The sound (and smell) of music at Cit? 2000

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Members of the extreme metal band Cryptopsy rehearse at Cit? 2000. Musicians often drop by each other?s spaces in the 116-room facility, and staff members have been known to pop up at tenants? gigs.

Photograph by: Peter McCabe , The Gazette

There is something in the air at Cit? 2000.

That might be the result of having more than 1,000 musicians under one roof, some of whom can be counted on to be cleaner than others. There is a hint of the aroma you?d find in any of Montreal?s numerous less-than-spotless live music venues, where on any given night you?re likely to see some of the building?s tenants wielding guitars and drum sticks.

Mostly, it?s the ever-present waft of hops drifting over from the Molson Brewery, which is right next door on Notre Dame St. E., and it can be especially pungent on a hot summer day.

Given the long-standing stereotype of the beer-guzzling touring musician who hasn?t seen the inside of a shower in a few days, it?s safe to say that Cit? 2000, one of the largest centres of rehearsal studios in Montreal, smells like rock ?n? roll.

?It smells like a club when they?ve just opened,? observed Matt McGachy, singer for long-running extreme metal band Cryptopsy.

While the building itself produces heavy metal (and punk, and rock, and pop) in vast quantities, it started life as a Second World War-era rubber factory. It was over 20 years ago that the building, which is currently owned by U-Haul, started renting out jam spaces.

?When it first started, they wanted to do something called La Cit? de la lumi?re,? explained Cit? 2000?s director of operations, Andrea Lafrechoux. ?Since we?re in the district where all the TV shows and movies and radio stations are, they wanted to offer storage for their huge sets and stuff. They started offering it to bands, since there was a demand for it.?

Since those first days, Cit? 2000 has become a hub for rehearsal, with its 116 rooms currently housing roughly 1,500 musicians, with a four-month waiting list of others trying to get in. While Lafrechoux said Cryptopsy (which has called Cit? 2000 home since 1996, excluding a one-year period when the band was on hiatus) and fellow metalheads Anonymus are probably the best-known current residents, at times other notables have included popular Qu?b?cois indie rockers Malajube.

A city?s rock scene is not defined by the stars it produces, but by the guys who are still grinding it out, playing the majority of shows, touring and supporting each other. A place like Cit? 2000 can help a scene coalesce ? the lobby is peppered with flyers for shows, as well as notices for bands looking for musicians (and vice versa).

?There?s a rule at Cit?: You?re not allowed to smile ? you have to walk through the hallways full of attitude,? joked McGachy, who has been Cryptopsy?s vocalist for the last five years of its 25-year history. ?I look at this place as a giant medicine cabinet. It?s really easy to find people to fill in, since their gear is here.?

While gaining connections and the respect of other bands is a plus, it?s also possible for some of the groups to find the start of a fan base at Cit?. Employees have been known to pop up at gigs, so while the security they provide at the reception is welcome in a city notorious for stolen musical equipment, they also give the place that intangible feeling of family.

?I think it has a feel of a community,? said Lafrechoux. ?I see a lot of other giant jam spaces in Montreal, and there?s no person working at the reception ? there?s no life. You scan your card and you go in. Here, everyone knows each other. Most of our staff has been here for a long time, so they get to know the bands and go to the shows.?

The communal aspect of Cit? may be important between bands and employees, but unlike rehearsal spaces in the city that are rented out by the hour, it also gives bands a chance to build bonds between members. Couches abound in the many rooms, so tenants can drop by and talk with each other, or just loaf when they have nothing else to do. Of course, loafing isn?t for everyone.

?For us, we come in together, we?re all normal guys, but once we say ?let?s do this,? we put on the show face,? McGachy explained about the lack of furniture and decoration in Cryptopsy?s room ? one of the sparsest in the building, despite the fact the band shares it with two other groups. ?We?re not here to waste time.?

For the bands that do hang around, there is technically a rule against drinking on the premises, despite the brewery?s proximity. But as Lynyrd Skynyrd once sang, ?Can?t you smell that smell?? Being surrounded by the smell of suds can be mighty tempting after a long night of rocking out, and the empty bottles in the hallways and garbage cans suggest some folks are imbibing on the sly. But then again, who said rock ?n? roll was about following the rules?

? Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

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Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/music/sound+smell+music+Cit%C3%A9+2000/8076054/story.html

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