What has been your impression of the Atlanta music scene from the early days to today? What about the Atlanta alternative/goth/punk/metal/etc. scene specifically? Any memories from your early days at the Masquerade?
Buddy Schaub (Less Than Jake): My knowledge of the Atlanta music scene is pretty limited to my times cruising through on tour once or twice a year. We actually played Atlanta a couple of times before those first shows at the Masquerade. The first time was the very first date on our very first tour of the U.S. outside of Florida at a small place called the Sombre Reptile. Mostly what I remember from that show is that we got a flat tire on the way there about an hour outside of Gainesville and then the van broke down right after the show and we stayed the night at a place that asked how many 15 min blocks we wanted to purchase. I slept in the van. After that we played a one off show that we drove up for, during which, a large group of skinheads kept picking fights during our songs. We kept stopping and breaking it up, and finally finished. Afterwards we were going to complain to the owner, but suddenly realized everyone had left but the owner and the skinheads. We promptly left, started driving and the van broke down again. We spent the night at a gas station in the van during a freak cold front. I remember that a gatorade bottle froze over in the van that night. Chilly. After that we played The Point in Little Five Points a few times. Once with J Church (our idols at the time), Roger and I had actually driven up to Atlanta years before to see them play. Little Five Points was always a great spot for punk; lots of record stores, junk/vintage shops, and cool punk food places. It did seem to be a thriving town for punk back then. I feel like the punk scene has kind of died off a bit in Atlanta, but that also just seems to be the trend everywhere in the country. Young people (college age) seem to have gravitated more to the dance/electronic movement these days. Most of our fans have grown up with us and still come out, but it just seems a bit different.
In the early days, the Masquerade was notorious for being in a bit of a scary part of town- don’t walk around after dark they’d say, but after the third or fourth time playing there I figured out that it was actually walking distance to get over to Little Five Points and I did that a couple of times. One of the interesting parts of playing the Masquerade was going over to the Clermont Lounge which was a bar/“burlesque club”/motel which had, how shall I say this… a very unique set of dancers. We had heard that it was definitely worth popping into for a drink. I only went there once, early on, but I will never forget the experience. Lemme just say, you don’t want to know why they called her “Peek-a-boo”.
Mike Kennerty (The All-American Rejects): I definitely dug the vibe of the Masquerade. You could tell that building had history. I also liked that there was enough room at the front of the stage that crowd surfers could land without hitting your mic stand and knocking your teeth out.
Paul Mazurkiewicz (Cannibal Corpse): I have no idea. I’ve never—I never knew anything about the Atlanta scene. It never was anything that I knew about, or researched, or heard about. You know, it’s like you go to a city, you go play your city, you’re on tour, you’re playing throughout the country, and you go to—you play, and it’s a great show. I mean, all I know is it was always a good show. You know, whether the scene was thriving, I don’t know. I mean, I really have no idea. So other than the fact that we would go to Atlanta, have good shows, the people would be out there, that was amazing to us.
You know, just that they were cool shows. I mean, it’s hard to remember, you know, when you really think back that long ago, you know, I mean, nothing stands out in particular other than exactly, it was a cool venue. I mean, it was unlike any other venue. I mean, what stands out to me the most is like, yes, we played that on our very first tour, like I’m saying. And then every time we’ve come back to Atlanta, we’ve always were playing the Masquerade. So it was kind of—it was always that constant. That was the thing that stood out more than anything like, “Well, we’re going—we’re playing Atlanta.” “Where are we playing?” “The Masquerade?” “Oh, okay. Yeah, this is awesome. We know there’s been—we’ve been here how many times? Countless amount of times.” And the way we look at it and really the reality, the way it was, you know, so I mean, other than, exactly it was—I would imagine it was a cool show. It’s so hard to remember any specifics or anything, but what just stood out is the venue, really.
Porter McKnight (Atreyu): Let’s be clear right from the start, the Masquerade ALWAYS left an impression on us. From the trampoline like Heaven (it was a risk worth taking asking the crowd to jump), to the strange knee-high photo pit where you could interact with the crowd, and the kind faces amongst the staff; we always had a damn fine time. The atmosphere at that venue was always superior to other shows in the south as well.
Jack O’Shea (Bayside): The first time we played, we played in the Hell venue, it was the bottom floor. And I remember my first experience of going in there. I was a little—I was kinda like, “What is going on in this place?” I loved that it kinda looked like a haunted, gothic castle on the inside. It had a definite charm to it that was something different than like another smaller club, or another club in general.
And that year we’re playing Hell at that point, and we’re already using the weird lift to get to the top, and I remember people talking about the kinda sketchy, chain elevator that brings your gear up to the top floor.
Yeah, in general everything felt kinda weird. And that neighborhood came a long way since then also. I know we had done Wrecking Ball recently, and just seeing where that place is now as far as what’s surrounding it, it’s very different from when we had first started going there.
But yeah, overall, it did just have like a cool vibe to it, it was an interesting place to play, it was kinda neat. There was laundry there, which was great at the time too. The catering was always sort of—I remember this was like the epitome of the joke of catering where it’s like, “There’s going to be a giant bin of spaghetti somewhere, and I’ll eat that.”
But yeah, just the vibe of the place was cool, the people were friendly there, the show—Atlanta has never been one of our strongest markets, but I remember the old Masquerade definitely has—we had much better shows at the Masquerade than at other places in Atlanta, for sure.
