A Sad Day for Oneonta: No More Shows at The Ol' Storefont

 On the same day that we mailed a courtesy letter to our neighbors about the music at The Redemption Movement, the City of Oneonta Code Enforcement Office mailed us a letter ordering our church to "cease all use of the premises as a live music venue." This is highly disappointing news for us and the Oneonta arts scene. Friends, take heart. The Ol' Storefront may be closed for live performances, but this isn't the last song of our movement.

No More Shows? What Gives?

Code violations did us in. To again quote the letter, "Based upon complaints received by this office and advertisements for live music observed around the city, it appears that these activities exceed the use parameters set by the City of Oneonta Planning Commission." The letter goes on to mention violations regarding parking, use of the building as an unauthorized nightclub, building capacity, and the need for the building to be compliant with all codes pertaining to a public assembly.

Can The Redemption Movement Still Meet at The Ol' Storefront?

Yes. The church will continue to meet on Fridays at 148 River St. for our weekly gatherings, and we will use the building for other ministry activities.

What about the Upcoming Shows Scheduled on the RM Calendar?

We've found a home for all three of our scheduled shows on 6-4, 7-10, and 7-13. The generous folks at Susquehanna Trail and Campground have agreed to host these shows, along with other future events that we will want to do. Keep an eye on our blog's show page and Facebook page for the latest information as we confirm details with the bands and make arrangements with the Campground.

What's Next for Music at RM?

We've got several options before us, none of which are cheap or easy. For all the time, work, and expense it will take to have the building meet code requirements for public assembly, it may make more sense to move operations entirely out of the River St. location. There may also exist a route that will allow us to continue to host small shows at The Ol' Storefront without having to do additional work on the building. However, all options point to submitting plans to the city, which involves lots of paperwork, going before committees, and paying for the services of various certified professionals like engineers.

We clearly need a bigger space.

As much as I would like to invest more time and money into fixing up The Ol' Storefront, it feels like a lost cause because we've reached a place with our music where we're booking bands that are used to bigger shows, and after using the space for church ministry for the past year, it's obvious that the out-of-the-way location is negatively affecting the effectiveness of our church. Therefore, instead of putting extra effort into something that's ineffective, our next move may be to put the same amount of effort into fundraising in order to move operations to a downtown location.

A Blessing in Disguise?

In a way, it's a bummer because it feels like we're giving up on a space that we've worked so hard to create, but at the same time, moving to downtown has always been the next step of RM's plans--as evidenced from this 2009 YouTube video where Laura and I drove through downtown Oneonta for the very first time and I made the comment at 3:36 as saw the then-abandoned Bresee's building:

"There's an old department store building that's not being used. This downtown area, I don't know the town very well yet, but I would love to start a church in one these downtown storefronts."

For us, we've always seen The Old Storefront as a starter building. Our ambitions are much bigger than a 25x25 room. In 2009 Laura and I moved to NY; not knowing anybody in our new town, it would have been impossible for us to obtain a space downtown, seeing that the city didn't know us and nobody knew what kind of a church we would start. Now, after ministering to Oneonta for five years, I feel like we have many friends in both the arts and the faith community that would be happy to help us in supporting a move to a better location. Additionally, on 5-6 we had a positive meeting with the city council where we addressed the noise issue by informing officials about all the positives of our music and ministry. After that meeting, I feel like a move to downtown may be welcomed by the deciding powers that be. Basically, this one complaint against us has generated a lot of positive support about our mission, and it would be wise for us to take advantage of it to get us to where we want to go.

Regrets? 

It's regrettable that these wonderfully-positive shows has to end on such a negative note. It's my hope that these zoning violations don't ruin the church's reputation and that the community will see the good that we were trying to accomplish. I wrongfully assumed that the shows we hosted was part of "church use" (which the building was approved for). I also had every intention to submit new parking plans, but that got pushed aside as I became busy with the responsibilities of pastoring, working a full-time job, running shows, and being a new parent. To help make amends with the zoning department, we immediately stopped doing music at our place as soon as we received the letter. And after talking with zoning, we scheduled a building inspection concerning the site plans we submitted from a few years back. Thankfully, we passed that inspection and our building is currently compliant for the purposes that we are using it for.

A worship service during the remodeling.

If I had to do it over again, I would have done things by the book and pushed back the grand opening to give us more time to get the zoning issues resolved. I think this ordeal serves as a trial-by-fire lesson about working with city government. This experience helps me to understand how to be more compliant with new projects going forward. It's regrettable that we violated codes, however, what's not regrettable is all the friendships we made and artists that we blessed over the course of 23 shows in our little storefront between 2012 and 2014.

