Return of 'The Vault' in works

New owner looking to revive rock music venue

By AARON CLAVERIE - Staff Writer | Monday, February 2, 2009 7:27 PM

TEMECULA ---- The new owner of a local music store is working to crack
open The Vault, a concert venue for local rock bands that was padlocked
a couple of years ago.

The venue was shut down by the city after
only four months of shows because of complaints from neighboring
businesses about the noise generated by weekend concerts. The closure
prompted a rally that attracted hundreds of teenagers in summer 2007.

The
owner of the Enterprise Circle business that housed The Vault, Rick
Mannoia, said at the time of the venue's closing that he was working
with the city on bringing the building up to code, but he has since
sold the business, a store offering instruments, music lessons and
recording space.

Ivan McClain, a local music promoter, said
Monday that the new owner, musician James Messina, has picked up where
Mannoia left off. Messina bought the store's inventory and name in
early 2008.

"The Vault will be reopening ---- I can guarantee you that ---- this year," McClain said Monday.

As for the "when," McClain said that late spring, maybe April, seems like a good bet.

Messina,
who has changed the name of the 8,000-square-foot studio to Temecula
Sounds, said he is in the process of applying for a permit; however, it
won't be issued until some minor upgrades at the facility ----
remodeled bathrooms and a new security exit ---- are completed.

Messina
said Monday that it should take about six to eight weeks to get all of
the upgrades and the permit application wrapped up.

"The city has been very cooperative. It seems as if there are quite a few people there that want it to go through," he said.

Temecula's
principal planner Patrick Richardson said Monday the city is requiring
a fire alarm system upgrade in addition to the building modifications
listed by Messina.

When everything is complete, Richardson said, the city would do what it can do to quickly process the permit application.

When the permit is issued, the shows can legally go on.

Matt
Turek, lead guitarist and vocalist for Temecula-based punk band "Strike
Twelve," said he's looking forward to that grand reopening night.

Turek's
band played at The Vault before it was closed and the 23-year-old said
it was nice having a local venue that was open to all ages because no
alcohol was sold onsite.

"We're a bar band so we only get to play for people 21 and up. It was good to see how the kids react to our music," he said.

Some
of the other positives about the venue, he said, were the inexpensive
cost of tickets for a show and the good stage and cool lighting.

"It was a cool environment," he said. "I was pretty upset when I found out they closed it."

While
ownership works on the reopening, McClain said music fans pining for a
place to go can look forward to a new weekly show at the studio that
his production company is staging.

The free three-hour show ----
an interactive multimedia presentation featuring a mix of music,
digital art and movies ---- is called "OurSpace: Live" and it will be
held at The Vault once a week on Thursdays.

People coming to the show will be participating by engaging with performers or doing their own thing in search of an audience.

"It's a workspace for their projects and ideas. There will also be a free-form chat conversation about current topics," he said.

McClain said the concept is similar to a live version of a MySpace page.

In
addition to the interactive element of the show, there will be music
movies such as Pink Floyd's "The Wall" and listening sessions featuring
classic albums.

And everyone is invited.

"This is not an
exclusive club," McClain said. "We're inviting everyone of all ages to
come out and participate. We're trying to create that night being the
hub of the creative culture of the valley."

Richardson said McClain hasn't shared the details of the OurSpace shows with the Planning Department.

The
city has been allowing the studio to host recitals on Thursday nights
but not concerts. If the city determines that the OurSpace shows
constitute a "concert," the shows will have to be delayed until the
permit is issued, Richardson said.

Contact staff writer Aaron Claverie at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2624, or aclaverie@californian.com.