But yeah, just kinda like vibey, weird, haunted castle—I love that they kinda hammed up the Hell, Heaven, and Purgatory themes in the building. I mean it really felt almost like you were playing in a haunted house.
Stephen Christian (Anberlin): You have to rewind to when we were just starting out in music, I had two goals: sell 15,000 records and play in Atlanta, Georgia. That was it, those were the only two goals. Laughable now, but we were from Winter Haven, Florida, you don’t dream ponderously in a small town.
Every time we play Atlanta I think of those goals, and I made sure that the shows always matched that energy, to the point where we would have to book Masquerade at the end of tours (no joke, go back and look) because I would lose my voice!
Atlanta is always intense, there were always people jumping on stage, there were always people dancing, and there was never a time when my voice didn’t hurt after playing.
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult: Don’t know much about the ATL scene, as we’re usually just passing thru.. but the fans were always on fire, and the drugs were always flowing. We would go out and party until the bus left in the am.
We always had sound and power problems [at the Masquerade]. Maybe we were cursed. Every time we played the club, we would wonder what was going to happen tonight? Is the left side of the PA going to go out? Are the monitors on? Will we play in the dark for half the set?
Andrea Ferro (Lacuna Coil): The elevated structure of the venue is what strikes you right away, it also seemed that it could crumble at any moment and the fact that you have to load in the gear through sort of a crane, it was quite unusual. The crowd for us in Atlanta has always been amazing, I don’t remember any bad shows in that city.
Patricia Day (The HorrorPops): Look, a golden rule of touring is “what happens on the road, stays on the road”, and a lot of those exact type of stories that you don’t talk about, happened at masquerade. The place just brought it out in you. Let’s just say A LOT of non-PG things happened when horrorpops visited masquerade and leave it at that, haha. But we were always well taken care of when we visited and there was often other things happening in the building (the aftershow night club was awesome, but memories also covered in thick fog of free alcohol consumption). Once there was a kinda subculture/occult/craft fair going on downstairs. I (patricia) bought 3 pieces there that still hangs on my wall today.
Rick Joyce (The Last Dance): I remember showing up thinking what is this place? Very different, crazy elevator load in, huge main room, and what did it for me at first, great sound! Staff were great and we had an amazing first show at the Masq…We actually played the Masq more than just twice, we did a Halloween show in 2001 there as well as The Altantis Music Festival, and a couple others as well later on, with 3 different drummers actually, but the main changes between our first show and all the others was this: All the shows after our first felt like we were playing in our home town. In fact we used to call Atlanta our 2nd home town…our home away from home… That is a tribute to the Atlanta goth scene, the fans, the promoters, and the venue/staff at the Masq….It became my favorite venue to play when we toured the States.
Jeff Diehm (The Last Dance): My first memory of the Masquerade was walking into Heaven and getting really excited about the big stage and room, but not loving the idea of lugging equipment up all those stairs. The crew told us to move the van in front of the white box painted on the ground and they would send down the elevator. So we moved the van and were standing in the white box looking for where the elevator would be. After a few minutes, a voice from above told us we had to move. I guess it didn’t dawn on us that the elevator came from above, and it was about to come down on our heads.
Peter J. Gorritz (The Last Dance): For me the Masquerade stood out as one of the first truly “professional” venues that we played in during our first U.S. tours. Most of our early gigs were in smaller clubs, basements, private parties, etc. But to walk into the Masquerade and see a large stage with a full monitor system, lights, a backstage area, that was thrilling to me. I was working at similar venues as a live sound-engineer, and I felt, perhaps arrogantly, that this was the kind of venue we should be performing in, it made me feel like we were finally becoming a truly professional band. As far as the fans, they were always great, always friendly, making us feel at home. They didn’t change, they got better and there were more of the them later on, which was a great feeling. WE certainly changed, I think we got better as a band and had gotten used to working on larger stages, working the crowd so to speak by the time we returned. But Masquerade was certainly one of the first venues that made me feel personally that we were on the right track.
Did you know of the Masquerade before you played there? If so, what did you know or what had you heard about it?
Jack O’Shea (Bayside): Well, I grew up in Massachusetts, so I hadn’t really heard about the Masquerade ‘til we started going through, but it was one of the places—again, because it was such a unique vibe, it was one of the places you definitely remember. It was like, “Oh, the Masquerade, that’s the weird haunted mill thing in Atlanta, where’s there just like a Kroger and nothing else really around.” Other than that Kroger, the Clermont, and maybe that Whole Foods, that’s pretty much the only stuff I remember being around there.
Buddy Schaub (Less Than Jake): I actually took a trip there right before or just as I joined LTJ in the early 90’s, I want to say fall of 93 to see a band called The Wedding Present. A few of my buddies and I made the 5 hour drive up there and scored parking right out on the street next to the Masquerade on the side. After getting inside one of my friends pulled out a joint right before the band started and lit it up right inside. I was like, are you crazy, we’re gonna get caught. And he was like, just hit it. The show sounded AMAZING and we had a great rest of the night. The drive home seemed to take forever… Ha
Nick Wheeler (The All-American Rejects): I was unfamiliar with the Masquerade, as well as most of the venues we played in 2003 because we hadn’t been touring outside of OK and TX very long at that point. But over time the Masquerade became a place I loved returning to and was a landmark for several big moments for us and for the band.
Rick Joyce (The Last Dance): Actually no. I remember a cowboy approaching me in New Orleans asking me if we would want to play there and I didn’t know anything about it but said sure! That cowboy became our promoter when we played there and a dear friend, Travis Reeves.
