Republic Launches New Live Music Showcase

By Shawn Conner

Beginning Jan 12, up-and-coming local bands are going to have a new room in which to rock out.

A dearth of live music venues is a common complaint in Vancouver. But downtown nightclub Republic is opening its second floor to groups like Free City Collective (Jan 12), Familia (Jan 19), and By Starlight (Jan 26).
Nate Sabine, marketing director for the Donnelly Hospitality Management Group, says that the club tried out the live-music format for a couple of weeks last year “just to see if the bands could get their fans down. And it went quite well.”

The group has contracted Graham Pence to book the room. The format calls for three acts, the first up at 10:20 and the last one over by 1:20 a.m., in the upstairs section of the two floor bar. A DJ plays 20 minutes in between bands. Cover charge is six dollars.

“It’s to try and get some true exposure for these guys,” said Sabine. “The Roxy has been doing their Canadian content thing for years, and I think that does really well. But there are some bands that won’t necessarily work there. We want people to come down and be in an environment where they want to stick around and have a couple of drinks and hear these guys.”
The emphasis is on bands rather than singer/songwriters, says Sabine. “It’s just not the right vibe. We’re going for everything from dance-rock to garage-rock type of sound. But Graham pretty much has free reign. I don’t ask to see who he’s booked beforehand or check out their Myspace. I trust his judgment.”

Interested parties can reach Graham at graham.pence@gmail.com

Republic Showcase Tuesday schedule for January:
January 12th:
Free City Collective
Right
Paul Gibbons
January 19th:
Familia
Tara Lett
Young Pacific
January 26th:
Stars of Boulevard
Timothy
By Starlight