A prominent Calgary multi-genre music venue is celebrating its 10th year supporting the local music community on February 11th with a huge line up of well-known local bands. Among them are legendary Calgary punk act BDFM with Distortion co-owner Mark Russell on drums.
Saturday, February 11, Distortion invites everyone to join them in celebrating 10 years, 4 bars, and countless good times as an integral part of local Calgary music scene. The anniversary show consists of 8 bands including; Exit Strategy, Hypnopilot, Bloated Pig, Caveat, The Press Gang, Conniving Cadavers, and No More Moments. Headlining the massive bill, back for one more show, are old school local legends BDFM. As well, in partnership with Long & McQuade, there will be a second stage with contortionists, freak shows, a positive rap battle & acoustic acts: Franky Frog Liquor, and Dylan Wolfspider. The D crew is looking forward to celebrating 10 years of helping the music community to flourish and continuing for (at least) 10 more.
Doors for the show open are 6pm and the festivities will go until 2 am. There will be surprises, drink specials, old memories shared and new ones created. Distortion is located at 3828 Macleod Trails S. Tickets are $20 and are available from the bar in advance or at https://www.myshowpass.com/distortion-the-d-the-distillery-10-year-anniversar/
Bio:
On February 12th 2007, a scene was born when an intrepid group of music lovers took over The Distillery Public House in downtown Calgary, AB. They catered to a diverse crowd serving lunch and dinner and at night having tight, intimate live music shows. Some of the big names that graced the stage included The Real McKenzies, Del the Funky Homosapian, Dayglo Abortions, D.O.A., The Vibrators, UK Subs, always supported by talented local bands.
After the lease was up, it was on to bigger and better things when they moved into an old theatre, The Distillery Rock n Roll Ballroom had arrived. One of the most legendary venues to make its mark on the Calgary music community, the ballroom hosted all genres with artists like Bone Thugs n’ Harmony, The Bronx, Mad Caddies, and Sticky Buds. The D crew had built up an infectious momentum, creating a highly desired place to play, and flooding the scene with high quality shows. Unfortunately the carpet was suddenly swept out from underneath them in 2012 and the crew had to seek out new digs.
Losing such an iconic venue was a massive detriment to the entire city, as it affected many genres, promoters, artists and fans. The group soldiered on and ended up in Eau Claire in their third venue. Unfortunately, that venture was short lived. It seemed like it was the end, and the community tried to rebuild itself working with the other local venues, opening new ones, seeing others shut down. Unbeknownst to the public at large, the D crew still wasn’t done. After a year, on May 1 2015, the announcement was made that a fourth venue had been found. After a few coats of paint and the posting of the famous bathroom rules, the rebranded Distortion – Live Music Venue was opened. Continuing to host local talent and bringing in big headliners like Blessthefall, SNFU, The Exalted Piledriver, and Stylist Beats, Distortion is the next chapter in the team’s journey to nurture the live music community.
Originally published on January 24, 2017 at AsherMediaRelations.com