Stephen Christian (Anberlin): I had heard about it when we played other little clubs in the area, it sounded mythological. Mat Goldman, our first producer based out of 5 Points told us about his shows there as well.
What do you recall about the building’s appearance? Did you ever venture around the Masquerade when you weren’t performing? Either on your off nights in the city or before you got on stage? Any comments on the atmosphere and experience when not on the stage?
Buddy Schaub (Less Than Jake): It was an old Wood Wool Mill from the late 1800’s and it definitely retained much of the original vibe, that is for sure. We only played the outside stage in the back once for an all day festival type show. I remember it was the first time I got to see Hot Hot Heat. Anyway, walking around the outside in the back you could really see the whole structure of the building and it’s age. I always felt like I was in an old castle or dungeon or something. The inside had all these giant support rafters with huge bolts, and I was always impressed with the simultaneous sturdiness and fear I had that it was going to come down at any minute. It was actually the running joke every time we went there; someone would inevitably say, “yeah, it’s such a shame they’re gonna be tearing this place down soon”. There was almost always some sort of Dance Night going on in the rest of the building after our shows as well, and they were definitely fun to wander around in. Each room would be playing a different kind of music with a different cast of characters. Great people watching.
Patricia Day (The HorrorPops): The big black looming nature of the building! Very much a horrorpops favorite destination for that reason alone, lol. There’s a lot of venues out there with more or less attitude, but from the very first time we rolled up to masquerade, we felt the building just oozed great, dirty, sweaty and pure rock’n’roll. This was a venue that understood professional touring musicians, you know, the people that actually lives on the road where every penny counts, showers are few and far between, food a rarity and loading heavy equipment in through shitty back doors a regular occurrence. But Masquerade had this great Frankenstein looking “lift/ crane looking thingy/ hoist system” specifically made for equipment and it whined, scraped and screamed, but got the job done. We always half expected it to come with its own soundtrack from Frankenstein Jr.. “it’s alive, it’s ALIVE!”.
We did do quite a bit of venturing around the Masquerade. We’d heard some rumor about ghost due to a death in the walls, we’ve also heard that the place had a horrible place in history during the slave trade amongst other horrifying stories. Who knew what was true, but we knew the place had HISTORY, you could just feel it. Of our many explorations at masquerade, the one that stays must vivid in my mind, is actually not a horrifying one, but an idyllic one spent on the grounds out back (where we weren’t supposed to be), walking our beloved dog Anubis (aka head of security Doberman) and picnic’ing on the grass. I remember there being rickety stall like wood structures, that we tried to guess what had been used for.
Mike Kennerty (The All-American Rejects): When we were writing and rehearsing for our album “Move Along” we decided to do it in Atlanta, just cause we needed to be somewhere we didn’t know that forced us to do nothing but work. We stayed around the corner from the Masquerade at the Highland Inn. I don’t know if that place has changed since then, but at the time it was $35/night and you definitely felt it. Then we would practice all day in this small, grey room in a barren warehouse space. We were young, so luxury definitely wasn’t a care in our minds, but as the weeks went on the drear of those spots started to take their toll. So every night we’d explore the surroundings in hopes of slightly refilling the soul that was being sucked from us each day. Haha… And we found that in places like the Righteous Room, Manuel’s, Eats, and (when bands we knew or liked came through) the Masquerade. It was nice to be able to walk to a show at this place we were familiar with and had a cool vibe. It was as enjoyable of a place to see a show as it was to play there. It was always nice to duck into the Masquerade when we had a chance.
Nick Wheeler (The All-American Rejects): We did a lot of touring before Uber and Lyft, so usually when we played the masquerade we would stay pretty close to the venue. I remember it feeling industrial but like it hadn’t been used for those purposes in a while. I remember railroad tracks and metal buildings. We even did a photo shoot outside around the building because it made for such a great backdrop!
Paul Mazurkiewicz (Cannibal Corpse): That’s why it was always cool, it had a cool atmosphere! You when you got to Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, you know, and the way it was laid out and the way it was old like that, that old mill or whatever it was. I mean, it was cool. It was very rustic, very neat in that sense. I mean, you’ll always remember, of course, the elevator, how are you not going to remember the loading elevator. I mean, no other venue would have ever had that. And, you know, I don’t think will, or ever will—ever has or ever will. And that stood out big time, of course. And then the whole you know, what always got me is that back staircase going to the backstage, you know, that double—that like exterior staircase that was literally just ready to fall apart at any moment. And to this day, ‘til the last time we played it, I remember it just never was fixed. It never got better. You’re always worried, “You know what, one day somebody’s going to fall through this. There’s going to be—you know, someone’s going to really hurt themselves or get killed.” So, I mean, those were the—those two things in particular always stood out, of course, to the Masquerade, you know. And I remember always we always used to get—it was always catered. It was always in the day of obviously bands, you get buyouts, you know, you go get money to go eat whatever you want, but the Masquerade was always one where they had—I forgot the chef’s name, but I remember he was always there—he was there for the longest time and they’d make the bands dinner, make the crew’s dinner, that was the catering. That’s you’d go back in the kitchen there and get your food. It was always—it was always a good meal. So, really those three things in particular would be the things that stood out. But, just a cool place. It had the vibe, definitely, it had that cool vibe, because there was no other venue in the country like that.
