Sala Rossa
Music
In the decade since they first opened, the Sala Rossa (4848 St. Laurent) and Casa del Popolo (4873 St. Laurent) have become the preferred venues for practically every independent artist looking to make an impression on the Montreal arts community. Opened by local artists Mauro Pezzente and Kiva Stimac in 2000 as a means of investing his financial gains from Godspeed You! Black Emperor (the group he founded in 1994) into more durable projects, Casa del Popolo was originally slated as a vegetarian restaurant that featured bands on the weekends. Soon after the venue opened, it was hosting events every night of the week, and a year later, the pair bought the 300-person capacity Spanish Cultural Centre across the street, calling it the Sala Rossa. Eager to give some of his success back to the Montreal arts scene, in 2000 Pezzente founded the avant-garde festival Suoni del Popolo, which currently stands as one of the country’s top showcases for the cutting-edge jazz, ambient, and noise scenes. In 2004, Pezzente and Stimac opened their third venue, El Salon, but that venture only lasted three years. The pair has since set their sights on Little Italy, where in 2008 they opened the popular concert hall Il Motore (179 Jean Talon). (DN)