Dirty Socks???? Who Knew???

Our music venue panel discussion at Saturn Birmingham on Jan. 19th was phenomenal! We had 100+ attendees at our event, with an expert panel comprised of Neil Davis, AIA, Brian Teasley, Aaron Greene, Sean Price and of course our hip moderator from CCR (and SUBSTRATE RADIO) Jacklyn Loquidis-Hamric. We learned musicians have very dirty socks after a show/concert. Some musicians actually throw their socks out the window after a concert! SMELLY! Every musician at some point has had to play in a dirty filthy bar at some point while touring.

Hospitality goes a long way in the touring band world. Musicians are on the road for months and a smile at the door and let me help you goes a long way.

The panel discussed various elements of venue design, including safety, lighting, acoustics, amenities, hospitality and so much more. There was a lot of discussion about the stage: how much weight it can hold, leave the sides of the stage open for the touring bands lighting and other equipment, think about how they load in their equipment and breaking it down after a show.

Safety was addressed and all agreed if the current codes were enforced, many of the accidents would never happen or would not have been as tragic.

Here’s what some of our members had to say about the panel:

“They were each articulate in their own way, which made for a very good panel discussion.” – Emory Kirkwood

“I was expecting a typical “architecty” discussion but instead got to understand what the fans, owners and bands value in a facility. The panel was a perfect mix of humble talented artists and the result was refreshing.“– Louis Nequette, AIA

“Nice to hear professionals discussing what they are passionate about. Reminds me of what it means to love what you do.” Lissy Frese, AIA

After the panel discussion, Teasley gave us a tour of Saturn’s Green Room (artist hospitality suite) above the venue and coffee shop. The large loft had a full-size kitchen, built in bunk beds, washer/dryer (for those smelly socks) , bathrooms, a pool table, media room and even a mailbox for writing postcards home to friends and family. Definitely a draw to get touring bands to perform at Saturn and musicians TALK and word will spread quick about this ROCKING GREEN ROOM in Avondale AL.