Andrea Ferro (Lacuna Coil): It looked different than usual venues, probably more like a haunted building. Very fragile, but also alive. The 3 rooms were all with a personal strong identity. We used to walk around the area looking for food and I remember in the beginning it wasn’t such a nice area and looked quite dodgie. With the years the area got cleaned up a bit and became more of hyped area with new buildings and locations for coffee and restaurants. One funny thing is that to go from the tour bus to the venue you would pass through the crowd multiple times and sort of hang out a bit and exchange a few words.
Porter McKnight (Atreyu): We definitely explored every area of the venue they’d let us in. I remember old crooked beams and beautiful rays of light on the unused (I think) areas of the building. We often would go to the shows happening on the same nights as ours in Hell and Purgatory as well and always delighted in the interesting places to watch the bands.
Rick Joyce (The Last Dance): I remember the building with its elevator load in platform and long walk in the front doors, extra rooms etc, it felt huge. I did once walk around the building during the day as we had some time to kill before soundcheck, it kinda seemed like it was by itself in the wilderness with a road on one side and a couple parking lots….at least to me, from the outside it didn’t seem like much…but the inside was fantastic.
Jeff Diehm (The Last Dance): I loved it. There were so many spaces in that building to explore. Something new every time. A friend showed me the outside space, I think on our third time playing there. My thought was how a space like this couldn’t possibly exist in a lot of other cities… where you could just walk around a huge complex and constantly discover new spaces. There was sex.
Peter J. Gorritz (The Last Dance): I felt right at home at The Masquerade because I had worked at a club in Fresno, CA called The Cadillac Club which was a similar building as the Masquerade; it had also been some kind of mill, paper, or whatnot. Big industrial building, kind of intimidating, easy to get lost in. I honestly don’t remember much about the area around the club, just going directly outside to escape the heat, not that it was much cooler outside!
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult: Before the makeover (whenever that was, mid 90’s?) The building looked like it was about to collapse any day. We’re surprised no one ever fell from the very high, decrepit fire escape which led up to the back of the stage. It really felt like we were taking our lives in our hands by climbing up it… especially drunk. We were also surprised none of our gear ever fell off the old “freight elevator” which (in the beginning), was a rickety plywood platform without any sides, which would haul the gear up two floors. The interior felt cavernous. And the big beam that ran through the middle of the stage was always problematic when setting up the backdrop and lights.
Does the Masquerade stand out to you more than some of the other venues you’ve played at?
Stephen Christian (Anberlin): Absolutely, we made sure to request it from our booking agent every time we went, the crowds, the legendary load-ins, and the factory-esque facility were absolutely memorable.
Andrea Ferro (Lacuna Coil): It’s a unique place, there’s nothing like it anywhere I’ve been. Obviously the structure itself and the mood you had in the main hall with all the room shaking when the crowd was jumping. It was indeed special and fun to play. Maybe it was not so much for the crew to work since they had to go up and down the stairs all day long.
Mike Kennerty (The All-American Rejects): Definitely. Just by virtue of the building itself. You don’t see places like that getting repurposed as venues very often. It felt so wooden, as silly as that might sound. It felt old and janky, but at the same time eternally sturdy cause you knew “if it’s lasted this long, it ain’t going anywhere!”
Nick Wheeler (The All-American Rejects): There are a few venues that stand out to me either because of historic significance or just the mystery surrounding them. The masquerade had both and was certainly one of those venues.
Buddy Schaub (Less Than Jake): A lot of places just kind of blend together, but there was always a bit of a mystique surrounding the Masquerade. I mean the building itself is like an old castle or dungeon (great for Goth Night) and seemed as old as dirt. It was broken up into so many different rooms and venue spaces. You could actually get lost walking around inside. You loaded your gear into the big room onto a giant platform that got hoisted up two flights into the backstage hanging from a giant chain. It was always hot and smokey (until they finally banned indoor smoking in GA which took way too long if you ask me). The air conditioner was ALWAYS broken. They were always “improving” the backstage but it never got any better and always smelled like a hot dumpster. But even with all of these quirks we never had a bad show there. We’d come out and the place would just explode into chaos and mayhem from the first guitar chord.
Porter McKnight (Atreyu): There was something about the shape and architecture of that place that always emanated something different. To be honest the backstage wasn’t the most accommodating for touring bands, but the shows there vastly made up for any short comings there (they’ve made up for that in the new one, haha.)
Rick Joyce (The Last Dance): Absolutely. In the US, I mentioned before this was my favorite venue outside of a few in Hollywood and Southern California. I do not want to downplay any of the venues or places we played in other cities, but there was always something special about the Masq, the ATL crowd, I always loved the sound there and the size of the stage…nice backstage,, great staff, we have had good shows, bad shows, shows we do not remember, etc through the years, but every show at the Masq was fantastic.
Jeff Diehm (The Last Dance): We played Heaven, Hell, and that smaller side-room. I think you couldn’t help but do some architectural archaeology to try to see what the building had been before. The floors and stairs creaked. There was that big dressing room that you had to walk through another dressing room to get to. There were dark spaces where people were always getting familiar. Security and crew, as I remember, were friendly… it was one of my favorite cities and places to play.
