The first ‘Independent Venue Speak’ episode of the year is live! Tune into hear hip-hop luminary Grieves and Hunter Motto of The Crocodile discuss keeping the Venue’s soul alive.
For this latest installment of Independent Venue Speak, the pair ruminates on The Crocodile’s contribution to Seattle’s arts and culture scene and how, despite now being at a new location, the storied club manages to keep the soul of the original room alive to this day.
“I’ve always considered The Crocodile my home court,” explains Grieves, “I’ve had employees of The Crocodile come with me on tour, I’ve had my employees come to work at The Crocodile, I’ve even worked at The Crocodile. To me, it encapsulates Seattle music culture… The Crocodile has always been there for me.”
Much of the pair’s discussion surrounds how the venue manages to keep the soul and legacy of the room alive to this day, despite being at a new location after losing the original lease. “Everything we could take with us, we took with us,” recalls Motto “We took all the stuff out, we had a big empty room, and then we looked around at the old space, and we said, “what are we looking at? What are we actually moving with us?” And I think that’s the heart and soul; the element of community, the element of care and attention that we took pride in.”
“I remember the first time I was here [at the new Crocodile] a couple months ago,” states the Seattle rapper. “I can see it becoming this thing where I can bring my kid here in 15 years and talk to him about The Crocodile that will encapsulate the Old Crocodile… but it will blend into this space. That story continues into this space.”
‘Independent Venue Speak’ is produced by Marauder in partnership with See Tickets. Please subscribe and rate ‘Independent Venue Speak’ on your podcast platform of choice to help us tell many more amazing independent venue stories.
