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THE SPAZZATORIUM



Last Updated: 11/18/2009

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Gender: Male
Status: Swinger
Age: 27
Sign: Scorpio

City: GREENVILLE
State: NORTH CAROLINA
Country: US
Signup Date: 8/7/2006
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 
To Greenville and the bands/folks who've made their way through our doors from all over the state, country, world (props to Japan, Norway, Canada, Italy, South Africa, France, Iceland, Denmark!). Thanks to anyone who appreciates what we were able to accomplish in our 2 year existance.

As for now The Spazzatorium Galleria! (807 Dickinson Ave) has ceased to exist. This is not something unexpected. Going in the thing I gave it 6 months tops! This was an inevebility and something I did my absolute best to try and  avoid but as is the nature of spaces like The Spazz, the time has come.


WHY NOW AND HOW !?!?

It grew out of my hands. For one person to handle everything...thats craziness..and it became an impossibility. I say "we" when I talk about the space, because without others this thing would never have started at all nor kept going. As time progressed a great deal of the responsibilities were channeled through myself and it was an insane amount to take on alone.

So fellow Greenvillains, The Spazz was kinda like a game of Russian Roulette. The barrel of the gun was always aimed at ourselves by having something as rad as what we were (an all-ages, donation-only based, byob venue...c'mon people!) The head-shot took place Tues June 24th at the Zechs Marquise show. At the end of the storefronts there is an apartment building. People scaled the roofs of the adjacent buildings and were spotted up there by the police and the garage was spray-painted numerous times. Now there is a fence with barbed-wire to seperate us from them and when that was "breached" it turned our space and the folks who come out to our events from a slight annoyance to a clear and present danger to the inhabitants of the apartments. Not all the facts were given to the people that called in to complain and there were a bunch of ways to avoid having things go down this way but again that bullet headed for us has always been on track. This takes away none of the frustration and anger that comes with having something you put everything...and I mean EVERYTHING..into to be fucked over but it's the way it goes sometimes.


There are other factors following this that finalized our closure involving landlord sanctioned actions that prevent us from going in there to get the space up to code and zoned correctly as to reopen as a new and improved Spazz 2.0

It was a helluva ride though wasn't it? All done with no capital, hard-fucking-work, and the alot of luck. The people involved with the space changed a few times but the spirit was there and still is.

If you think the dream is dead you're absolutely wrong! My most recent partner-in-crime, hit the nail on the head: "I remembered that nobody owns this thing. No one rents it or 'founded' it. No one can lock us out or fire-code us away. We just move this thing, this energy that manifests itself as art. We push it into places, hoping it, and the people who love it, will fit. The Spazzatorium was the perfect shape for a while. But the physical Spazz as we know it is gone. It was just a vessel, a cell between two (insane) churches. We worked really hard for the ideal space (don't think about the toilet) for music, art, and most importantly community"

It all comes down to community. I go back to relying on you to help me do what I love doing. Host the spirit of The Spazz  in your living room, your church, your space, your beer shop, your yard, your flotilla! Work with me to find another vessel. I've given everything to this. I am humbled by your support already and although I never brought the space to my idea of perfection it was never about that. It was about the fact we existed at all. It was about the amazing memories I hope it gave you. There's more to come. We need your support so much while we hop around. Please be there for us and come to the events. Our work got alot harder but the rewards are still there and I'm in this to keep Greenville on the map for being a desired place to come and perform. Mission Accomplished. Let's keep this going because as we go along opportunities keep getting better and better.


-Jeff B.


***TO BANDS***

PLEASE BEAR WITH US WHILE WE GET THINGS IN ORDER. AS OF NOW WE'LL BE MOVING ALL SHOWS TO OTHER VENUES AROUND THE GREENVILLE AREA WHILE WE FIND OUR HOMEBASE. THE SHOWS HAPPENING ELSEWHERE WILL BE RUN BY MYSELF THE SAME AS THE SPAZZ JUST AT ANOTHER LOCATION.  I WILL UPDATE YOU ON THE NEW LOCATIONS AS SOON AS I CONFIRM THEM. VERY FEW SHOWS WILL BE CANCELLED SPECIFICALLY THOSE HAPPENING IN THE NEXT MONTH SO YOU'RE NOT SCREWED LAST MINUTE INTO A SHOW SEARCH. ALL OF THIS IS DONE OUT OF PURE APPRECIATION FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND I WILL GIVE IT EVERYTHING I HAVE NOT TO FUCK YOU OVER.
THE BASTARDS OF FATE

 
ROCK ON, JEFF.

 
Posted by THE BASTARDS OF FATE on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 8:04 PM
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***richardbenjamin side project***

 
^
I
I
I
I
how did they give 4 Kudos???

bastards!

-R
 
Posted by ***richardbenjamin side project*** on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 8:23 PM
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Master Slash Slave

 
The Spazz is dead, long live the Spazz! Best of luck, Jeff. You guys are really doing something special out there.
Fuck the people that couldn't KEEP THE MAN OFF THE DOOR! Dude, scaling the roof? You think that's a good idea? People sometimes!
 