The End of an Era

Artists and fans lucky enough to have enjoyed music hosted at The Ol' Storefront understand how special of a place it was. It was an all-ages venue that provided the community with more than just another stage for bands to sing their songs; the Ol' Storefront provided people with a positive, unique, and memorable experience.

The Ol' Storefront served as a place that would give new artists a chance to play their first show. For bands that were on tour and had shows in the region cancel on them, The Ol' Storefront was an easy show to book that kept their tour alive. And doing music helped our church connect with college students from SUNY Oneonta's Music Industry Club, some of the most respectful, responsible, and appreciative students that I've had the pleasure to work with.

MIC Students helping fix up the building.

The Ol' Storefront also served as a "Band and Breakfast." We enjoyed letting traveling musicians crash on our floor, serving them free meals after the show, and even playing board games with them. Showing musicians Christian hospitality has led to wonderful friendships that made bands want to come back, despite the low attendance at the shows.

The Takeaways, King Django, P-Dub, The Snails

At the shows, we would go out of our way to make them fun. Often times we would serve show goers free food like funnel cakes, baked potatoes, and BBQ, and then there was the time we boarded up the front of the building with old doors and pallets and invited the participants of the zombie walk to bust through. With one show we raised money for a local food bank, and it was always wonderful to see kids in attendance enjoying bands that typically play in age-restricted bars. It's my hope that these kids were inspired by the music to pick up a guitar and drumsticks, and that their passion would fuel an awkward high school band that would go on to do great things and make Oneonta proud.         

Bray unplugged. RM's official house band.

Even though the shows only lasted a relatively short 2-year period, there are too many great memories to list. The music may be shut down at The Ol Storefront, but the memories will live on. And remember, this isn't the end of music hosted by The Redemption Movement. We will get back on our feet and put on bigger and better shows that will benefit the community we love. Keep an eye on our blog and Facebook page to find out how you can help with our upcoming plans, and remember that the building is still open for church use and you're always welcome to visit us on a Friday Gathering or participate in a Sunday Act of Kindness if you want to get involved with our little movement.             

Stacked Like Pancakes

Lila Ignite and Backslashes and Bad Ideas

Poor Jeremy, A Guy Named Guy, Threat Level Burgundy

The Blind Spots and Kardia

Zombies!

The Sheds

No Lost Cause

A Guy Named Guy with SkyanI

Survay Says!

Past Shows

2014
5-3 Bray, The Longest Monday, Everything Ever, Bone Circle, The Bailouts, Danny Cohen, Kyle McElhone 
4/27 King Django, Predator Dub Assassins, The Snails, Baked Potatoes
3/8 Bray, lastdayshining, Ampersand, Au Revoir, Yoma
2/26 The Takeaways, KLOZAPIN, Deadwood
2/8 (Show moved from RM to SUNY Oneonta) Ryan Eldred, No Such Noise, The Best of The Worst, Eli Whitney and the Sound Machine, A Guy Named Guy, Poor Jeremy, Threat Level Burgundy, The Phonies 
1/23 Stacked Like Pancakes, Baked Potatoes, District Radio
1/18 The Longest Monday, Ampersand, Bray, Lift Tom Lift, Veterans of the Cold War, Kyle McElhone
1/5 Lila Ignite, The Original Crooks and Nannies, Backslashes and Bad Ideas, Nice Try Kid

2013 
12/7 The Blind Spots, Kardia, Deadwood
11/4 American Verse, Storm the Bay, Broadside, Bray, Lift Tom Lift
11/2 Entropy, Baked Potatoes, Brian Milligram
10/12 Condition Oakland, Suburban Drag, Home Movies, Lila Ignite, Clayton Ravine, Lift Tom Lift, Surly Dylan Suttles.
10/3 Kills and Thrills, Dirtpope, Gravedancer
10/1 The Sheds, Ignition, Baked Potatoes, Bray
9/21 Deadwood, Ellio Vezza, Dan Rickenback, Frank Funigiello, Kyle Sisco, Kyle McElhone, Chelsea Coreen, Jesse Hermann
7/30 The Wife and Kids, Chris Clark and Nate Purcell
6/28 No Lost Cause
5/23 A Guy Named Guy, SkyanI, Chris Clark and Nate Purcell, Julia Maree, Skyfall

4/28 The Waffle Stompers, Survay Says!, Llama Tsunami, Uncle Joel's Comb
4/3 Placeholder, Eyes Wide, Frank Funigiello, Jesse Hermann, Elio Vezza 
3/24 Art Show: Jim Seymour, Joe Hamilton, Abbey Koutnick, Chris Chase, Jen Jump, Stacy Brock, Donna Wessel, Garland Mallette, Michael Shirk. 
3/16 SkyanI, Laura Carpenter
1/24 Survay Says!, Somewhere Up There, The Pants, Ignition, Louis Pratt

2012

7/21 May Weather

5/15 Lightning Killed My Parents, Atlas Arrows, Laura Carpenter

An Open Letter to Our 6th Ward Neighborhood

Greetings Lower-Deck neighbors!

