The closings of both the Guvernment and Sound Academy have left Toronto with no large club spaces since the winter. That’s going to change soon, though, as the ongoing renovations to Sound Academy are finally at the point where INK Entertainment head Charles Khabouth was willing to give NOW a sneak peek at the giant Cherry Street venue, which is still two months away from opening.
It’s not going to be called Sound Academy
“We have no name yet. I’m sweating it out every night. We have a deadline to decide in the next week, though, because signage and everything needs to get printed.”
It’s not going to be the Guvernment Part 2
“The music direction will be slightly different from the Guvernment’s. I think it will be more commercial than what people are expecting. What I mean is that we’re not planning on running this club so late. I think we’ll shut it down at 4 am on Saturdays, and the music will definitely not be as underground as the Guvernment’s was in its heyday.”
It might finally sound good
“If the room doesn’t sound good, we have a big problem. To the naked eye you won’t see a difference, but when you come for your first show here, you’ll really realize how dead and tight the sound is, how crisp it is. There will be no vibrations, no feedback. It’s time-consuming and expensive, but it will pay off.”
You’ll be able to see the stage from the back of the room
“The back of the club was always an issue, because you could never see anything. Now we’ve raised that area high enough that you can be all the way at the back of the venue and still be able to see centre stage.”
You’ll also be able to watch the sunset
“We’ve removed the solid walls at the back of the club and installed a glass NanaWall system that opens up to the city. When you’re here in the day, the view of the city is spectacular, and it’s even better at night. Once the sound is going at night, we’ll have to close the doors, of course.”
benjaminb@nowtoronto.com | @benjaminboles
