BAND BUSINESS

Release from the south

By Josh Rogers

Musicians have it tough in Portland (see http://www.portlandphoenix.com/archive/features/01/04/27/tji/comings_and_goings.html) . Their neighbors certainly don’t want to hear crashing cymbals and rumbling bass guitar when there’s TV to be watched. But sound-proofed practice space is nearly impossible to find. At Prime Artist Rehearsal Studios on Thompson Point Road (currently the only thing of its kind in Portland), owner Jeff Davis has a wait-list of over 30 bands who want to rent rooms. Davis, a musician himself, started Prime in 1995 because he couldn’t find a place for his own group, Big Chief, to rehearse.

“I thought, ‘This is ridiculous,’ ” says Davis.

A year ago, he decided to expand, but with rent in the Portland area at an all-time high, and landlords skeptical of anyone involved in music (He says “They weren’t anxious to have music anywhere near their business.”), Davis was forced to scout locations further afield. “There’s a cap,” Davis says. “The bands only make so much money.”

Last January, he officially opened a second space at the newly renovated River Dam Mill on Pearl Street in Biddeford. As a testament to the lack of room on the peninsula, bands from Portland flocked there in droves. Cherub, Mystic Vibes, Poultry, Rob Egbert (formerly of Colepitz), and Joe Brien’s (The Taxis) new punk band all have rooms in Biddeford. In the few months it’s been open, Biddeford Prime has become something of a stop-gap measure for bands waiting to get space . . . back in Portland.

Adamo had a room there but recently moved into an open space on Thompson Point Road. Although Biddeford has its advantages — bigger rooms, cheaper rent, newer facilities — the distance is a killer. More than that, “the original Prime was a big network. Everyone was there, ya know?,” says Ben Clemons from Cherub. “This place — no one talks to each other — it’s kind of like a ghost town.” Still, it’s a godsend for bands struggling to find a home for their music. As Clemons puts it, “It’s Prime or die.”