Our latest Locals Only feature by Erin DeWitt on Santa Ana-based venue The Clinic, which was full of positive quotes by OC musicians, inspired the letter below (all of which is reprinted here unedited).
The clinic is one of the worst venues that i've been to in my life. All these claims of "punk" are lies and the term "Punk" should not be associated with the clinic. It was never started as a punk venue, it was started as a venue strictly dedicated to the "noise" genre.
They claim to be a punk venue but how could they be this when they ban bands that speak their mind. What ever happend to "free speach"? Obviously its not welcomed at the clinic. It is a place run by kids that are governed by highschool politics. "If we don't like you, you don't play. If we don't like what you say about us, you don't play" Punk rock, i think not.
This venue is all about the $$ and that is very sad. They've screwed numerous bands and fans out of good shows. If you don't play bu their rules, they cut your set to 5minutes and don't care if the crowd paid to see you.
A "no booze" vene? i think not, you mean a no booze venue for the people, yet i have counted numerous times the "security" guards chugging some coronas in the back.
I think you should speak to alot more of the bands that have played there that have had a negative experience with the clinic. The clinic isn't so great, it may be all Santa Ana has, but i'd take the drama of a backyard party any day to the clinics hidden agend and highschool politics any day. A venue dedicated to bringing bands for the youth of santa ana, but yet they deprive many of Santa Ana's up and comming bands of playing at the clinic. Bands that are not wanted their becuase the owners of the clinic feel that a certain band won't bring them enough $$$. Because in the end, thats what the clinic wants. Since when was punk about the $$$. A bunch of sell outs in my opinion. Punks, i don't think so. A bunch of sad idie kids trying to bring their crappy noise music to the masses.
Whew! Strong charges. This reader/scenester obviously paints a very different picture than that portrayed in our column. So I'm asking bands that have played The Clinic to respond to her accusations. Did The Clinic treat you like dirt or with respect? Are the guys who run the joint money-grubbing douchebags or altruistic supporters of OC's all-ages punk scene? Or are they something else altogether? If you're simply someone who attends shows at The Clinic, feel free to relate your experiences there.
Sound off in the comments box, pronto! Thanks.
October 12, 2007 17:36
I don't see why every body's making such a big deal out of one girls opinion?
Let's talk about the Vault. There are a lot of people that love it and there are a lot of people that absolutely hate it.
People also tend to forget that pretty much all new bands get fucked by club owners. That seems to be the way it has always worked.
If you are a new band and have only 3 people that show up when you play you should probably play some parties for a while till the parties get too many people showing up. That's when you move into the clubs.
I remember TSOL's move into the clubs. The first show was at the Nest and I paid 25 dollars to Jerry Roach to let them play. After they started selling it out they were still only getting paid 25 dollars for playing.
If your little band got treated badly then maybe you should take a good look at your band and see it how others do. Probably a big difference from the way you see your band.
I had a great time when I was there and those guys are definitely not in it for the money. They can't even afford new cords or mics let alone the stuff that they really need to make the sound better. And I'm sure that everything they make pretty much goes into paying rent.
Just my 2 cents.
October 14, 2007 17:56
whats funny is the only people who hate us are the dumbasses we've had to kick out for being disorderly (ie fighting, breaking stuff, belligerent etc) or bands who cant keep to their set time which by the way has never been 5 mins, and then get pissy when we cut them to not screw over the bands who've been waiting for their set.
oh yah, we've never claimed to be punks or anything else. Music is Music who cares what you look like.
..... and the money issue... yes we have to make money, if we don't we cant pay rent, lights, trash, etc i didn't think it was that complex, apparently it is. We all put in our time and effort for the love of it, nothing else.
Adrian/Daniel
October 14, 2007 22:00
My band One Big Lie has played their now twice...the last show was a blast. The place was packed and went crazy when we played. There was a large pit that at no time anyone tried to stop. I dont think they are in it for the money!
Every band has had a least one place they have played and had a bad experience with.....get over it and play somewhere else!
October 16, 2007 08:55
The Clinic is a great little venue. Alot of up and coming bands get a chance to play a place that is not a living room or backyard. The Clinic has also had some really great national bands travel through and play this place. A venue is gonna have all kinds of music play there place and that is good, it gives people who enjoy live music to see a band or get introduced to something they may have never seen before. People are always gonna be critical for whatever reason and all that needs to be asked of the critics, "mmmmm, ok, I see you point, our venue is this or that...fair enough....but can you show me your venue or what you have personally done to show us the right way?" The critics stay critics and never have any evidence that they have done anything, other than complain. Critics would have more credibility if they "actually" could demonstrate that they have done something or tried to do something.
October 28, 2007 03:10
Why does this girl think the clinic was started for the noise scene? As a kid who scrapes contact mics against the hollow wood stage floor of the clinic I take great offense to that!
I will have you know that the owners and friends of the owners of the clinic do NOT like noise.
I've had some pretty negative experiences with the clinic. Just from having my shows double booked, having to move them to early shows or cancel, not having them go through cause of communication errors, etc...
I'm not crying about it. I've never made a penny there. The bands I've played with barely get gas money if any money at all!(which was really shitty for Shearing Pinx from Canada). but you know what? I've never even asked for a cut from the door...because I know that I'm probably not gonna get one. It's the same way at any DIY show, you typically don't get a cut from the door unless the place has other ways they get their income. The clinic I know for a fact was started by investments from high school kids and is now being supported by the shows that they have there. So if your band played to a dead crowd or a small crowd and you got a good weekend date for your show..you're screwing them over cause they could be making more money off of some other kids show that will actually bring in people..so because you played to a crowd of 20 people and didn't get paid you're gonna cry and demand a cut from the door? Wait till the place has been around for a while and has a steady flow of income before they can pay you, cause those guys aren't making any money off you. so therefore the tables have turned..it is not the clinic that is all about money, but the bands that demand money from a broke establishment(if you can call it that). who is more greedy?
and as for the noise genre...seriously what does that girl know about noise? The average attendance at a noise show at the clinic is about less than 10 people and I should know because theres like 10 people in santa ana that make noise and they all go to the show cause they're all playing it. And I despise indie...all that hipster stuff annoys me..with their louie armstrong and billie holday worship and klaxons remixing and neon colored women's super hero outfits from American Apparel and that punk scene has more forms of punk than christianity has forms of christianity..and don't even get me started on how dead Ska is...
how can you say noisicians are sad indie kids?
but that's aside the point. music is not that great..if you think the clinic isn't punk, you're right. If you think there's a noise scene..you're wrong. One thing is for sure, that the clinic is DIY(that means "do it yourself" for you monkeys), so if you can make a way for your show to make some money, you will definately get a cut from the door because THERE WILL BE MONEY that night to be distributed. hey...It's cheaper than renting out a hall and if you really cared about your scene you wouldn't care so much about the money, but instead you'd want to ensure that your scene can thrive wherever you decide to nurture it. if only scenes could run on hopes and dreams..
::sigh::