When discussing the most historic venues across the country, leaving Subterranean out would be a crime. The storied venue has been at the center of the windy city art scene since it opened its doors in 1994. Whether you’re discussing their long-standing relationship with the innovative hip-hop scene of the city, their tireless dedication to Reggae music, or the fact that so many national touring acts have once graced the Subterranean stage, there is a story that comes with every square inch of a venue like this.
We recently spoke with Robert Gomez, the owner of Subterranean to discuss the venue’s legacy, its growth, and how it became such a fixture in the city of Chicago. Check out their website for tickets and upcoming shows at Subterranean:
Can you give us a brief history of the Subterranean?
SubT, est in 1994, is housed in a building that once was a brothel in the roaring 20’s. A unique space to see a live show, to say the least, with a balcony overlooking the stage and a gothic brass and Tiffany chandelier suspended in the middle of the balcony. Back in the 20’s, the first floor served as a ‘wire room’ which was the term used for gambling.
In what ways has the venue evolved since it opened its doors?
When it opened, the first floor was a full-on restaurant and the upstairs was a mix of live music room and private events. Not long after we opened, I decided to dedicate both rooms to live music and DJ’s and never looked back.
Can you talk about the evolution of your open mic? How did it come to be and how have you seen it change?
606, our hip-hop open mic, has been running for 23 years now thanks to the love and passion of Shadow Master MC, Anyiahlation and Jory Norman. It’s registered in the Book of Guinness World Records as the longest-running hip hop open mic in history. Many other hip-hop nights have come and gone and sometimes exited in a ball of flames like Double Doors’ Monday nights. To keep a night going for so long, it takes a ‘safety first’ mentality by everyone, most especially the hosts.
With hosting the oldest hip-hop open mic in the nation, how do you feel your venue has played a role in the hip-hop scene of Chicago throughout the years?
SubT has been absolutely essential to the world of Chicago hip hop. Every MC from Chicago from Vic Mensa to Chance has spit at SubT and learned their craft there on Tuesday nights. It’s such a part of our identity that when Lizzo wanted to perform in Chicago, she had to be at SubT, first as an opener, then a headliner. I’ll always appreciate her shoutout to SubT at her sold-out show at the Aragon.
How did your Reggae Gold nights come to be?
Bobbie and Katie were bartenders working for me and they presented the idea 18 years ago and introduced me to Redlox who was the original promoter along with Papa G who has been running the night for the last 15 years.
How do you balance residences like these and booking touring acts?
Balance is the key word. Every year I’d close the upstairs for Reggae night to accommodate a Lolla afterparty but that was the only time I’d do that. It’s essential to stay committed to the residencies and the nights that they’ve helped build. And the benefit of that is that the residencies often brought amazing opportunities that SubT may not have gotten without them. Lizzo is a perfect example of that as is the Reggae artist Chronixx.
How do you feel the music scene in Chicago has changed over the years?
It changed drastically for all markets when the music started streaming. Before then, bands would make just as much selling their music via albums, then cassettes, then CDs, as they would from the door. Once that went away, there was much more pressure to make as much as possible from the door. That changed the nature of negotiations between the venues and the agencies forever. Chicago has its own special challenges. We have more small-cap venues (under 500) than New York or LA. I’ve heard we have the most small cap venues in the world. This makes for an extremely competitive market. Agents determine their band’s national tour based on their Chicago play because they typically earn the most in Chicago due to the density of the venues. Having said that, we wouldn’t be able to sustain ourselves if it weren’t for the millions of music lovers in Chicago.
How else does your venue interact with the community that surrounds it?
Like most venues, we are at the center of our communities. In the business community, we bring in roughly 1,500 to 2,000 people into the neighborhood each week and almost all of them will eat and/or drink at another bar or restaurant. That’s a significant impact on the neighboring businesses. The residents host their fundraisers with us, from the local public school to the various non-profits they represent. And we’ve had our share of weddings and memorial services for folks in the community.
You’ve had some iconic musicians play at your venue, any memories stick out in particular?
My favorite moments are when the entire crowd knows every word to every song of a band that most people haven’t heard of yet. There’s something magical about that. My favorite show ever: Gogol Bordello. Eugene Hutz is absolutely insane. He brings an energy that is unmatchable. And I can fortunately say that there are so many notables that have played SubT from Alabama Shakes to Turnstile to Dashboard Confessional to Fallout Boy’s first reunion show (all other shows were in arenas), that I’d fill the page with them.
What do you credit the Subterraneans’ longevity to?
Pure stubbornness. The refusal to quit.
I saw that your building was built back in 1889. Are there any technical challenges that come with having a venue in an older building? Any positives to it?
Challenges in a 130-year-old building? Nah. The positives are that there is no way in hell anyone could afford to build a building like that today. Underneath the wood are still I-beams that support each floor. Even the dome that supports the chandelier is something to marvel at.
How is the Subterranean involved with the festivals listed on your site? How did you guys get involved?
19 years ago, as a board member of the Wicker Park Chamber, I requested to initiate a festival for our community, run by our community. So I formed a committee and we created Wicker Park Fest which has been running ever since. Because of that success, we were asked to be the co-talent buyers for Do Division Fest. I also dabbled with 2 other fests that I created which are now defunct: Green Music Fest and Reggae Fest Chicago
How do you see the Subterranean evolving in the coming years?
10 years in, I finally bought a 2nd venue: Beat Kitchen. Beat is celebrating its 33rd year and I’ve grown the brand in the last few years with Beat Kitchen on the Riverwalk, Beat Kitchen Cantina and Bar Sol, both on Navy Pier. This business is all about leveraging so my challenge going into the future’s how to best leverage all of these businesses and fests to help SubT to continue to be an iconic venue.
