Mainstreet fire changes bands’ tunes, leaves them without venue

Bands discuss ramifications, reactions of unexpected downtown fire

Six bands had planned to play at Mainstreet Bar and Grill Saturday night. Saturday afternoon, their plans went up in smoke — literally.

A fire destroyed the downtown building, leaving Acoustic Razor Theory, Sculldrag, Chokechain, Rejoice/Revolt, Epistemic and Panoramic without a venue in which to perform.

Panoramic band members and seniors Wes Webb (guitarist) and Joel Mills (drummer) saw smoke rising from the block and were the first to inform Mainstreet booking agent Debi Newkirk that the building was in flames.

"I went to pick up stuff before the rehearsal," Mills said. "I was driving down [Route] 42 and I said ‘That looks close to our house.’" As Mills continued to drive, he began to think the smoke was coming from the street near Mainstreet.

When he got home, his suspicions were confirmed. The band members attempted to investigate and went down as close as they could to the fire.

"We all had mixed reactions," Mills said. "I was laughing. Doug, the other guitarist, was like, ‘this sucks.’ TJ was like, ‘I hope no one’s hurt.’ "

Webb said, "We were wandering around trying to get close to it ’cause we’re guys, and [we were] trying to take pictures."

Senior bassist TJ Ills noted sarcastically that no one had called Saturday afternoon to cancel the performance. So, they called Newkirk and were the first to tell her the bad news.

"I got the call at ten after four," Newkirk said, "and I had bands calling to inform me before I called them."

Senior drummer Rick Gerriets — from Epistemic — was disappointed.

"I was kind of looking forward to playing in Harrisonburg since we’re all from here," Gerriets said.
Webb also lamented the loss of Mainstreet.

"[Now we have] one less venue to play at," Webb said. "[Mainstreet] was a great size. You could have 70 people there and it feels like it’s sold out."

Newkirk said she hasn’t found out the extent of the damages to Mainstreet yet, but she’s optimistic. "As far as I know, they have plans to rebuild."