Tales From The Boom: That One About The Streaming Audio Gentrifiers
AS TOLD BY SARA GALLO, ARTIST & MUSICIAN: “Streaming Audio”
I’d first heard of this phenomenon right after moving into a loft space in Northern Liberties. It was a crumbling quasi-squat, complete with roof leaks, sagging floors, etc. I lived there along with 3 other people; most of us were UArts grads. None of us had much money, and the 300 dollar rent was a deal. Our neighbors downstairs ran a nebulous business called [NAME WITHHELD]. They were friendly, always inviting us to parties – GOOD PEOPLE.
As the months went by, it became clear that the [NAME WITHHELD] gentlemen had an online radio station. Cool, I thought. Computers are cool.
They broadcast music at very high volumes, all kinds of crazy hours. Weird! Mic checking had to be taken care of all the time – gotta make sure mics work, like at 3 or 4 am. They had huge parties and, if I remember correctly, one night there was some free-style rapping. Awesome! Smoking was allowed!
I lived with a furniture maker and a bookbinder; the bookbinder had her studio and made her living out of our space. We later found out that the gentlemen of [NAME WITHHELD] had plans to buy the building, and that they had a lawyer present when they signed the lease for their space. Guys with lawyers looking to exploit economically depressed neighborhoods and the residents there are sooo smart! Much smarter than artists!
“…..HEY dudes, we are so going to BUY THIS WHOLE FREAKN’ BLOCK! After all, we came from OUT OF STATE armed with business degrees/models, and a couple of ARTISTS can kiss our entrepreneurial asses! Whoo hoo!”
I’m sure a round of frat-style high fives then occurred.
Needless to say, we all moved out, mostly decamping to fishtown. I’m reminded of the compound at WACO – remember when the FBI swooped in and flushed out the cultists? They blasted them with heavy metal until they probably lost their minds. Such was life living above [NAME WITHHELD] and streaming audio.