Peter J. Gorritz (The Last Dance): I alluded to some of the reasons in the first question, but to elaborate further, I would say that the overall excellence of the sound & lights, and the great staff really stood out. As a band that was starting to gain a reputation but still weren’t a big name, in some cities we would still get what I call the Hollywood treatment, where they basically treat you like they’re doing you a favor rather than like a touring band that deserves to be treated like professionals. Masquerade never made us feel like nobodies. We always got treated well, got the things we’d ask for on our rider, food etc. And that’s really important when you are traveling, tired, underfed & running on pure adrenaline. To actually be treated with respect, like you deserve to be there & the venue is happy to have you there, professionals dealing with professionals, that is absolutely HUGE in my book.
What was the interaction between you and their staff like?
Buddy Schaub (Less Than Jake): Everyone that worked there, from the security staff, to the kitchen people that always provided us with dinner were super friendly and willing to help with almost anything.
Paul Mazurkiewicz (Cannibal Corpse): I mean, that would be one that I can’t even really answer too much of myself either. I never really remember dealing with it as a band member. You know, obviously you got crew and man—and, you know, people like that dealing probably more so with that, with people other than us dealing with say—right, you’re seeing the guy that maybe cook the food once you go back there, but other than that, I never—we never had a problem, never had an issue as far as I remember, of any altercations of anything or—always just running smooth. Everybody was nice and all that kind of thing. But you know what? I don’t think I’ve ever met like the owner, I don’t remember ever really talking to anybody else that, say, would have work there. So it just, you know, seemed like it was always a good positive—a positive experience.
It seems like the mid-2000s was a very special time for metal. What was it like to be a part of this era?
Andrew Ferro (Lacuna Coil): It was indeed a special time where metal was getting a lot of attention from medias and was able to compete with other music styles in terms of popularity. I think it was the perfect time for us to develop as a band and also the internet was just starting and wasn’t such a factor as it is today. We consider ourselves very lucky to have been part of that era that was probably the highest point for metal after the Eighties.
Mike Kennerty (The All-American Rejects): It was great! It was kinda the last hurrah of the old music industry, so it was cool to get to experience things I grew up with like MTV before they all went away.
Nick Wheeler (The All-American Rejects): I honestly think it was just luck and timing. I’m the exact age that discovered music when hair bands were on MTV in the 80s and I started playing music in the 90s when alternative rock became the main stream. All of that music and those instincts are in my musical DNA so when I was out of high school and dropping out of college in the early 2000’s all the boy bands and pop stars were kind of being replaced with guitars again. I don’t think I appreciated it at the time, but now I definitely know how perfect the timing was and how lucky I am to have been a part of it.
Did you know the location was about to move?
Andrea Ferro (Lacuna Coil): Yeah, we knew about it and it was definitely weird to hear. We didn’t know if they would tear down the place or save the structure. For sure the end of an era.
Porter McKnight (Atreyu): There were rumors of it closing and being sold for apartments for YEARS, but they kept fighting it off. I remember every time we’d get our tour dates from our booking agent we’d check to see if it was still there.
Paul Mazurkiewicz (Cannibal Corpse): You know, every time, it was funny because we heard so many times, “All right, this is supposed to be the last show,” “this is supposed to be it,” or “the last show’s coming up,” and then it never was. So we’ve heard that so many, countless times, where it was supposed to be the last show, you know. I remember hearing it like, “Hey, this is going to be our last time at the Masquerade, “Aw, alight.” And then next tour comes up, you get the itinerary, the Masquerade’s on there. And it’s the one we’re playing. You’re going, “Okay, well, I guess that didn’t happen,” you know? So, it’s funny because I’m not sure if we—hard to remember, I don’t know if I remember if we really thought that would have been the last time. Maybe we didn’t realize it until the next tour comes up, and it’s the new Masquerade you’re playing, you know? Then you’re like, “Oh, okay, well, I guess it happened. I guess it’s finally done,” you know, “and we’re not going back,” you know. So it was always—it was always that speculation or just that uncertainty. You weren’t sure if this was going to be your last time or not.
Jack O’Shea (Bayside): We had heard rumors since we started playing there—I remember from like, as soon as like one of the first times we ever played Masquerade, it felt like they were threatening to close it down. I feel like every time we went back, it was supposed to have been closed down. So, I think that was also kinda like a running gag with us…so, I feel like that had been perpetually threatening to close that venue for years, and then when they did Wrecking Ball, I could see how they would be like, “Alright, this is Wrecking Ball, this is the final straw, it’s going to be over after this.” But I still don’t think anyone believed it.
Actually, the thing that made me believe that it was going to be closing is when I started to see all of the massive condos and high-end development that was happening around. I was like, “Oh yeah, this place is gone now.” There was no immediate need to shut that thing down while there wasn’t much happening in the area—I’m sure they were still getting by, but as soon as you started seeing high rises across the street and condos going up around it, you’re like, “Alright, somebody’s going to buy this place and trim it now, any minute.” So, going back to Wrecking Ball and seeing all of those vacant lots that were now nice apartments or nice high-end up shops, you’re like, “Oh yeah, this is gone now.”
Wrecking Ball was a lot of fun, because it did feel like one last hurrah for being in that area, and for being in there. It’s funny, like—the new Masquerade is fine, but it definitely doesn’t have—it’s missing—it’s unique in the sense that it’s a different layout. But it definitely doesn’t have the same weird, haunted vibe.
You’ve played at the Masquerade’s new location in Underground Atlanta. Any thoughts on the new spot? Also, what was it like playing a show there post-pandemic?
