{"id":87,"date":"2011-01-04T12:00:01","date_gmt":"2011-01-04T12:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/\/?p=87"},"modified":"2018-04-27T15:15:06","modified_gmt":"2018-04-27T19:15:06","slug":"at-southland-ballroom-its-all-about-the-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/artmusicentertainment\/at-southland-ballroom-its-all-about-the-music","title":{"rendered":"At Southland Ballroom, It\u2019s All About the Music"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&ldquo;Raleigh has lots of bars with a band in the corner,&rdquo; says Triangle music scene veteran Scotty Brownell, &ldquo;but very few true music venues.&rdquo;&nbsp; That balance changed a little this fall when Scotty and his business partner, Howard Moye, opened <a href=\"http:\/\/southlandballroom.com\/\">Southland Ballroom<\/a> (614 N. West St.), Raleigh&rsquo;s newest (and Glenwood South&rsquo;s only) venue focused exclusively on the music.&nbsp; Sure, it has a well-stocked bar (beer, wine, mixed drinks), but you would not meet your friends there for a regular after-work drink or hang out there to watch a game together.&nbsp; On the other hand, if there were a band you and your friends really liked, the Ballroom would be the ideal place to see them perform.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"full-image-float-left ssNonEditable\"><img style=\"width: 300px;\" src=\"\/storage\/Scotty.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1294142641592\" alt=\"\" \/><span class=\"thumbnail-caption\" style=\"width: 300px;\">Scotty Brownell, Co-owner Southland Ballroom<\/span><\/span>And that&rsquo;s the way Scotty Brownell wants it.&nbsp; He is very clear about his vision.&nbsp; He is not interested in running a neighborhood bar or a dance club.&nbsp; Nor does he want to target a particular age group or any single musical genre.&nbsp; There will be shows for all tastes. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<p>The only demographic label he cares about are people who love live music and want to see it in a comfortable and relatively intimate environment.&nbsp; With a capacity of 325, you won&rsquo;t have to fight large crowds.&nbsp; By comparison, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lincolntheatre.com\/\">Lincoln Theater&rsquo;s<\/a> capacity is roughly 1,000 and Carrboro&rsquo;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.catscradle.com\/\">Cat&rsquo;s Cradle<\/a> is around 600.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Perhaps even more important to Scotty, he wants you to hear the music on one of the best <a href=\"http:\/\/southlandballroom.com\/tech-specs\/\">sound systems<\/a> in the Triangle.&nbsp; And make no mistake, Scotty would know.&nbsp; Since his start in the business roughly 20 years ago as a DJ for frat parties around the Triangle, Scotty has amassed an astounding collection of sound equipment, equipment he put to use in the 7 years he ran the sound at the Lake Boone Country Club, as well as during the Lincoln Theater&rsquo;s first year and the last 8 years at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.berkeleycafe.net\/\">Berkeley Caf&eacute;<\/a>.&nbsp; As an added benefit for those of us who have started to worry about the damage to our hearing from the music we listen to, the quality of Scotty&rsquo;s sound equipment means that he doesn&rsquo;t have to blow you out the door to ensure you get the full range of the music.&nbsp; As a result, at most shows, you should be able to talk to the person next to you without losing your voice in the process.&nbsp; For those of us who live within a block of the Ballroom, this also means we don&rsquo;t need to be concerned that it will bring more late night noise bleeding into our homes.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span class=\"full-image-block ssNonEditable\"><img style=\"width: 600px;\" src=\"\/storage\/Interior View Looking Toward Stage.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1294142759626\" alt=\"\" \/><\/span>The vagaries of converting warehouse space to a concert venue made the Ballroom&rsquo;s opening date a moving target right up till the last minute, keeping Scotty from initially bringing in national acts, which usually require at least 90 days advance booking.&nbsp; That is changing.&nbsp; Although he is not yet saying who they are, Scotty has plans in the works for several.&nbsp; He says the Ballroom is the perfect venue for an act that wants a more intimate environment in which to connect with its audience.&nbsp; And, promoters take note, the Ballroom is open to outside bookings.&nbsp; When asked about whether the Ballroom would be a venue for future Hopscotch festivals, Scotty acknowledged that it would be an ideal location but tactfully says that the decision would be up to the festival organizers.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span class=\"full-image-float-right ssNonEditable\"><span><img style=\"width: 250px;\" src=\"\/storage\/View of Bar.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1294142942733\" alt=\"\" \/><\/span><\/span>Because the Ballroom does not do double duty as an everyday bar, it is also open to bookings by private parties (weddings, corporate functions, etc.) for those events where a good stage and sound system are important.&nbsp; Details are available on the Ballroom&rsquo;s web site <a href=\"http:\/\/www.SouthlandBallroom.com\">www.SouthlandBallroom.com<\/a>. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Getting to the Southland Ballroom is easy; it is directly across the street from an R-line stop.&nbsp; For those who wish to drive, it also provides ample parking.<\/p>\n<p>For more information, visit the Ballroom&rsquo;s web site or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/southlandballroom\">Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em style=\"font-size: 90%;\">Article provided to the DLA by Rick Richardson<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&ldquo;Raleigh has lots of bars with a band in the corner,&rdquo; says Triangle music scene veteran Scotty Brownell, &ldquo;but very few true music venues.&rdquo;&nbsp; That balance changed a little this fall when Scotty and his business partner, Howard Moye, opened <a href=\"http:\/\/southlandballroom.com\/\">Southland Ballroom<\/a> (614 N. West St.), Raleigh&rsquo;s newest (and Glenwood South&rsquo;s only) venue focused exclusively on the music.&nbsp; Sure, it has a well-stocked bar (beer, wine, mixed drinks), but you would not meet your friends there for a regular after-work drink or hang out there to watch a game together.&nbsp; On the other hand, if there were a band you and your friends really liked, the Ballroom would be the ideal place to see them perform.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2851,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87\/revisions\/2851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighdla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}