By Carolyn Irvine
carolyn@newsroom.byu.edu
Another band venue has died in Provo.
Provo's Wrapsody has gone the way of Mama's Caf?, the Station, Backstage Caf? and other places with names most BYU freshmen do not recognize.
The Wrapsody, which opened in October 1997, was sold to co-founder of the Roasted Artichoke, Andy King. It will be turned into a restaurant called the Blue Coyote Grill which will serve plenty of food, but will not provide a venue for live bands to play.
'Selling the Wrapsody was one of those things the owner just thought he had to do from a business sense. He just wasn't making enough money,' Wrapsody's manager Tisha Rudd said.
'The almighty dollar is the bottom line,' King said.
However, Cory Fox who was in charge of scheduling bands at the Wrapsody said the band venue was making enough money to pay its bills.
'The owner just didn't think it was making as much as he wanted it to,' Fox said.
Bellini had the option to lease the restaurant portion of Wrapsody and keep the band venue open, Fox said. However, Bellini decided instead to sell the whole establishment.
'He would have made the same amount of money either way,' Fox said.
Fox is working with others to find a new place for bands to play in Provo, although it will be tough to get another official venue started, he said.
Rudd said she feels the Wrapsody was forced to close due to lack of community interest in local bands.
'The Wrapsody was the last venue in Provo. I hope people use its closing as experience so when the next venue opens they'll support the local artists,' Rudd said.
Musician Joey Dempster agrees. 'I'm surprised there are 30,000 students here and no support for music,' Dempster said.
Dempster attributes the lack of support to Provo college students' unwillingness to pay for quality entertainment.
'This is our town while we're in college. As future citizens, we have a responsibility to this town to help its culture,' Rudd said.
Dempster said he thinks people have become jaded and do not find live music entertaining anymore. He said Provo students seem more interested in going to Blockbuster than in seeing a live band.
'If you look at movies, they're so sophisticated. There is so much going on with the special effects. People don't participate in and respond to live music anymore,' Dempster said.
Fox said another problem is the city seems to consider places like the Wrapsody as an attraction for rowdy young kids. However, he said the Wrapsody has had virtually no problems and brings in a great variety of bands.
'Other cities look at places like this as supporting the arts,' Fox said. 'Closing the Wrapsody is kind of like closing an art museum.'
Fox said a lot of the bands do not know yet what they are going to do now that the Wrapsody is closing. The venue's last day of business is June 5.
'Everyone is just kind of flustered and stunned. There's really no other place to play,' Fox said.
Dempster said it is sad to see the Wrapsody close.
'It sure was nice to have that room. You just can't hear bands like that anywhere else around here,' Dempster said.