Parish Hall/Exit Stencil catalyst Ryan Weitzel
Saying goodbye to one of Cle's brightest venues

After a stalwart two-year run, Parish Hall Cleveland (located at 6205 Detroit Ave., in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood) closes for good Monday, October 1. The indie art space was programmed by the nonprofit group Detroit Avenue Arts, which hosted arts, culture and music events there.

The location was also home to the Miller-Weitzel Gallery and to the Exit Stencil Records recording studio and offices. The label’s roster includes hot, locally-based acts like New Lou Reeds, Roué, Coffinberry and the Dreadful Yawns. The sad passing of this edgy local venue came on the heels of another regional loss – Akron’s rock club, the Lime Spider. But to hear Exit Stencil/Detroit Avenue Arts catalyst Ryan Weitzel tell it, this is no time to be morose about Parish Hall.

“We worked on the venue really hard and I certainly didn’t take the decision to close Parish Hall lightly, but had to make selfish decision in some ways and decide what to focus my energy on,” said Weitzel, who's one of four board members and also runs the Exit Stencil label and plays in a rock trio called Mystery of Two. “Running a space is relentless and I guess this is just an unfortunate circumstance of both the venue and the Exit Stencil label and artists picking up in popularity at the same time.

“Having to decide ‘which it’s gonna be’ constantly was difficult, but I’m really happy with the decision and excited because we’re moving in a good direction with the label. And on a personal level, with the first Mystery of Two release coming out, it will feel good to focus the time and energy on that.”

Built in 1926, Parish Hall was formerly the social hall of St. Mary's Romanian Orthodox Church. The space has a proscenium at one end, hardwood floors and can accommodate seating for 150 people. The lower-level space has been called a "clubhouse" sort of space, with cabaret seating and a kitchen. An all-volunteer staff booked and worked many shows featuring groups from all over the world; among them were Ian "Fugazi" MacKaye's band the Evens, the psychedelic group The Red Krayola and nearly every single Exit Stencil group.

Over the last two years, the Hall and Gallery featured hundreds of bands, visual and performance artists and exhibitions. According to Weitzel, “Running a space like Parish Hall is not an impossible thing, but whoever goes into running a club or performance and art space has to be committed. Ask the other owners around town and they’ll tell you the same. It has to be your baby, because running an operation like this is expansive, both as a time and financial commitment.”

Weitzel doesn’t feel any sense of regret that Parish Hall is closing. “Cleveland has some other great venues, but is also ripe for a more community oriented space,” he told Cool Cleveland last week. “Honestly, I don’t feel any regret at all. We’ve been presenting art for years in Cleveland now and I still love the art and shows and all that we’ve done. I think it was really worthwhile experience and I personally enjoyed all that we had going on here, but without a substantial way to create more time.”

“There just aren’t enough hours in the day,” he added. “A lot of happens with the hall and things with the label is so time intensive – mixing, recording, PR orchestrating campaigns, the bands on the road coming to you and the ones you’re recording and you’re managing – that day to day, it all just built up to something huge.”

Exit Stencil is currently looking to relocate to a smaller facility and definitely plans to stay in town. “We’re looking at a new space for the label that is much smaller,” Weitzel said. Once that relocation happens, Weitzel and business partners Brandon Stevens and Paul Murphy and cohorts Nick Riley and Liz Finley plan to ramp up their focus on marketing, promotion, “direct to stores sales and other means of distribution,” he said.

“In the past we were hiring companies to do that sort of promotional stuff, but we needed to start moving toward doing those things ourselves in order to continue to grow the label,” Weitzel offered. “It’s important to build relationships and when we’re the ones doing that, then we know what’s getting done when. It means more to us to promote our work and our label as well. Making connections with people around the country about what we’re doing only stands to help our cause.”

“We’re also going to start to get away from releasing CDs and releasing more stuff on vinyl and by digital download,” Weitzel added. “We’re still going to have CDs for sale, but obviously not as many and not in the traditional jewel case format that so many people are used to seeing. Those are on their way out, really – downloads have become so critical to how people listen to music now. Outside of the car, most people just use their computer or iPod.”

Weitzel went to school for audio production at Ohio University and has been recording records up from then through today. When he first moved back to Cleveland, he recorded a 7 inch single on his own. It not only served as the basis for the creation of the label, but also for the creation of the band Mystery of Two. The band, along with the Dreadful Yawns, celebrate the release of their first long-player Arrows are All You Know and the farewell to Parish Hall this Friday, September 14.

“In the city, it has been sort of tough, but it’s a great place for many reasons and the local music scene has always been a strong one,” Weitzel reflected. “I think that Clevelanders underestimate the talent pool here and unfortunately, that equates to many residents waiting for someone outside this area to recognize the talent and proclaim it significant it before we do. I’d like to see that trend reversed.

“Cleveland is a great place for musicians to live, it’s cheap, there are great places to rehearse and of course, it’s always been a musically inclined city. The time is right for the scene to step up a notch, and you’re seeing it with some of the acts here doing more touring and promoting outside the city,” he finalized, acknowledging the city’s dearth of musical resources.

“The music scene is one of our biggest assets here. Some people talk about music from Cleveland; there is a sound that has been historically relevant here stretching back into the 70s.” As for final thoughts on Parish Hall, Weitzel is pragmatic, if not a little bit protective in his detachment.

“Come out and send off Parish Hall with us,” he said. “It will be a great time.”

Don’t miss Parish Hall's final show, the CD-release party with Weitzel's avant-rock group Mystery of Two, on Friday, September 14. For more info, visit http://www.myspace.com/mysteryoftwo. Visit Parish Hall and read about the farewell at http://parishhall.wordpress.com.

From Cool Cleveland Managing Editor Peter Chakerian peterATcoolcleveland.com
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