Been too long.

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay in posting, we tend to get pretty behind. It's funny, there're a handful of us running the space and keeping it going and an enormous spacefull of people keeping us glued to together; but somehow we forget to find the time to check in here!

Sorry about that!!

Anyway, we'll work on it. I just wanted to write and say that everything is going smooth as ever, every now and then we hit some bumps in the road as far as rent and maintenance go, but it all always evens out. We're working on assuming the responsibility of equal shares in rent. With a space this size and active, it can be a stressful thing when you're nervous about covering rent in the upcoming month. It wreaks havoc on nerves and moods. We're working on devising a plan to keep our heads comfortably above water. I think we're coming to the conclusion that a few of us will be responsible for a certain portion of rent each, though we're allowed to come up with it however we can. Creative or not.

This is probably the healthiest conclusion to come to for running the open space that we want to run. We all assumed this would be the case when we first started BCHQ, but we were extremely fortunate that the first 6 months ran solely off of donations, shows and events.

Essentially this means that I can either take a few bucks out of the pass the hat for shows I book, or if I'm personally having a solid month, I'll not worry about that and just pay outta pocket. Since there are enough of us in the space and we have the Bike Co-op helping us out, we've gotten it down to only about 50 bucks each...which is obscenely cheap for having your own space!

So that's the update for now. I'll try and update a little more. We're still trying to figure this out as we go along, I can't believe at all that it's stayed together for 6 months already! And honestly, all the thanks go to the people reading this and stopping by!

I'll add some pictures when I figure out how to do that.
Thanks!!
-chaz.

See ya at the Tooth/Gun Metal Black/Black Tusk show on Sunday, Sept. 30th!!

6.13.07 meetin' minutes

Last week we gathered on a Sunday morning, a new leaf for Chaz, Toby, Rob, Catherine, Shayne, Rebekah and I. Morning meetings, while less energetic, have proven more productive than late night rendevouz at the space or quick one hour check in lunch meetings at Chaz's record store. We've been trying to carve out a time that we can all meet together in the same space biweekly, and it looks like Saturday mornings at 10 in the a.m. has been agreed upon. We'll still be using the listserv, having online meetings and and talking about BCHQ on most of our off time, but at least we have this finite time that we can schedule around.

That said, last meeting we discussed the imminent need for volunteers. We're looking at applications, finding volunteer coordinators and trying to let go a little of the space that has become something so much larger than just our brainchild. It's actually becoming part of the different communities that it was built to serve. And while we need more time to get the volunteer program up and running; we're really exciting to bring new people and new ideas into BCHQ.

We're also trying to get up to code with inspections, trying to show the first round of the democratic debates at the space (hosted by us and Lenora, an amazing woman that works with programming in the community around BCHQ), working on movie nights, queer youth nights and DIY nights, and looking forward to another workshop hosted by the bike co-op if everything works out!

Calendars are available online and at the space (Thanks Rebekah!).

We'll keep you updated about the next meeting, which is this upcoming Tuesday! (Um. The Saturday morning "set in stone" dates start in about 2 weeks).

Six Shiny Keys and Sweet Southern Rock

Two weeks ago I was running up the steps of Chaz's Bull City Records store two at a time, like I do when I get too excited about something. We'd signed the lease and now had keys to a space. Six shiny gold keys.

Okay, so truth be told, the walls are a little lumpy, we have our own moldy biosphere and there are bars on the windows, but it's a space. A whole space. Undefined. Empty.

Fast forward two weeks and it's a little less empty. Friends and supporters showed up armed with paint, rollers, rugs and glass cutters. They stood on rickety ladders to scrape stubborn wallpaper paste off plaster... spray painted the bars in colors that would put Crayola to shame... and rolled out a glossy blue floor to the sweet sounds of southern rock.

We've filled the space with memories, late nights, points of contention; old highschool posters, area rugs and an odd office chair or two.

Now we're battening down the hatches for the week ahead to get the space ready for the opening. We'll see you there.

We got a space!

Last night we met Ed, our new landlord at the real live building that is now BCHQ. He's a great guy with a good sense of humor who really supports what we are doing and is willing to work with us to make it happen. woo hoo!
The space is pretty amazing. It has high ceilings with crazy old school wood work; its got a bathroom and a backdoor and some zebra striped wall paper, and that’s about all we need.
We've got two weeks to fix it up in Feb, and we should be open by the first of March.
We're going to plan a huge grand opening with an art show about Durham, some great local bands, and some good grubbin’. Stay tuned and make sure to let us know if you want to help out with fixing the place up, or especially with your spare change. Oh, and does anybody have any hook lights?

Woo hoo!

Yay Durham!


We have a sweet looking potential space on Mangum st. We are waiting for the guy to get back from Miami so that we can move on it. It's our hope that once we have an actual location, we will be able to start organizing ways that people can help out with the center. We talked about a painting /decorating party. . .Its going to be awesome.

We've also been talking to people about the possibility of renting space out for bands to practice, and for people to have meetings.

If you'd like to sign up on our mailing list so that you can receive updates and news and ways to help, just send an email to bullcityhq@gmail.com with your name and address.

THANKS!!

BCHQ Mission Statement

Hey all. . .

Here is the letter we recently sent out that includes our mission statement etc:


Dear Friends, Family, and Family Friends,

I am writing to share with you the exciting news that Bull City Headquarters, the new nonprofit arts venue and community center, will open in Downtown Durham in February, 2007!

Bull City Headquarters will be a drug and alcohol-free community space intent on facilitating creative expression, providing educational resources, and coordinating public workshops. Our mission is to create an opportunity to bring together our neighborhoods through events such as public lectures, lending libraries, and free classes; foster creative expression including but not limited to performance and visual arts, musical events, and gallery exhibitions; and offer public service through an organized meeting space, a bike co-op, and a resource center.

In preparation for the grand opening of Bull City Headquarters, we are building a contact list of people in the community who may be interested in becoming involved with this project. If you are interested in receiving updates and news about BCHQ, please send a short response to this email. We would also greatly appreciate it if you would forward this message to other people or organizations that may be as excited about this new space as we are!

Thanks so much for your participation!

YaY!

Hello World!

We've started a blog for Bull City Head Quarters, the soon-to-be community center/rad art & music venue in Durham, NC. We're currently looking for a space, some money, and some volunteers that are as excited about this project as we are! We'll post our mission statement after our second meeting this Sunday, and will keep you updated on the process.

Oh, and does anybody have any connections to Bruce Campbell?