In July RFT Music took an in-depth look at noise complaints arising from Forest Park Southeast residents regarding neighboring music venues the Ready Room (4195 Manchester Avenue) and the Demo (4191 Manchester Avenue) in the Grove. In late August the Demo's liquor license protest came to an end after a peaceful resolution between club managers and area resident Rachel Siegert. A written compromise, mediated by city excise commisioner Bob Kraiberg, outlines specific soundproofing goals and event limitations while allowing the Demo to re-open and carry on business as usual.
The Ready Room managers and its residential neighbors, on the other hand, have yet to reach a concrete agreement. After a hearing with Kraiberg on September 4, the official liquor license protest filed by residents Brad Fratello and Doug Moore failed due to a lack of signatures.
See also: The Demo's Reopening Over Labor Day Weekend
In its stead, a verbal agreement provides a time table for the Ready Room to provide additional sound proofing in an attempt to reach an aural compromise. According to Kraiberg, the Ready Room will attempt to solve noise issues by insulating the ceilings around the stage area by the middle of the October if schedules permit and by the end of the year otherwise.
"By coming up with some definite dates for this improvement, I believe that trust factor is starting to get back on track," says Kraiberg. "I think there were some communication problems, but I am optimistic that it will work. If not I will just fine tune it a little more."
"It's been a rough year and I'm glad we're all moving forward," says Ready Room managing partner Mike Cracchiolo. "I think that we'll be able to find a solution. Unfortunately we had to go through all this conflict to arrive back at square one.... It basically just cost up a lot of time and resources that could've been put into fixing the problem in the first place."
Fratello holds that initiating the protest was still necessary in order to initiate a discourse regarding the situation in his backyard. With the Demo back in business and its shows no longer being absorbed by the Ready Room, Fratello says the quality of the noise hasn't changed but is less frequent.
"It's possible that when the complexion of the neighborhood changes that we might try again," says Fratello. "We're going to see if they've come through with what they've committed to by the end of the calendar year, and if not, look for options and proceed from there."
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