Posted by Master Slash Slave on Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 11:13 PM
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Veronica

 
Jeff,
Thank you so much for housing rock. You are an amazing person and capably awesome! I appreciate everything that you have done for our Greenvillians. Keep on rockin in the free world.

 
Posted by Veronica on Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 11:18 PM
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Lightning Fingers Larry
Chip Weatherly

 
You are the man Jeff. Greenville is behind you all the way.


Let us know how we can help.

 
Posted by Lightning Fingers Larry on Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 11:18 PM
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Hammer No More the Fingers

 
Jeff, we love you man. Thanks for putting so much work into the spazz. Thank you for having us so many times as well. We will always remember it as the coolest fucking venue that we have ever had the chance to play.

 
Posted by Hammer No More the Fingers on Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 11:21 PM
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Freyja

 
I can't offer any space, but I will definitely be at every show that is humanly possible!

I'm sad to see the space go, but I look forward to the adventures of finding new places to listen to music.


Thanks Jeff for all the good times

sam
 
Posted by Freyja on Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 11:21 PM
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Christopher
Christopher Edwards

 
aum blast
 
Posted by Christopher on Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 11:21 PM
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Channy♥
Chandler Nobles

 
I loved the Spazz when it was in a sweaty, hot, crowded space and I will love it wherever it goes.


:)
 
Posted by Channy♥ on Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 11:22 PM
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Team Robespierre

 
WE LOVE YOU JEFFFFFF!!!!!!
 
Posted by Team Robespierre on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 9:48 PM
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Bunce Booking

 
Hey Jeff,

You are the godfather of a scene. You and the Spazz have opened doors to the world, enriching culture and creating something that has bloomed far beyond the Greenville city limits. Far beyond.


I remember one day, over a year ago, I was speaking with Phil from Caspian, and I asked him: "Greenville? Where the hell did you guys play in Greenville?" He answered: "We played really late this awesome little space that was full of kids with 40's that fuckin love music. A place called the Spazz..."

Thank you for taking care of my bands. You are officially Legend status.


Duncan
 
Posted by Bunce Booking on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 9:49 PM
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~ѧ©Ķ Ģ~
Nick Golden

 
Jeff it was an awesome ride and I am in some much distress to see it go out this way but like you said it was always hanging on by a single thread and that is, in my opinion, why the Spazz was so great. That every show that I saw could be last. I will miss the Spazz with every aching bone in my body and will show as much support as possible to Spider Skull Island, The Spazz Haus, and 21 Eleven. Jeff thanks so much for keeping music alive in Greenville, you are the heart and soul behind all local and underground music in Greenville. Thanks for the Spazz and all the hard work you put behind it to keep it alive for as long as you did and of course to all the supporters of the Spazz and the bands that played there.

 
Posted by ~ѧ©Ķ Ģ~ on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 9:50 PM
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daris hilton

 
it happened to alex smith it happened to backdoor billy, but don't let that deter you. the spazz is/was a wonderful place. you helped me and my wife put on benefit shows for homeless students and you provided people with a place to see great bands all and all for donations. thats all you asked. hopefully this will get other people to start doing shows and finding spaces. i wish you luck in getting things back together and not giving up and i will continue to support you and send bands your way.

 
Posted by daris hilton on Sunday, July 20, 2008 - 5:51 PM
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Spark Is A Diamond

 
jeff, you are one of a kind and built something so special and amazing. the night we played there will be a fond memory forever, as well as one of the best shows i have ever played in a touring band.


best of luck to you in your search to re-build your empire. we support you 100% anything we can do to help, from philly, we are willing to do, you just let us know. can't wait to see the new verison 2.
0!

much love,
matt, ali & joey c.

 
Posted by Spark Is A Diamond on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 - 8:29 PM
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lucy

 
:( i loved the spazz.
now what will i do if i come back to greenville?!
 
Posted by lucy on Wednesday, July 23, 2008 - 4:02 AM
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Dead Beats

 
Long live the Spazz! our hearts go out to you, dearest Jeff.

 
Posted by Dead Beats on Friday, July 25, 2008 - 6:38 PM
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Leon Hash

 
No worries Jeff, you made your mark. Take a look at the Google results for Spazzatorium, theres pages and pages of stuff (over 6,000 results) from all over the internet, tons of sites that list major venues around the world -- list the spazz... including big sites like last. fm, even yahoo has a page. Did you know theres a .
com for the spazz? I dunno if you made that or who did, but it exists!

In any case, I feel certain this is not the end. What you've created is something that is truly appreciated well beyond the boundaries of Greenville. The legacy of the Spazz will never be forgotten and its memory will forever be cherished. From the hundreds of bands that played there to the hundreds of artist's works that covered it's walls, it can't be easy to let go of. But the fact is it's just a building, and the phenomenal underground scene that you've engineered is still very much alive, and the local community will continue to keep it going as much possible. Look at this as just the tip of the iceberg, and the ending of the spazz was breaking the ice a bit, revealing a much bigger and more kickass scene of music. No words can describe the level of respect I have for you and what you do.


Viva la spazz!
 
Posted by Leon Hash on Saturday, July 26, 2008 - 7:35 PM
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