey, Mr. Hell - it's been a few years since I've been in your jam spot, I jammed a couple doors down in Esq - do you still have the actual meatlocker DOOR? You used to have it hanging in your drinking area of the jam spot. (surely a prize to behold!) - Fri, 29 Dec 2006 10:09pm Edited: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 10:10pm | ||
| Mr. Hell User Info... | I think it's either still there or Mike grabbed it. T'was a golden era! - Sat, 30 Dec 2006 1:45am | ||
| Mean Mike User Info... | nah that thing weigh too much, its in the Esquimalt spot being caretaken by Desensitized and crew - Sat, 30 Dec 2006 11:42am | ||
| J. Peatman User Info... | Fuck, it would be nice to see some pictures of the ambience of the Meatlockers. - Thu, 4 Jan 2007 7:14pm | ||
| Hang the DJ User Info... | This is so inspiring. I'm sorry the meatlockers burnt down. I'm definitely too young to even recall their existence, but reading all these stories (which are ridiculously funny) gives me that warm fuzzy feeling nonetheless. Thank you for sharing. - Thu, 4 Jan 2007 11:24pm | ||
| _Griphin_ User Info... | You were in Malevolence?!? I love that tape I posted the cover for, no wonder a lot of people got a kick out of that band. Good work!!! - Fri, 5 Jan 2007 1:00am Edited: Fri, 5 Jan 2007 1:01am | ||
| Gman User Info... | Up for argument: Nostalgia is the death knell of rock. - Fri, 5 Jan 2007 1:08am | ||
| lonemonk User Info... | Rock's been dead for 30+ plus years AND, people are still nostalgic about that! "Hey man, member when Rock died?" {tear} "Ya, that was sweet." . . - Fri, 5 Jan 2007 12:33pm Edited: Fri, 5 Jan 2007 12:33pm | ||
| Brian VIHC User Info... |  | ||
| Mean Mike User Info... | I got to the Hump House wrecker just in time to see the smashed out front window and a bunch of cops with pepper spray and so we left real quick. - Sun, 7 Jan 2007 1:15pm | ||
| Pierce User Info... | awesome shit.. Dumb Question: ML7 played in room #7? - Mon, 8 Jan 2007 12:35pm Edited: Mon, 8 Jan 2007 12:36pm | ||
| Mr. Hell User Info... | Started in number 4. Moved to number 7 (where the name was decided upon), then up to number 17. - Mon, 8 Jan 2007 4:46pm | ||
| Pierce User Info... | fuckin eh! Shit we should have used that system to name SD but then we would be "The Right Below Money Marters" ..not as metal. Giddy-up - Mon, 8 Jan 2007 5:19pm | ||
| Mr. Hell User Info... | Or you could have named yourselves 'Three Bucks On A Hund'. - Mon, 8 Jan 2007 8:39pm | ||
| Pierce User Info... | Metal! I would love to see some Armoros pics from the Meatlocker days. Anyone? - Wed, 10 Jan 2007 5:39pm | ||
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