No Patients For Placebo

The idea was simple enough find an old warehouse where no one would be disturbed by loud noise, get a PA together, and start calling bands.

Early last spring Thoren Vadala, Abe Ray and John Koch did just that, when they decided to make an all-ages musical venue for the local community.  They found a warehouse on South G Street in Arcata, raised the money, and set their plan into motion.  Placebo was born.

"We were trying to build something positive, make a move toward change.  We wanted an all-ages venue that was available every weekend for the local kids, " said Vadala, co-creator of Placebo.  "Placebo isn't over-maybe we'll be back next summer."

Over the next five months Placebo did well, holding shows for local and traveling bands.  All of the shows were low-priced, and everyone was welcome.  Problems occurred when it came to the attention of local officials that Placebo was applying for zoning for which it was not qualified.  Because the building did not have a sufficient number of bathrooms and the zoning was not correct, Placebo was forced to shut down.

"We tried everything to stay open," recalled Vadala.  "The guy next door even volunteered to build a tunnel to his bathrooms, but it was too little, too late.  Sometimes the rules just win out."

"This place was great," said Arcata High School student Luke Forsyth.  "It let us have a real music scene-if only for a little while."

The movement for change is not over, however. The same group that ran the shows in the warehouse has now begun doing shows at the old Arcata Community Center. With the same focus of building a scene to keeps kids off the streets, they have continued to offer bands, acting troops and other performers at low prices.

"I can't say enough good things about these guys," said Harry Simpson, an Arcata High School student.  "They're just looking out for us, and trying to give us something to do. I'm glad they haven't given up."

The band Fiddlestick, which features all three creators of Placebo, has also adapted to life after the venue's fall by constructing a soundproof practice room in their house.  Using egg-crate foam, they covered the walls to dampen the noise and have continued playing.

The idea of Placebo still lives on in many local youth, who are desperately looking for a place to go.  Vadala, Ray and Koch did something that went far beyond just making a place for music; they reached out a hand to every kid who goes out,  night after night, with nothing to  do and nowhere to go.  The Placebo took them in and gave them something to believe in.

To the police and lawmakers, they may just be people in violation of codes and regulations.  But to every kid who went to Placebo and basked in its bright yet brief glow, the memory of a unique Arcata scene will live on-long after the music fades away.