The Diving Bell was the home of our first-ever fundraiser and has been an essential part of the DIY music scene in Montreal. The venue is currently run by Sarah (AKA Hot Tramp), Maryse, Austin, Jason, and Evan. We talked to them about how they got started, what it means to run a venue, and how they’re actively creating safer and more inclusive spaces.

Malaika Astorga for Also Cool: Tell us about your first experiences going to shows, and why you wanted to get involved in the DIY music scene. 

Austin:  I used to go to lots of little DIY shows when I was a teenager. Sometimes they were pretty well set up, like an all-ages show at a youth center or an art gallery. Other times they were very scraped together...but often those were the most fun.  A few times we’d get a few bands together and do a sort of "pop-up" show in the underground parking lot of Emily Carr University In Vancouver. Obviously the sound quality was iffy, but it was really fun and spontaneous. 

Evan: My first experience going to local shows was through playing in bands in high school in Edmonton. DIY shows were few and far between at that time, so we played a lot of bars. The atmosphere was driven by profit, and bands were mostly used as a way to attract customers. 

Sarah: When I moved to Montreal, my first experience going to shows was mainly at the Bog and other DIY spaces that have since closed. As a newcomer to the city who didn’t know many people, I really appreciated the sense of community in these places. I always want The Diving Bell to feel that same way for others; a welcoming place to listen to good music, connect with others, and ultimately just feel at home. 

Maryse: My first experience going to shows was in Vancouver, where DIY spaces, unfortunately, keep shutting down due to exorbitant rent. When I moved to Montreal a couple of years ago, I was so blown away by the DIY community and venues that let emerging artists share what they're creating. I think one of our goals at The Diving Bell was to retain the DIY spirit of support and community while offering a licensed venue with a really solid stage and sound set-up.

Also Cool: What are the different ways that you’ve been involved in the DIY music scene over the year?

Evan: After moving to Montreal in 2011, I was introduced to places like Drones (FKA Silver Door), Poisson Noir, La Plante, Psychic City, and eventually joined up with friends and fellow musicians to create The Bog in St Henri. 

Austin: When I came to Montreal, I got involved with The Bog. I initially got involved by shooting videos of the live performances, but also helped to curate some of the events. The Bog is where I met some of the folks who later helped establish The Diving Bell with me. It’s still there too! They don’t do shows nearly as often as they used to, but it’s definitely worth checking out anytime they have an event.

Sarah: I’ve been growing my own business, Hot Tramp, which promotes shows and a yearly festival while offering management, public relations, and booking to various artists.

Maryse: I’m a musician (Maryze) and organize many DIY shows with other artists – often with Hot Tramp spearheading the events, since Sarah is also my manager!

AC: Walk us through  the history of The Diving Bell , from the initial inspiration for the venue, to where you are today. 

Austin:  About a year before we started working on building The Diving Bell , The Bog and the late Psychic City we’re in talks about joining forces and starting an all-new, mega DIY venue space in a former potato chip factory near the train tracks on St Hubert. For many reasons, that never ended up happening, but the spark for finding a new, larger and multi-purpose space had been ignited. 

About a year later, Evan, who was managing a bar on Saint Laurent called Blizzarts (now Barbossa), got word from his landlord that there was a large space sitting unused on the third floor of the same building. He called me up and we went in to check it out; immediately seeing its potential. However, we began to understand why such a large, perfectly located venue space was left unused for so long. It was completely filled with junk and the landlord, a very interesting and eccentric guy, didn’t want us to get rid of anything. He kept insisting that we “just put curtains up” to hide the junk and stuff like that. It took a lot of frustrating negotiation, but eventually, after about five solid months of back and forth, he allowed us to move all the stuff to another building he owned on the other side of town. 

All in all, we filled up a rented three-ton moving truck ten different times! Eventually, thanks to the amazing support of so many friends from The Bog community, we cleared all the stuff out and were able to get started! 

EVAN: In spirit, The Diving Bell is a direct extension of The Bog for Austin and I. We essentially wanted to capture the sense of community that flourished within that venue, while also allowing it to grow. Our goal has always been to create a welcoming space that puts artists first. Bog alumni Sarah and Maryse joined our team, and are integral to the life and energy of The Diving Bell.

AC: What are some of the challenges you’ve faced running a venue?

Austin: The constant threat of noise complaints is something that definitely keeps me up at night (RIP Divan Orange). Many of our main challenges spawned from the instability of our landlord, who unfortunately passed away in May 2019. As previously mentioned, he was a fairly disorganized person who left behind quite a few big messes that we had to wrap our heads around. Also, there were a few stressful months where we didn’t know who our new landlord was going to be and if they would kick us out or crank up our rent. Luckily, it all worked out in our favour for the most part, and we’ve got a more sturdy foundation than ever! 

