A change of tempo for Deep Ellum

Many artists have passed through the doors in the nine years the Gypsy Tea Room has been in Deep Ellum. But those days are over due to the club's closing last Saturday and many argue the area is dying.

Bands and solo artists such as Sean Lennon, The Old 97's, Joan Jett, Incubus, Macy Gray, Rise Against, Lucinda Williams, G Love and Special Sauce, and Robert Plant have all graced the stages since the club opened in 1998.

Brad "BG Big Dog" Garrett, owner of The Red Blood Club and drummer for local Dallas band Damage Case said he thought the Gypsy was a great place and thoroughly enjoyed their live shows.

He said it was a good-sounding hall and it reflected well on his band.

"Some of our bigger and better shows have been there," he said.

But there will be no more shows played at Gypsy.

He said it is a shame to see Gypsy go, but that is the way it has always been in Deep Ellum.

"It's a constant cycle," he said.

The people who worked for the venue were very nice and always took care of him and his band, he said.

Even here at Eastfield, students are missing the award-winning venue.

Psychology major Keaton Howell, who recently saw Gwar at Gypsy, said he had nothing but fond memories from the venue.

"I regard it as being one of the better times in my life," he said.

The venue reminded Howell of something on campus.

"Take the pit, add a lower ceiling and you have the Gypsy Tea Room," he said.

Art major Victor Rodriguez said he saw "The Take Action Tour" at Gypsy this past Febuary.

He said the venue had what it needed to put on a good show, but the bar should have been placed along the side of the wall. The bar sat in the middle of the venue.

One thing he said he would miss was the art.

"I will miss the painted schedule on the outside wall," he said.

English major Ashley Ball saw Something Corporate two years ago at Gypsy and said she loved the venue.

"It had enough room for everybody."

The one thing she would have changed, she said, would be to add some seating areas in the ballroom, but said it is really sad when clubs close.

The Gypsy Tea Room is divided up into two parts.

A larger section known as The Ballroom lies on Elm Street. This part of the club was for larger bands with heavier-style music. The room holds up to a 1,000 people and although bands from every different genre of music have played this stage the club has received criticism for its set up.

The middle of the ballroom held a square bar where patrons could drink themselves into the music. Unfortunately, with alcohol comes noise and the venue has always had problems with boisterous fans drowning out the music. Secondly, many have speculated that the stage is far too low and made it difficult to see the artist perform.

Even with these faults, the ballroom was named the best live music venue in Dallas by the Dallas Observer in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Sitting behind the ballroom on Main Street was the tea room. Here concert goers could see smaller, calmer bands such as Khaki King and Blind Melon. This part of the venue offered a calmer atmosphere complete with chairs, so concert goers could relax while watching a show.

With the recent closing of Trees, Galaxy Club and now Gypsy, Garrett said he thinks the whole music scene in Deep Ellum is struggling.

He said trying to keep a club running nowadays is tough.

"It's a total battle trying to get open and get the correct battles."

He said he thinks the reason a lot of venues close is because club owners get exhausted trying to keep up with the permits.

Ball also thinks the music scene in Dallas is suffering, and there does not seem to be any improvement in sight.

"I think a lot of people care about it, but no one cares to do anything about it," Ball said. Tom Trinh, manager of a 7-Eleven which sits across from the club said this is just another problem for his store.

"30 percent of my business comes from the Gypsy Tea Room," he said.

Over the past year he said he has lost about 60 customers a day. He credits the closing of other venues such as Trees and Club Clearview.

Trinh said the only way his business is going to improve is if the area gets some new shops and venues to bring people back.

Down the street from the 7-Eleven, Zinis Pizzeria sits next to the building which formerly housed Trees. It was the prime location for after hours feasting after shows let out.

Manager Keno Buettner said over the past year his in-store business has dropped considerably.

"All of Deep Ellum has suffered," Buettner said.

With more venues closing every month, Buettner is worried about how long he will be able to make a profit.

"We can't just survive off in-store deliveries from The Door (a smaller live music venue located at the end of Elm street)," he said.

Although Deep Ellum looks like it is dying, Buettner said he considers the phase more of a transition period.

"It will come back," he said.

Buettner thinks there is more to the story than just a lack of clientele, he said he has seen lots of different groups buying old businesses and raising the rent around town, furthering the idea that the Dallas city council is trying to re-vamp the area.

"It seems like they (Dallas city council) are trying to get the lower - class people out," Buettner said.

Although Zinis may have suffered, the building itself is in no danger due to the structure being a landmark building.

Across the street from Zinis is a street that leads to Elm Street. A little further down back toward the Gypsy Tea Room, there is Smooth Groove Tattoo.

Jim Seabolt, a peircer for the shop, said the constant closing of businesses is definitely not helping.

"It has slowed down quite a bit," he said.

In order to get the business back, Seabolt said he thinks the area needs to get back to its roots and bring in more live music.

If you were to cross over, back to Elm Street, and head toward Café Brazil you might stop at Elm Street Tattoo, opened since 1992.

Owner and artist Dean Williams said he thinks the closure of Gypsy may affect his business a tiny bit, but since he sits at the other end of Elm Street he is not worried.

"Business has always been a roller coaster down here," he said.

The business seems to be picking back up a little though, he said.

Although Williams would like to see more rock venues, he said the diversity of his clientele and the venues in Deep Ellum is one of the things keeping him in business.

"It's an embassy down here," he said.

Mom and pop businesses are the kinds which Williams truly values and the difficulties those establishments are having today upsets him.

"I don't like to see people get afraid and close down," he said.

Williams said bad press has caused women to stop coming to the area and without women no men will come either.

Like Buettner, Williams thinks there is some validity to the idea that the city council is trying to oust the lower class from the area.

"I would put a little stock in that theory, but not for certain," he said.

There is fighting throughout the world between city halls and privately owned businesses, he said.

"Name me a place that is not publicly subsidized and not privately profitable," he said.

Although things have looked bleak, he said he still hopes things in the area will get better, and referenced the construction of more DART rail tracks as a way to both harm and help the city.

Not all businesses are suffering though. If you were to head back toward Smooth Groove you would come across The Deep End, a novelty shop which owner Marek Halema said is doing quite well.

He said the media is partly to blame for why people consider the area dying and dangerous. Halema, who is opening a vintage clothing shop a few doors down from The Deep End named Bang Bang, said he has turned record profits and conceptions surrounding Deep Ellum are true of any city.

"People are shot down everyday in Dallas," he said.

He went on to add that Dallas is a big city and crime is inevitable in a big city, but it is not nearly as bad as people are making it seem in Deep Ellum.

"If it's the night and you walk alone in an alley, what do you expect," he said.

His business is not the only one profiting these days. He said he has heard of at least four new bars opening. As far as other bars closing, he said that's just something that happens.

Although Deep Ellum is changing as venues such as Trees and the Gypsy Tea Room are closing, concert goers and bands alike can take some solace in new venues opening up such as the Palladium Ballroom and the House of Blues.

Deep Ellum may not be dying, but it is most certainly changing.