Station 56
One of Tacoma's top places to go for live club music Article written by Arny Bailey Back to Cover
There’s certainly quite a few “Cool ________
Venues” to play in and around south Puget Sound region and Tacoma’s own Station 56 is definitely worthy of our featured venue.
With the original buidling constructed in 1910 (yep, it’s coming up on it’s 100th birthday), Station 56 has retained all the warmth and old town charm incorporated into the original architecture, while adding a wonderful array of spaces with state of the art sound and lighting.
Load in is pretty much a breeze as there’s parking right at the building. As you enter, you’ll walk through the entry which is adjacent to the sound booth. The coolest part about the entry (aside from the pretty girl looking at your impressive drivers license photo), is that you are looking directly at the stage. Continuing on through a cozy seating area and directly across a decent dance floor, you’re now at a fairly adequate stage book ended by an amazing array of speaker cabinets and overhead lighting.
There’s plenty of room on stage for just about anyone but the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I played there with 5 and we were even able to get 4 across the front with our drummer, on his own portable riser, in the back and had space to spare.
The stage sound system is mixed from the rear of the stage while the house was controlled by the sound booth at the entry. With one sound man the night I played, it made changes to the stage sound only achievable during ___
breaks so a little time getting this dialed in before the show was the key. The house sound system is one of the best around and only bested by the euphoria of not having to hump your own system in.
The acoustics of the house are a bit odd at first but as it turns out, suit the venue well. There is a mezzanine directly over the center area of the building (directly above the stage, dance floor, and entry). If you’re under this space, directly in front of ___
the band, the sound is great and you can definitely feel the bass. This means that the areas to the left of the stage (bar) and right of the stage (pool tables) are taller and the sound dissipates quickly here. I’m not sure if this was intentional or not, but the effect is that these spaces being off axis AND greater in volume mean you can carry on a conversation easier which is perfect for the bar and recreation space.
Lots of great people space at Staion 56
At the rear of the mezzanine over the stage is a dressing room for the performers equipped with some built-in seating and posters of past performers. The Iron Maidens were performing there the night following us and I was sore tempted to leave them a little calling card, but alas, I didn’t have my Magic Marker.J
The crowd was very good but only performing there once doesn’t give me license to pass judgment. I would say that there was more listening and less _
dancing with this crowd, but considering I was there with The Grand Delusion playing Styx tunes, this is pretty much on par.
Shane Gillispie, guitarist for SHIFTER who plays there about every 4 weeks says,” The audience make-up fluctuates a bit depending on the bands I’ve seen in there. Overall, I’d say it’s an upscale crowd looking to dance and have a good time.”
A familiar face to the south end music scene, Shane adds, “Station 56 is without a doubt one of our favorite clubs to play. The first thing you’ll notice about this place is how stylish and clean it is, especially for a club that has live music at least four nights a week. The stage is really featured in the room with good sight lines from anywhere in the house. There is almost a ‘playing-in-the-round’ feel to it.”
When asked about the management, Shane replies, “Management and staff are great. They seem to have a good relationship with and respect the _____
Lots of great dancin' space too!
bands playing in there. They’ve been helpful with promotions as well. I think they’re doing a good job of getting the word out about the place and the bands. They also do a lot of cool tribute bands, and every once in the while a special headliner type of event. In short, it’s our favorite place as a band hang out when we’re not playing. Just Dirt and KRY play there a lot, and it’s a great place to see them.”
To get booked at this venue, click on this link and send Max your information (http://www.station56.com/sites/courses/layout9.asp?id=492&page=25139 ). Then, do the usual follow up. Don’t be shy on your nights off to head down to the club and get to know the staff and meet Max. Heck, even if you don’t end up getting booked there, you’ll get a great evening of entertainment, food and drink!
Arny Bailey
MEET THE WRITER - ARNY BAILEY
President of In Form, Inc. Media Design and Chief Editor of Weekend Musician is a licensed architect practicing in the Pacific Northwest and weekend musician currently fronting ABOUT FACE, a classic rock cover band and The Grand Delusion a Tribute to the music of Styx and Journey.
