WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU’RE IN A FORMER MOVIE THEATER TURNED STORAGE FACILITY- THAT’S ADORNED WITH ARCHECTURAL ELEMENTS FROM THE PRAGUE OPERA HOUSE- AND HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO ONE OF THE MOST COVETED MUSIC VENUES IN CHICAGO? NATURALLY, YOU GRAB A BOTTLE OF SLOW & LOW AND SHARE STORIES. AND THAT’S WHAT WE DID WITH THALIA HALL’S TALENT BUYER, BOBBY RAMIEREZ…
TO KICK THINGS OFF, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THALIA HAL?
Thalia Hall was built in1892 and was commissioned by John Dusek who we named the downstairs restaurant after. It was modeled after the Prague State Opera House, so it takes a lot of the design elements across the architecture, the moldings, and everything from that building and a lot of different European influences. Sometime in the ‘20s and‘30s it [Thalia Hall] was converted into a movie theater so with that, a number of changes were made to the layout, including what I think is one of the coolest pieces of architecture was the removal of the Tiffany Glass Dome. And with that, they also put up a screen and it was used more for movies than performances. And then somewhere near the second half of the century, it was used as a storage facility and was in a state of disrepair. And so then our folks came in, renovated the place and turned it back to a place for performances again.
AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL TO HEAR ABOUT THAT HISTORY, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO WORK IN SUCH A HISTORIC BUILDING IN CHICAGO?
It's an honor, I think a lot of us carry a certain duty to the building and the city of Chicago. In a lot of ways we are essentially inheriting a piece of Chicago history and we are now given a pen to write another chapter in that history through this building. It's a very exciting thing to do, but it is alsosomething we don’t take lightly.
A “BUCKET LIST VENUE” WHAT THREE SONGS WOULD YOU SAY BEST REPRESENT THALIA HALL?
Yeah, you know I pondere on the question so hard, and it's so difficult. I’m grateful to say that so much music over so many different genres has come through our doors, so I don’t think three songs would necessarily do it justice, but I do think we can narrow it down to three songs that without a doubt do speak to the sonic history of the room and help tell its story. One of them for sure would be “Can’t Stop The Rain,” the live version from Neil Francis off of Francis Comes Alive. It's an incredible live album that was actually recorded from his shows at our venue this past year and then released as its own live album. Fantastic stuff that literally shows what Thalia Hall sounds like. Another one would be “Stay High” by Brittany Howard who is just a phenomenal songwriter and can cover so much ground with what she can do and has a voice that can’t be matched. I think her music speaks to a level of quality that we look for in the room and it's just a great song! Another great thing that we are very grateful for is that Brittany rally loves Thalia Hall, so giving her a shout-out here! *LAUGHS* And then the third song, which is easily the most recognizable anthem for our crew, is “Toe Cutter-Thumb Buster” by the Osees. The Osees play our room just about every year at this point as they have gotten into the habit of doing two nights a year now and every year, those are some of our favorite shows. So much fun. They are another band that just absolutely jives with our room so well and you can literally hear us playing their music for months ahead of their shows every year.
WE LOVE A GOOD TEAM BONDING MOMENT. WHAT FUN FACTS CAN YOU SHARE ABOUT THE VENUE THAT MOST PEOPLE WOULD NOT KNOW?
A fun fact about Thalia Hall that many people don’t know is that people live there. And I don’t mean people spend a lot of time there. I mean there are literally tenants that live in apartments within the building against the music venue. They are fantastic. They are all big music nerds that love coming to shows which is great because they hear it through their walls. But that is not necessarily something most people know about.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN THE TALENT BOOKING INDUSTRY AND WHAT IS YOUR STORY?
As a kid, I was around music and I would play music for my friends and we would put on silly little DIY shows and stuff, so it was always a passion for me. I moved to the Chicago area to attend film school and while I was in film school I started working at our sister venue, Evanston Space. While working there, I realized that music is so much more for me than film and that I wanted to pursue a career in that instead. The SPACE team and the Empty Bottle teams came together to open up Thalia and that was kind of the end of the story.
WHEN BOOKING TALENT AT THALIA HALL WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN AN ARTIST?
One of the biggest things I find that I ask myself when booking talent is what is their story. I think both in terms of what story a show at Thalia Hall tells for the artist and what story this show does for Thalia Hall. And does that make sense for this stage? A single show is so much more than the show itself, right? It's a point in the band's career, it's a moment of togetherness for their fans, and it's a general building of community for that team at large as well. For me, obviously, you want to make sure firstly that their music is good, but you also want to make sure that this makes sense for the brand and the scheme of things.
DEFINITELY, WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST MEMORABLE SHOW THUS FAR AT THALIA?
My most memorable show thus far at Thalia might be cheating as it happened outside of the venue, but the most memorable would be the Scared Soulsshow headlining our very first Thalia block party back in August 2022. It was the first time we ever produced an event like that. It was a pretty critical point in the growth of that band as well and they are one of my personal favorite bands, and the day itself was beautiful in every way—the weather, and bringing our neighbors and fans together is just something I will never forget that feeling when they finally hit the stage and the sun was setting and golden hour was hitting and everyone was feeling the love.
WHAT ARTIST OR BAND ARE YOU MOST EXCITED TO HAVE BOOKED AT THALIA?
One of my favorite bookings at Thalia was easily Channel Tres for New Year's last year. We did a two-night run and it's just an out-of-this-world feeling you get when you are in that room and every single body is dancing. It is just unreal what a party—it was just fantastic. Another booking that I am most excited about coming up is this tour with Mannequin Pussy & Soul Glo. They are twoof my favorite bands, so for both of them to be touring together and playing our room I’m just personally stoked.
WHAT ARTIST OR BAND WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TOBOOK IF YOU HAVEN’T YET?
If the Internet were to ever get back together, I would be doing everything in my power to get a reunion show at Thalia Hall.
PEOPLE WOULD BE LINING OUT THE DOOR FOR THAT. THALIA IS KNOWN FOR THEIR “IN THE ROUND” SHOWS, CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THEM?
TheIn-the-Round performances came about in trying to provide a special experience for bands for every stage of their growth. We have a lot of bands that will play Evanston Space or Empty Bottle, and they will outgrow those rooms, so the in-the-round shows help bands that build into those larger rooms while still presenting the show in a way that is just as intimate as if you were playing those smaller rooms. This still creates an environment where you are face-to-face with the artist and it feels so visceral and energetic and that it’s all around you.
WE LOVE IN THE ROUND SHOWS.. WHAT IS IT ABOUT SLOW & LOW THAT MAKES IT SUCH A GREAT FIT FOR THALIA HALL?
It would have to be quality and character. Those two traits are something we look for in literally everything that we do, and Slow & Low has it.
HOW DO YOU LIKE TO DRINK SLOW & LOW?
Slow &Low Rock and Rye on ice is our most popular, but I personally like a good Slow & Low Coffee Old Fashioned on the Rocks. That's the best way to go!
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT A SHOW AT THALIA HALL @thaliahallchicago