Evan: Recent challenges also include attempts to bridge the divide between French and English programming, and offering better representation for those from marginalized communities.

AC: How do you actively work to make The Diving Bell  a safe and inclusive space?

Evan: When we first decided to open up The Diving Bell, we did so with the knowledge that extra measures would need to be taken to accommodate our guests. It has always been a priority to create a welcoming, diverse, and safe space for anyone attending our events. Our staff has been trained in de-escalation and conflict resolution techniques, as well as first aid. What is becoming clear is that regardless of the culture and environment that exists past The Diving Bell door on the third floor, there needs to be the same amount of work put into our stairway and the street outside. Our little corner of St. Laurent Boulevard is not yet the safest space for marginalized peoples, and we hope that by listening to the needs and concerns of our community that can help to make The Diving Bell an even safer and more inclusive space moving forward.

Sarah: As Evan mentioned, active listening and keeping an open dialog with community members is something we take very seriously. We promise transparency and encourage folks to inform us either directly, or anonymously if they feel unsafe or unwelcome in our space. What is great about booking at The Diving Bell is that we are a multi-performance space, which allows us to bring different creative communities together under one roof. When booking, Austin and I always try and put a variety of events on the calendar to ensure that the community we are serving feels represented.

Maryse: I think we make a strong effort to listen to our community about their needs and concerns and to try our best to address them. We especially want to make sure marginalized groups like the queer and BIPOC communities feel safe, welcomed, and included in our space. We need to keep learning by actively listening to folks, and be open to how we can change to better understand and respect their realities.

Austin: With that, we also strive to be as friendly and welcoming as possible on all fronts. 

AC: What would your advice be to people who are looking to get involved in the DIY scene by running shows, or even a venue?

Austin: Safety first! All it takes is one mishap to ruin everything for a DIY venue. For example, the fire at Ghostship in Oakland a few years ago was a terrible reminder of the importance of taking these things seriously.

Evan: The best advice I can give is to do what you love, find people with the same passion, and learn to count on each other. This kind of thing can’t be done alone; it truly requires a village. Put on a show in your kitchen, put on a show in a park… The space is not what’s important; it’s what happens inside it. Be safe, be kind, be respectful, and listen. 

Sarah: I’d say go for it - our city needs more venues and people running shows! Just keep in mind that it is a lot of work getting anything off the ground. Opening a venue requires spending a lot of time on tedious paperwork and dealing with the frustrating budget constraints of independent promoters. So, you really have to make sure your heart is in it! These early stages are never as fun as they seem. 

AC: If I’m an artist or organization looking to book the space, what do I do to get involved? What information should I include in my email?

Evan: The best way to get involved is to send us an email at info@divingbellsocial.com, or come by and visit us during a show! We’re always happy to meet new people and brainstorm new ideas. 

Sarah: If you reach out to us by email; you should always include links to your project, dates, and a short overview of the event in question. This seems super basic, but you'd be surprised how many emails I get missing that info! Also for music shows, if you are a touring band, please send us who you have in mind for local support! If you are a local band, please send me your full line-up or at least an idea of what it will be. I think a common misconception is that venue bookers and show promoters are one and the same. As a venue booker, I will rarely put a line-up together for you, that’s a promoter’s forte. 

Evan: We will also be adding a FAQ section to our website and booking form in the coming weeks, which should help facilitate your booking requests! 

AC: What are your goals for The Diving Bell in 2020?

Austin: I'd like to see more daytime usages of the space. At this point, we’re pretty much only a night-time space and it just feels like a bit of a waste. 

Sarah: I agree with Austin; we need to get some daytime rentals going as it really is just missed opportunity with our space sitting empty all day - so definitely reach out to us if you’re interested in setting up classes, workshops, etc! Overall, I hope in 2020 we continue growing, learning, and connecting with the FAB community we are so lucky to be apart of! 

Evan: The Diving Bell has huge goals in 2020. Among these, we are continuing to branch out in our programming and aiming to diversify our events. We want to try even harder to bridge the divide between the Anglo and Franco music scenes and make a purposeful effort to run bilingual shows as often as possible. We have big plans for renovating our bathrooms, and we hope to open our kitchen officially this year. Stay tuned!

Maryse: I’d like to keep finding better ways to offer a safe space for all by creating an environment that is welcoming and inspiring for artists. I’d also like to achieve this by expanding our programming to host new types of events, like artist meet-ups, book clubs, astrology and tarot parties, yoga and dance classes...There are so many possibilities! 

The Diving Bell

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Email: info@divingbellsocial.com

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