Porter McKnight (Atreyu): We enjoyed it! I was actually there as a touring photographer with The Sound of Animals Fighting in 2019 and marveled in its maze-like corridors and excellent dressing rooms. It was damn fun as a photographer cause there were so many levels to explore to get the perfect shot.
I’ve also been there as an audience member a few times and always enjoyed it. Sometimes it’s a bit tough to see if it’s a super packed show, but regardless I’ve loved it.
Jack O’Shea (Bayside): Oh, that was good. It’s not as—for some reason, it doesn’t feel as special, just because—I feel like it’s like a sequel, you know, “Oh, the second one wasn’t as good as the first one.” And the first was one was so seeped in this weird, old history of being this creepy old building; and then the new one just feels like, “Alright, here it is, it’s sort of outside of the financial center downtown, and it is what it is.”
From a performance standpoint—I guess it’s funny, I can think of so many distinct memories that I have from performing at the older spot, and I don’t know if it’s just because as you’re growing as a band, that you’re sort of progressing as an act over the course of decades, my stronger and more profound memories tend to be when they were happening in the developmental stage as opposed to things that happen once you’re sort of somewhat established. But, I feel like I have so many individual memories of fun things that have happened at the old Masquerade, then when I think of the new Masquerade it just feels like a venue a little bit. So, it would be hard for me to pinpoint anything specifically that I would note as far as A/V. I mean there’s obviously things like the dressing rooms at the new one that are substantially nicer.
Also, I kinda liked—I know that it has that separate courtyard where all the entrances are, but it does sort of miss like—you know, with the older Masquerade you had your bus and van parking right here, and then everyone is coming through right underneath by where that elevator would be. And it just felt more like a common entry point for everyone—it just felt more of like a community vibe, or like—I don’t know, it just felt more special for some reason.
Andrea Ferro: (Lacuna Coil): It’s really different from the old location, definitely much more close to a regular venue, probably less fascinating, but way more comfortable for artists and crews. The energy of the crowd hasn’t changed though.
Other than some people having to wear masks it’s been great, the enthusiasm was super high, people (and the bands) couldn’t wait for shows to come back. One of the best tours in terms of energy exchange ever. I have to say that all the shows from that tour were amazing. It’s been our first tour since the pandemic and we couldn’t ask for a better way to restart. It felt awesome.
Edith Victoria (Meet Me @ the Altar): I understand why everyone was bummed out (including me) about the North Avenue location closing down. But… NOW, I think this underground spot is a WAYYY better location, for many reasons. I feel this new location is more communal, more spacious, updated, etc. The way concert attendees can all hang outside in the courtyard between bands makes it feel even more like a welcoming, and communal venue. It’s overall nicer for sure. I also may be a bit bias, because I was at the THICK of my concert and scene obsession when that location opened, so I was there at LEAST 3 times a week. I grew up there. As I said before, I only went to 3 shows at the old location so I am a little less connected to it than maybe others were.
Any other stories or memories you’d like to share about your experiences at the Masquerade?
Jack O’Shea (Bayside): The one that sticks out to me most is that we played a Halloween show there. I’m not sure when it was, but we were playing upstairs there, and Agnostic Front was playing—it was kinda of a New York hardcore showcase thing going on there in Hell at that point, and we were upstairs having catering. Again, it was Halloween, and one of the bands we were out with—I can’t remember exactly who it was—were dressed up in costumes, and we decided not to. And we were all up in the catering room, and Vinnie Stigma came up, and he was like “What’s up with these guys and their costumes?” And I was like, “I don’t know, I guess it’s Halloween.” And he’s like looking at us, he’s like, “You guys aren’t doing that?” He’s like, “Where are you guys from?” And we’re like, “Oh, we’re from New York.” And he’s looking at us, and he’s like, “No costumes for you?” And I was like, “Nah.” And he was like, “Yeah, I like you guys better.”
He was like really bothered by people getting dressed up for Halloween, and it made me laugh. It was like, “Yo, that was Vinnie Stigma from Agnostic Front!” This was probably one of the earlier times that we had played there. It might have been a support tour.
Actually, the Wrecking Ball thing really was fun for kind of a—in a similar vein of what you’re doing with this project, because as far as—being there, playing a festival set with a ton of other bands that we’ve either known, or played with, or connected with, and [inaudible] in a bar talking about Masquerade and all the other crazy stuff. I remember that as being a pretty special event as far as—that felt like a good memorial service for a venue. Everyone in there was exchanging stories about their experiences of being in there. I thought that was kinda fun.
They had setup a [inaudible] bar [in Purgatory], so not a cash bar—which is problematic in some settings, for a lot of people. So, it ended up being very drunk in there, but it ended up being a lot of fun. So, we played—it was probably earlier in the day, I remember being done by about 4 o’clock or so. So, for the rest of the day we were in there and kinda hanging out with—I know Nick [Ghanbarian] and I were in there for a long time with some of the guys from CIV, and just ended up being—running into friends all day long. Some friends who had traveled to come, to hang, and—just seeing other bands that we had played with, and all being back there together was fun for the day. And I did end up being a little bit drunk by the end of the day.
