"Eyes speak no more, heart feel no fear for she can see all."
Would you like to ‘rant’ at Madame Webb? Contact me at: madamewebb@rogers.com
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On August 21 2003 Heretic Custom Clothing held their ‘Fashion Heresy’ show. Yours truly and Spyder were models in the show. Soon I will have a write up and pictures from the show on the site.
Comatose Rose issue #7 is available now. Get your copy today to read my articles on the Covenant and Melatron show in Toronto and DJs Human Clone and Karnage. I am currently working on pieces for issue #8 on Savage Garden nightclub and the Heretic Fashion show.
Great clothing site for men and women! www.kambriel.com
Ladies and gentlemen, step right up and enter the world of Savage Garden.
Prepare your self to be taken into a cyber industrial atmosphere fit for one’s darkest desires. Let your eyes feast upon the futuristic metal creatures jumping out at you from every corner of the bar, as your heart beats in time with the 136bpm music blasting from the speakers. Husband and wife team, Paul and Brenda Samuels, brought their dream into reality when the Savage Garden first opened its doors almost 10 years ago. This nightclub has been an unstoppable force and the Toronto dark culture scene has helped give it a life of its own.
After years of DJ’ing and managing bands Paul Samuels was ready to take on the challenges of opening a nightclub. Renovating the space where Savage Garden is located took 3 months of dedication. By the time the renovations were finished most of the funds were poured into the structure which left Paul concerned about giving the bar its cyber interior. So he opened the blank black walls to the scene as an empty canvas. Artist Steve Hazard, hearing about the concept Savage was striving for, approached Paul with his portfolio of metal wonders. Instantly Paul was hooked on Steve’s work. Other artists created the murals on the walls. Paul states, “We’ve actually run out of surfaces and are now repainting new work over the old. Continuing interior additions keeps Savage evolving and pushing the envelope. You have to always stay current – stagnation is death.” Savage also provides its customers with some eye candy. They have weekly cage dancers that dance their asses off all night long. Once a staff member referred to the bar as a ‘Cheers’ for freaks. And for many it is.
Savage plays host to a packed house every Halloween and New Years Eve. If you can get in you are ensured to have an amazing time. And what are Paul’s most memorable moments? “The biggest night for me at Savage was New Years Eve 2001 – 2002. After September 11th we all needed to cut loose. People were in crazy good moods, they just wanted to party that year away. Recently the Mlada Fronta and Mimetic show totally blew me away.” Savage even had Marilyn Manson and the band in the bar one night…drinking tea.
Savage Garden extended beyond the boundaries of Toronto and entered into the world of cyberspace 4 years ago. It was a logical step to take to benefit club promotion and reach out to the scene around the world. The site was originally quite small but 2 years ago it went under a drastic revamp by Darq Designs. The website has up- to- the- minute event listings along with past event and picture archives. There are DJ play lists and soon it will be featuring top ten charts of the hottest sounds at the moment, courtesy of Storming the Base. The greatest thing about the Savage website is that you get to see exactly what has been happening, and read about all the latest news for the nightclub. Paul comments, “People leave Toronto, come back 3 years later and are totally in the know. For a lot of people that’s Savages most endearing quality. It’s like the home you can always come back to.”
The bar is always having weekly and monthly special events. On Saturday nights DJ Pale’s Killing Floor has become a Toronto institution. He mixes old favourites and new ones and can always keep the dance floor packed. Decompression Fridays with DJ Human Clone and Karnage. As Paul puts it, “It’s fast becoming the number one EBM/Synth night in Canada. There have special drink nights promoting Vbase and REV. The rhythmic noise and industrial night ‘Saturation” with TiK Distro is a great monthly event. “It’s been very rewarding. Kudos to Squid and Razorgrrl for their continued commitment to the progression of industrial music”
The online resource website Toronto-goth.com sponsors a once monthly event called ‘New Scream’, featuring live bands from Toronto, giving them the opportunity for exposure they deserve. Paul adds, “Both of these nights are successful because they represent the true underground face of the club. It’s not so much about the club anthems but more about the community.” There is always the ever-popular Retro nights that are club goer favourites. People get right into this event by dressing in their best ‘awful’ 80’s clothes and really cut loose for an evening. For most of their big events they give away amazing prizes donated from tattoo/piercing and clothing stores. The fetish nights that Savage has had are excellent and it is also available for people to have private events like weddings.
For all of the future nightclub entrepreneurs out there, pay attention. It takes a lot of capital for the start up costs, complying with government regulations even when they change very frequently. And be prepared for challenges. Paul states, “I love the continuous challenge. The challenge to stay on top of music, the challenge to always stay on the cutting edge. Not to mention the continuous challenges from new venues in the city. Running at nightclub is like throwing a massive party in your front living room 7 days a week and replacing your computer speakers with a 3000-watt club system. It’s amazing, loud and at first totally fun. But as the shine wears off you realize just much work there is. You have to maintain that commitment day after day. I’ve always drawn my energy from the scene. Working with the best promoters, DJ’s and bands from Toronto is a reward in and of itself.”
I asked Paul if he had any advice for someone interested in owning a bar. His reply, “What are you nuts?! Seriously, for all the aspiring bar owners – you need to have a vision. For without vision people perish. You have to know what you want and do not let anyone say you can’t do it. Failure is not an option so just go for it. Oh and prepare yourself for non-stop work and a complete lack of sleep.”
The Savage Garden is located at 550 Queen Street West, Toronto Ontario, Canada
For more information visit www.savagegarden.ca or email paul@savagegarden.ca
The Savage Garden ‘redefining reality’
Copyright 2003
