{"id":30968,"date":"2024-01-08T12:57:28","date_gmt":"2024-01-08T20:57:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=30968"},"modified":"2024-01-08T12:57:29","modified_gmt":"2024-01-08T20:57:29","slug":"move-over-nashville-san-francisco-complex-aims-to-be-the-new-music-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/01\/08\/move-over-nashville-san-francisco-complex-aims-to-be-the-new-music-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Move Over, Nashville. San Francisco Complex Aims To Be the New \u2018Music City\u2019\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Written by\u00a0Julie Zigoris<\/a> Published\u00a0Jan. 06, 2024 \u2022 SFStandard.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Musicians<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musicians perform in one of the venues at San Francisco\u2019s Music City. | Source:Courtesy Music City<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rudy Colombini, the frontman for a Rolling Stones cover band, is neither humble nor demure about his labor of love: San Francisco\u2019s Music City<\/a>, a complex dedicated to musicians and musicianship, at every level. It might sound straight out of Nashville, but it\u2019s right here in the city\u2019s Lower Nob Hill neighborhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the most important fucking artistic project in the United States,\u201d Colombini told The Standard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three-floor facility\u2014which opened 20 new rehearsal spaces Friday\u2014provides future stars with everything from living space to rehearsal rooms, engaged audiences and an array of refreshments. In the venture\u2019s fundraising materials, Colombini is just as grandiose, describing the complex as \u201cMotown Records, CBGB, the Chelsea Hotel, Abbey Road Studios, the Berklee School of Music, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, all in one building in San Francisco.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
The largest of four venues at Music City, located at 1353 Bush St., includes a full bar and has rehearsal spaces surrounding it. | Source:Courtesy Music City<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The expansion comes at a time when San Francisco scouts for an artistic renaissance, the smoke signals of which include vinyl store openings<\/a>, new music venues<\/a>, expanded art spaces<\/a> and entire neighborhoods enlivened by the arts<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A consummate showman who has been playing live music in San Francisco for 51 years, Colombini is used to performing. His band, The Unauthorized Rolling Stones<\/a>, once opened for Elton John, and Colombini played at the Mill Valley institution Sweetwater Music Hall years ago\u2014and also had a sold-out show there last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve played in every major venue,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd every shithole.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this gig\u2014the passion project of his life\u2014is the vision for which he put everything on the line, financially backing the venture thanks to the money he made as a real estate developer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was born to do this,\u201d he said. \u201cIt started out as a philanthropic project. It ended up a legacy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The superlative-slinging lead singer calls Music City a \u201cstar factory,\u201d a place where emerging musicians can practice, perform and connect. There are affordable hotel and hostel rooms where touring artists can stay, store their gear and connect with a music-loving community. The bar and restaurant of the campus-like artist incubator is slated to open within 10 days, after final approval of the city\u2019s Department of Public Health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the real star of the show here is the new rehearsal and venue spaces that have been under construction for the past six years, all of which are equipped with audio-visual capabilities, allowing bands to perform live online. Audience members walking into Music City can see two bands playing at once\u2014one they hear (in the venue) and one they don\u2019t (in the rehearsal space), beckoning passersby on Bush Street. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere isn\u2019t anything like this on the planet,\u201d Colombini said. \u201cWe\u2019ll give you a grand if you find it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Amps
Music City’s expansion includes the addition of 20 state-of-the-art rehearsal spaces equipped with gear and streaming capabilities. | Source:Courtesy Music City<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to Colombini, what budding musicians need most is an audience. With the number of people cycling through the complex\u2014groups in the rehearsal spaces, guests in the hostel and hotel, the public at the bar and restaurant\u2014there\u2019s an organic listenership built into the building. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere will easily be 700 to 800 people on-site,\u201d he said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He imagines a band rehearsing with the blinds down in the refurbished rehearsal studios\u2014spaces that bridge the historic (original brick walls) with the modern (top-of-the-line equipment)\u2014then streaming directly to one of the building\u2019s venues or on a ClearChannel radio station. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Music lovers can pick up drinks from the alleyway window on Fern Street, dine in the on-site restaurant serving elevated gastropub fare and watch a multitude of bands rehearse in the stylish rehearsal spaces or take in a show at one of the four venues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMusic is our thrill, our delight,\u201d Colombini said. \u201cIt\u2019s the most important antidepressant.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Music City founder Rudy Colombini believes the three-floor complex could put San Francisco back on the musical map. | Source:Julie Zigoris\/The Standard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been a long time coming, but, to paraphase the Stones, time was on his side. The project was put on pause during the pandemic, and for a long stretch, Music City has had only one rehearsal space\u2014a room adjacent to the hotel accommodations that had earlier been used as a common space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The room has been continuously booked, said the hotel\u2019s front desk receptionist, Isaac Lawrence, demonstrating the demand for more space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rehearsal spaces are affordable at Music City, ranging from $15 to $45 an hour, a fraction of what studios typically charge. From Jan. 5 to Jan. 12, Music City is offering its rehearsal spaces free of charge in connection with the opening celebration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a great sense of community,\u201d Lawrence said. \u201cYou have all these different groups commingling, between the rehearsal spaces and the guests and the permanent residents.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An
When finished, the Music City bar and restaurant will open up to tiny Fern Street in the back, allowing audience members to walk up for drinks and entertainment. | Source:Julie Zigoris\/The Standard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Music City also houses the San Francisco Music Hall of Fame, a self-paced exhibition that spotlights local musicians who made it big. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s all part of a larger project by Colombini to put San Francisco back on the musical map, a city he called an \u201cinternational star factory\u201d but whose reputation has been diminished over the past 25 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The longtime musician cited a report put together by the London-based organization Sound Diplomacy<\/a> that found many flaws in the city\u2019s sustenance and promotion of its music scene and history. The Standard viewed a copy of the report, not made available to the public, which recommended \u201cto create a multi-use music hub for the local community\u201d as a priority. Colombini sees his Music City as that hub.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI never had the big hit I wanted,\u201d Colombini said, reflecting on his musical career. \u201cThis is my big hit.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julie Zigoris can be reached at jzigoris@sfstandard.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by\u00a0Julie Zigoris Published\u00a0Jan. 06, 2024 \u2022 SFStandard.com Musicians perform in one of the venues at San Francisco\u2019s Music City. | Source:Courtesy Music City Rudy Colombini, the frontman for a Rolling Stones cover band, is neither humble nor demure about his labor of love: San Francisco\u2019s Music City, a complex dedicated to… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1706],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30968"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30968"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30969,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30968\/revisions\/30969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}