Rick Joyce (The Last Dance): The first and only time I was ever whipped….onstage or otherwise occurred while performing at The Masq. We were performing and a couple dominatrix girls went on stage with us and I was not really paying attention then all of a sudden I was being whipped in the ass trying to play my guitar part still…..yeah that happened there! Its also where we pulled about 40 people on stage at one of our shows for an encore song, that was super fun and we were able to do it because of the size of the stage. And then there is the Pickle incident. For reasons that do not need to be explained, on our 2003 tour I decided that since our drummer, Tom, had a fear of pickles, I need to do something special at our home away from home show at the Masq. So, the ATL goth scene was contacted and everyone who was coming to the show was asked to bring a pickle and randomly give it to Tom throughout the night. And they did. I consider that one of my better pranks and the Masq and ATL scene made that happen!! Oh and it is also the show where my roadie plugged in one of my guitar amplifiers incorrectly and blew it out….i toured with two amps but that night and for the rest of the tour I only had one.
Also, in 2001 we played Halloween at the Masq which was brilliant. It was a huge crowd, all dressed up and it likely wasn’t us being there haha, but it seemed like the place to be….magical… made many friends there, lovely people which just added to our love for ATL.
Jeff Diehm (The Last Dance): Atlanta, in general, is one of those cities where you didn’t just have fans or attendees…. You made friends. Friends I still have to this day. All the usual scene in-fighting, exes, and drama… but probably my favorite city-stop on a tour. Dragoncon had something to do with that allure, of course, because it was so residential (for a weekend)… but those were also the Masquerade people. Scenes have to self-preserve to endure, and the Masquerade was a great place that made that possible.
Peter J. Gorritz (The Last Dance): It’s probably going to sound a bit silly, but I think the Masquerade was the first venue that I played that had a shower, and I was so happy to have one after playing a really hot & sweaty gig. I used to wear a lot of vinyl and often felt sticky and gross after a gig, so that was an amazing feeling. Beyond that, I love the memories of running into our friends in other bands like Bella Morte, Ego Likeness, Cruxshadows, etc. It always felt like family reunion time and the staff at The Masquerade really played a role in that. There are probably a lot of memories that reside somewhere in my subconsciousness that are lost in a fog of booze and time passing, but hopefully one day I’ll remember some more.
Nick Wheeler (The All-American Rejects): I think the most special thing about the masquerade (and Atlanta in general) for me is the fact that we lived there for a couple months near the end of writing the “move along record“ in 2004. We had spent the better part of the year at home writing and just needed to get out of our comfort zone and most importantly just needed to be together. We rehearsed and wrote every day in a rehearsal space where we eventually ended up writing the first three singles for that album. We then got back in the van to go on tour before the album was even released because we were that excited. The masquerade was our first stop and was the first place we ever played “dirty little secret” and “move along” in front of an audience. We haven’t been back to play at the new masquerade location yet, but I don’t live far from Atlanta now so I like to go down occasionally and visit my old haunts in the Virginia Highlands.
Andrea Ferro (Lacuna Coil): I remember that in one of shows at the old location, it’s been raining and the big staircase outside was still wet and slippery. I had to go back to the bus and walked down the stairs. Halfway through I start slipping on the stairs and fell down dislocating my shoulder. I was immediately rushed to the hospital, but had to wait for hours because I didn’t get a priority for that kind of injury and I arrived back to the venue right at the end of our set. It was the last show of the tour and I told the guys that they had to play the show anyway because the fans were already there and we couldn’t let them completely down. Christina (Scabbia) sang most of the parts and our fans came on stage to sing my parts. Definitely a one-of-a-kind show.
Paul Mazurkiewicz (Cannibal Corpse): It was always a cool time. It was always a cool show. It was just, you know you’re going to this historic place that you’ve been playing since the beginning of your career. So, it had that kind of cool nostalgia feel all the time. And, you know, other than—other than really just seeing the change around the venue. Remembering the early-nineties where it was just you had that parking lot to the left. I mean, it was kind of like you didn’t want to go anywhere. You felt like, “Alright this is like a—kind of like a dump area,” you know? I mean, you just didn’t feel—there was nothing around. And then, exactly, I’m sure you know, how it just kind of sort of gentrified, sort of, I guess, over the years. And then the last few times you’re playing there, you’re like, “Wow, I can take a walk down the road and go to this cool coffee shop,” and “Oh, there’s a market across the street, I can go get some food.” And then they had that cool little park that they kind of made to the left, that was just like, amazing. I remember seeing that for the first time, just knowing what it was, you’re going, “Wow, this used to be just this old dingy, you know, crappy parking lot.” And now you’ve got this amazing, cool little park that they made there that was just like, “Wow, this is really turning into a really cool area,” as opposed to what it used to be. So, that was—that was cool to see the change. You know, I really obviously, I’m sure a lot of people would say the same thing—you wish it were still open, and you wish it would, you know, you’d still be able to go there to enjoy that venue, as long as they fix that back staircase there, that would be all right.
Bonus Excerpts
Bayside
Just following up, I didn’t know that they had laundry for the bands. What other accommodations did they have?
Jack O’Shea: The kitchen was good. Like the kitchen area upstairs—it was like a big kitchen, and in there was also a washer and dryer. You know, certainly back in the day when you’re really scrambling—you’re either finding places to sleep on people’s floors, or doing something else. The opportunity to have anything [inaudible] was really big. But yeah, if you climbed up the stairs and go into the back of what would be the Heaven venue, they would usually do like a table setup with stuff. You know, granted they might have done good catering, but I know specifically when we were going through it, all the shows were really low-tickets, or kinda like smaller shows, the catering budget was what it was, so a lot of times it was like, “Alright, we’re having spaghetti,” or like the tour special with spaghetti, with like garlic bread and a salad. But again, you know at the time, we were really just like not making money, kinda cranking through tour and stuff like that. Anytime anyone’s willing to feed you and put like [inaudible].
