{"id":5145,"date":"2013-11-20T17:25:23","date_gmt":"2013-11-20T22:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.michaelgaither.com\/home\/?p=5145"},"modified":"2013-11-20T18:56:36","modified_gmt":"2013-11-20T23:56:36","slug":"new-local-treasure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.michaelgaither.com\/home\/new-local-treasure\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Local “Treasure”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Treasure’s Roadhouse<\/a> is the new venue in town. It’s literally down the road from the Corralitos Cultural Center<\/a>, where my wife and I host music. That’s a good thing. More is better, especially now that are TWO music venues in south Santa Cruz County.<\/p>\n

\"soundboard\"<\/a>The Roadhouse has been in a “soft launch” for several months, featuring Sunday shows with THREE HOURS of live music every week. I finally got to test drive the place during their recent open house, and I must say: This is one of the best-sounding rooms I’ve ever played in. (Makes sense since local engineering whiz Tim Prince, of Ridgetop Sound, wired the place.) Hard to believe it’s literally walking distance from my house.<\/p>\n

As with many cool things, this was a happy accident. Last spring, local singer\/musician Bourne Archer<\/a> was scouting a new location for his Aptos Burger restaurant – several other options had fallen through. He wasn’t looking to open a music venue. The Five Mile House (corner of Freedom Blvd and Corralitos Rd in Corralitos) was vacant, so Bourne called the landlord.<\/p>\n

With two other restaurants on the small site already, a third wasn’t optimal. The landlord asked if he could “entertain” Bourne with another building, then walked him into a huge empty space – it was a Curves and a stove store in previous lives. Bourne took one look and said, “this is a theater!”<\/p>\n

A Summer and Fall’s worth of work ensued. Local musicians Rhan Wilson<\/a> and Rick Zeek<\/a> contributed heavily. Bourne said Rhan’s “infectious spirit and energy” has kept the project going since Day One, and Rick “has built much of what was needed to put the inside of the Roadhouse together”.<\/p>\n

The Treasure’s Roadhouse is officially open for business. There are workshops every weekend, the Sunday showcase continues, and their calendar is filling up<\/a> with great shows. (We’ll be promoting them as much as we can through our Corralitos series.) This blessing of a new venue is now available to rent<\/a> for rehearsals, performances, and events, as well. Find out more on their web site<\/a> and FaceBook page<\/a>. The Roadhouse is at 2908 Freedom Blvd<\/a> in Watsonville.<\/p>\n