Over the past year, you may have noticed an increase in activity coming from the once-abandoned storefront at 148 River Street. This activity comes from The Redemption Movement, a nondenominational Christian church, being up and running. In addition to our weekly church gatherings on Fridays, we make the building available throughout the week as a community center for groups and artists that would like to use it. Last summer, it was our pleasure to host a Narcotics Anonymous group and we are open to using the space to bless even more groups. There was a time when the little green building was the hub of the neighborhood; we would like to see this be the case once again.

One group in particular that has accepted our offer is local and regional rock bands. We are thrilled to be able to provide a place where artists and fans can enjoy the music they love without being charged money to use the space--all the other venues in town charge money for space rental*, making it impossible for artists to profit from small shows. We acknowledge that some of the music we’ve hosted has been rather loud, and the crowds may even look suspicious. I’m writing to you today to inform you what’s going on with the music, as well as to make myself available for any questions or concerns.

Addressing the Noise 

I want to assure you that we are doing everything we can do to minimize the noise level, and we are making improvements as we go. One precaution that we have taken is to cover the front windows with extra-thick sheet rock and foam mattresses for each show. We have also installed an additional layer of sheetrock and sound-dampening insulation on the ceiling and walls during the remodeling process, and we’ve established a 9PM curfew for amplified music. Additionally, we make available free ear plugs for concert attendees.

For our upcoming shows we are trying something new. We will be covering the exterior doors with thick moving blankets and we will enforce a new rule of keeping the South and West doors shut during the playing of music. The only door we will use during the playing of live music will be the back door that does not directly face a residence. If these new noise-proofing measures still do not dampen the sound enough, then we have additional sound-proofing measures that we can try.

Addressing the Crowds 

The fans of the music may look rough with their tattoos and piercings, but I assure you that they are some of the nicest, most appreciative, and even respectful people that you will meet. The shows we host are open to all age groups. There is no alcohol, no drugs, and no fighting. In fact, even the musicians make it a point to not swear during their performance and the bands help clean up the property after the show is over.

For young people, it is a safe environment to make positive decisions. You will find that one big difference between the music at RM and the nightclub environment where music like this is typically performed, is that we’re an artist-friendly venue off the beaten path. The advantage to this is that the people in attendance are not there to drink, they come to enjoy the music. This means that we’re not likely to have people stumble in drunk from a bar next door because a showgoer must make an effort to travel down River St, and few party-goers drink before 9PM.

Building Community 

One goal I have with these shows is to bring the Oneonta community together with all of its wonderful diversity. Therefore, I invite you to stop in for any activity at “The Ol’ Storefront” and take time to meet some of these great people for yourself. In fact, as a neighbor, I want to give you and your family free admission to any show that we host. You can find links on our church webpage (missiononeonta.blogspot.com/p/shows.html) to preview the music that will be played, I would even be happy to work with you to bring your favorite musicians to perform next door.

Not all of the music we host is rock. We’ve been known to host folk music too. Basically, we’re open minded with our music and dislike turning away an artist based on their musical style. This open-minded attitude and artist-friendly setup has attracted talented bands from as far away as California, Texas, and Florida. These are professional and nationally-known musicians that put on very enjoyable shows and attract fans from out of town, as well as out of state.

Communication is Key 

I am available for any questions or concerns that you may have about any activities that we host. You can reach me on my cell at 607.434.2564, email me: kalerandlaura@yahoo.com, or you can just knock on my door. I promise to respond to any concerns with a friendly and cooperative attitude, and I am willing to make adjustments to how we do things to better suit the neighborhood. Also, if you’ve not yet seen the inside of Kay’s old place, I invite you to pop in sometime. We’ve done extensive remodeling on the inside and we have plans to upgrade the frontage this summer.

Thank you for your understanding,
 -Kaler Carpenter
Pastor of The Redemption Movement

Stop by for a visit any time. We'll even bake some cookies for ya!

*There are a few local bars that do not charge bands to play. However, they are selective in only booking bands that will bring in customers. Additionally, they serve alcohol, which poses a problem for young bands and their underage fans.