The All-American Rejects
Could you tell me more about the “Walk Over Me” music video shoot? Any special anecdotes from it?
Mike Kennerty: When we were touring for our album “Kids In The Street” we had our filmmaker buddy Jon Danovic out with us cause he was spearheading all visual things for us at the time: he did the artwork for the record, he directed the videos, he shot and edited any clips we put online… Anyway, it was time to make a video for our song “Walk Over Me,” but we were in the middle of a tour, so we had to come up with something that could be accomplished without stepping on the shows. He came up with this great idea of hand-animating over video of us performing and realized he could set it up in the downstairs of the Masquerade the day we played upstairs since there wasn’t a show down there that day. So he got some colored backgrounds and one at a time we shot our parts in that room. I think we were still finishing as they opened doors, so there was a confused parade of kids walking by wandering what was happening as we wrapped up. (He then later spent grueling weeks printing out and drawing on every frame to create that video. It’s really impressive, but so daunting. No computer trickery. He was a trooper!) So yeah, we have the pleasure of saying we shot a video at the Masquerade. When we were on tour promoting our fourth album “kids in the street “, we shot a lot of content and videos on the road. One of them was the official music video for a song on that record called “walk over me“. Each of us shot our performance in the basement in front of a different colored backdrop. You wouldn’t know it was the masquerade without me telling you so, but that’s just another reason the venue has a special place in my memory and in my heart.
Nick Wheeler: When we were on tour promoting our fourth album “kids in the street “, we shot a lot of content and videos on the road. Each of us shot our performance in the basement in front of a different colored backdrop. You wouldn’t know it was the masquerade without me telling you so, but that’s just another reason the venue has a special place in my memory and in my heart.
Meet Me @ the Altar
You started going to the Masquerade in 2015 when you were 14. How often would you say you went to the original North Avenue location before it closed the following year?
Edith Victoria: I actually caught the VERY END of the North Avenue location before it closed! My first show at the Masquerade was indeed at that location in September of 2015. I went to go see an Issues x Pvris headliner. I was only 14 at the time and was not allowed to go to shows until I reached that age. Before that, my mom thought I was too young to attend shows, and I honestly agree.
That being said, I only experienced 3 shows at the North Avenue location before it shut down:
• Issues x Pvris x The Funeral Portrait x Bad Seed Rising
• State Champs x Knuckle Puck x Like Pacific x Neck Deep
• Dance Gavin Dance x Hail The Sun x Good Tiger x Contortionist
Do you recall your first time going there? What were your first impressions of the building?
Edith Victoria: I will NEVER forget my first time going there. My first impression of the building was “Wow, this is so cool. I love how rundown it looks, feels like this venue holds a lot of history”. It felt like one bubble of music, where everyone was welcome. To be honest, I was paying more attention to all the emo looking people than the actual building. Seeing that many alternative people in one place as a baby emo was life changing.
As someone who grew up near Atlanta and was involved with the local “alternative” scene here, what did the Masquerade mean to you? Any stories of memories you would like to share about the old location?
Edith Victoria: The Masquerade means & meant so much to me. It was such a big part of my identity and played such a big part of shaping who I am today. The Masquerade and the “alternative” scene in Atlanta made me feel less alienated and more understood. Shows were my safe space where I could be 100% myself and be surrounded by people that loved what I loved. I have the Masquerade to thank for my 3 best friends today, all of which I met at The Masquerade in 2015. It was our thing to go to AS MANY SHOWS POSSIBLE together. Now, it’s still our thing. Our friendship exists because of that place and because of the scene. They started as my “show buddies” and now, are my lifelong best friends.
I think Meet Me @ the Altar’s first show at the Masquerade was at the Underground location in July 2018. Any stories or memories from this show you would like to tell?
Edith Victoria: Yep! That was MM@TA’s first show at the Masquerade. I remember being SO excited. I’ve grown up idolizing that venue, as well as the artists/ bands that were fortunate enough to be able to play those stages. I just remember being proud, excited, nervous, EVERYTHING! The biggest emotion I had that day though, was HAPPINESS. A while after I first started going to shows at The Masquerade, I started developing the need to be a part of it even more. I had the musical ability, so after my first show there, I decided I wanted to be in a band, and play that venue. The fact I was able to work so hard and make that dream I had a reality was just so incredible to me. That day was one of the ONLY times in my life that I allowed myself to sit back, and be proud of myself.
You’ve since performed at major festivals and played with major acts, such as Green Day. Has the Masquerade had a role in preparing you over the years? Has anyone there offered any mentorship, guidance, or advice you’d like to share?
Edith Victoria: The Masquerade has definitely played a big role in preparing me for my early career. My band mates and I’s career has just started, and we are nowhere near as big as we wanna be. When I look back at all those shows I was going to, I realized that, I was going to them to have fun, YES of course, but I was also going to shows to learn. Every show I went to I was preparing myself to watch, learn & observe each band on stage. It was like a night of manifestation. The Masquerade wasn’t only my happy place, it was also my place of learning & eventually, my place of practice. The Masquerade turned into a place of practice, after I joined MM@TA and was able to pitch us for small local shows there. I look at all the small local shows we played in Purgatory as practice for opening for example, a Green Day, or The Used. Studying all my favorite artists as they performed was something I did both consciously and subconsciously. Hell, I STILL do it ALL the time.
Painted Black 