Strutt Profile Piece

Who at Kalamazoo College hasn’t heard of the Strutt? It’s that corner building jutting out like the prow of a ship into the intersection of Stadium and Academy. The student that makes the ever-so-arduous and oh-so-time consuming voyage – in reality, as most of you know it’s only about ten minutes from campus, depending on traffic – can reap many a benefit, however: the Strutt has good food, if a little more than the average college student likes to spend to fill his or her stomach, good hot chocolate – I can’t speak for the coffee because I myself don’t drink it – and what looks to be a nice bar. They also have free wireless, a decent music selection on at pretty much all times, comfortable chairs, and to top it off photographs and art prints grace the walls, making it just as good a place to study as Hicks or the library (if you don’t mind the noise) if not better.

But what I have in mind about the Strutt has little to nothing in common with studying. What I want to tell you about is the music. Not just the stereo playing in the background while you read whatever college-related text you’re currently focused on, lovely and convenient though it is to be able to bottle up and store music for later, for when the mood is right, for when it is time to study. What I want to talk about is music, and how the Strutt—that establishment that looks like just your average college-town coffee shop, just five minutes off Kalamazoo College campus—is rejuvenating the Kalamazoo music scene and bringing live acts like you’ve never seen to a place just footsteps from campus.

The Strutt is that corner building’s latest incarnation; it opened in 2007 as Dino’s, and changed its name to the Strutt in 2009. Seniors and maybe juniors at K will remember thinking the shop would be just as transient as its predecessors, but the establishment has had staying power.

Why has the Strutt stuck around and not any others? Part of it is luck, part of it is decent proximity to Western, K College, and Kalamazoo’s downtown, part of it is good management. I’d argue that one of the biggest parts is what makes the place distinct among all the bars and coffee shops in Kalamazoo – the live music.

The Strutt hasn’t always been a focal point for music – on first glance, most would probably peg it as a typical coffee shop. But lately, those involved with music at the Strutt have been taking steps to bring more, bigger, and better musical acts to the venue. Making a music venue out of the Strutt has been part of the plan since its opening; the fact that Andy Catlin, one of the Strutt’s two current booking agents, has been with the company since it came into being stands proof.

Andy says that the place has made itself into a functioning music venue, able to draw reasonably well known Michigan or even national acts, “about as fast as you could,” for a company without a huge overhead or helping hands in the music industry.

Three years ago, there was only the occasional band that I and my friends would consider worthy of attending: I remember seeing Michigan bands Great Lakes Myth Society and The Hard Lessons in spring of 2009, both good shows. I attended exactly zero shows my sophomore year; there was just nothing there that interested me. Junior year I studied abroad for over half of the school year, but I’ve still gone to more shows this year than any year previous: a measly total so far of three, but I plan to and am excited to attend far more later in the quarter.

Duncan Zigterman K’13 has experienced a similar effect. He first went to a Strutt show in fall of 2009, to see Michigan ska band Mustard Plug, but didn’t go to many others that year. This year though, he says that he’s been to about 15 or 20 shows, a dramatic increase. Why is this the case? “I think they’ve been making a more active effort to bring bands from out of the area here,” said Zigterman. Accordingly, there have been more bands he’s been interested in seeing and going to the Strutt for.

Alexis Wright K’13 has also been a more regular attendee at the Strutt’s shows this year, going to around 10 or so thus far. She was unable to attend events her freshman year since she was not yet 18, but even so, said that last year “there was never anything I wanted to see. [My roommate] Megan would go, and I would make fun of her, cause she thought she was cool, going to the Strutt.”

She’s also noticed an upswing in the variety of shows offered. “Last year, the shows were local or shitty, which are sometimes the same thing. I was really surprised when I got the flyer for September/October, with Lightning Bolt, Xiu Xiu, and others.”

How has the Strutt accomplished this stuff? It all has to do with building relationships with booking agencies over time, and sinking enough money so that they’ll know a venue like the Strutt is interested and can give the amount of cash needed to bring a band to town. Andy Catlin has been working hard to accomplish this. “Why we’re getting all these national acts now is because for the last three years I’ve been e-mailing these people,” he says. It’s all rather depressingly fiscal – “Booking is this really weird system based on money,” says Catlin. A band can love the venue and want to come, but it’s all up to the booking agents and the exchange of cold, hard cash between the venue and booking agencies. Sink a certain amount of money and interest in a company and they’re more willing to send bigger acts your way, says Catlin.

On top of that, the variety to now be found at the Strutt is a necessity. Catlin says that showcasing many different genres is the “only way you can survive doing a music venue,” that you “can’t just depend on any genre.” Different kinds of acts bring in more fans, hopefully bringing in more revenue so the business can stay afloat. Sean Hartman, the Strutt’s other booking agent, was hired about eight months ago, and has since then brought an even more diverse group of bands to the venue. He says that the “focus here is on variety for sure” and that he tries to bring in more experimental music.

Catlin and Hartman are also open-minded musically, translating into more diverse music for fans in the Kalamazoo area. Catlin says that “who I am as a music fan […] I’m super into all types of music. I truly do appreciate all these different genres.” Hartman also tries to bring bands that most have not heard of to town, attempting to “turn people on to new bands” – something you really don’t find at every music venue.

In just three years, the Strutt has been able to bring relatively well known artists Deals Gone Bad, Xiu Xiu, Acid Mothers Temple, Mustard Plug, Dan Deacon, and will have doom-metallers Earth in June. That’s really spanning the genres, with ska, funk, electronic, psychedelic/experimental, and metal making appearances. The Strutt has rap shows on occasion, often has local folk and rock bands, and hosts an open mic night every Tuesday night. All this, and it’s not even a dive. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is debatable, but as Catlin said, “It’s a refreshing place for musicians and I think music fans too.”