Life is about taking chances and no one knows that better than Longevity John Falkner who celebrates 20 years of running the Duncan Showroom this Sept. 26.
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Six days of entertainment from Sept. 26 to Oct. 1 will mark these two divine decades, beginning with a Chamber of Commerce Mix and Mingle which will run from 5 to 7 p.m., featuring 14-year-old guest performer Malakai who has been attending the minor friendly showroom since the age of seven.
“He’d sit in the front row to watch the musicians, then go home and learn their songs,” said Falkner.
Following the mix and mingle at 7:30 p.m. will be the Showroom’s regular open-mic night. Bringing the laughs on Sept. 27 is Holy Cow Comedy, while Sept 28 will showcase local singer/songwriters such as Lip Forest, Beverley McKeen, and Cara McCandless. The David Gogo band hits the stage Friday night while Saturday will feature Pico’s Puppet Palace, and Belly Dance Extravaganza. The sixth day of celebrating 20 years will take attendees on a jazzy pop musical journey with Lady O and the Omen.
Falkner prides himself that this venue is different from others: it’s not set up for dancing and drinking. Instead this 50 seat unique venue is an intimate way to enjoy great music the masses won’t hear anywhere else.
“You go on the journey the musicians on stage are willing to take you on,” said Falkner. “This milestone is huge, we are known more outside the community than in it, because of our attention to detail in production. Everyone that performs here walks away thinking that the Duncan Showroom is the coolest thing and one of the finer venues out there.”
How did it all come about?
Falkner has always loved bringing the community together through music, and used Duncan’s Vimy Hall to do so years ago. Once that venue was no longer a good fit, Falkner admits he felt lost and was looking for some direction. He found it. One morning, after his regular routine took a turn, Falkner came across an ad for 150 theatre seats for $100. With no set plan, or place to put them, something in his heart told Falkner he had to have them.
“I had the wheel, I had to find the car to fit it,” said Falkner. “That’s when I went looking for a venue.”
By the beginning of 2003 Falkner came across a space inside the Duncan Garage that he thought would fit the bill, and while a few barriers were presented in the beginning, in the end the Duncan Showroom was meant to be. The Showroom had its first performance at the Duncan Garage location on Sept. 26, 2003 where duo Andrew and Lawrence opened up the evening for main act Slow Drag, and it’s been a fast pace ever since. Acts such as the Good Brothers, and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings were a few of the many to play that first year.
“We wanted to be that intimate venue on the west coast where people could come and perform original music,” said Falkner. “Being a small community we started live streaming at the Garage in 2012. We knew there wasn’t always going to be large audiences, so we decided to offer our performers a video of their show that they could take and use for promotion. We were open at least five nights a week, we needed to be open just to stay open. I took chances, and we were there until Nov. 30, 2013 at which time the landlord ended our lease.”
With that Falkner was back at square one with searching for his new space, and quickly learned that possible opportunities with the Silver Bridge Inn and the Duncan Ramada were not the best fit. Falkner knew the Showroom must go on and his friend who was a real estate agent turned him on to the upstairs of its current location in 2015 which was once a restaurant.
“I had seen a performance piece upstairs when I first arrived in 1989, and thought to myself wow, this space would be a great performance venue,” said Falkner. “The table I was sitting at then turned out to be where our sound booth was, so there I was years later opening a venue in the same building I once thought would be perfect. I signed the lease on Aug. 31 of that year which happened to be my 61st birthday. We opened the space that November and Celtic-punk band The Mahones was the first band to grace that stage.”
Since Falkner embarked on this venture he figures he has brought in more than 14,000 acts, and it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
“Now that we have the first 20 down, we are looking at the next 20,” said Falkner.