Living large

Randy Hien's Room has been open for 26 years

by Bob Gulla

Randy Hien

If you've been around Providence long enough to remember the Living Room's prior two locations, then you probably have some pretty good musical memories. Me? I remember the Dead Kennedys and Black Flag and the Minutemen and Television and R.E.M., for god's sake. Others will have remembrances of their own. Owner/proprietor Randy Hien is as important to the local music scene -- and as receptive -- as any man in town. Here's what he had to say.

Q: You've always been a family-owned business?

A: I take care of all the business stuff, and my son Charlie takes care of the staff. This is the only self-owned live club in Rhode Island that I know of. It has always been a family business. My brother has worked for the Living Room for years with me. Back when we opened my mom would cook food for the bands that played the club.

Q: Can you tell us a little about the history of the club?

A: We opened on April 21 in 1975. Then we were a small place across from the old Lupo's [near the corner of Westminster and Empire]. Now the building has long since been torn down and in its place is an army recruiting station and I think the Social Security Office. I graduated from Providence College and wanted to have an original club like they did in Boston. Back then, there were very few original bands, so I had to import them from Boston. I would go up to the Boston clubs like the Rat and invite bands to come down and play at my club. That's how I got groups like Robin Lane and the Chartbusters, Human Sexual Response, Jon Butcher Axis, and the Neighborhoods. I would bring all these bands that were unknown in this state to play here.

Q: It helped start the scene here in Providence.

A: Local original bands started forming just so they could open for these bands at the Living Room. You see, I was booking the Palace Concert Theater. Now it's called the PPAC [Providence Performing Arts Center]. I used to put groups in there like Mott the Hoople, the Eagles, Aerosmith, Kool and the Gang, Earth, Wind and Fire, Genesis. You name it. I was on the phone to the biggest agencies in the country at that time. So when I was ready to go out on my own, I had a good name as a talent buyer. Groups like the DC-Tenz and the Schemers started to form and hang out in my club when I opened. Then Rich Lupo opened across the street in the fall of 1975. We were great friends. We loaned each other cups, ice, and supplies. Rich always helped me out a lot.

Q: Then what happened?

A: On May 1 of 1981 the federal government bought the property and the Living Room was forced out. We re-opened the following year in April of 1982. That was in the Foundry [on Promenade Street]. People called it "The Bubble" because we had a huge plexiglass bubble as a bay window that you could see from the parking lot.

Q: But you moved from there, too.

A: Now I'm here on Rathbone. I've had a real tough time, because I want this place to be totally paid for and mine alone. So I am building slowly. I called all the agencies when I reopened, but all my friends in the business had moved up or on to other things. Now I was dealing with new people who didn't know what I have done, what this place is capable of. But I have always loved a challenge and I am ready to rise up to it. Then Max Creek called me up. They said they were going to stick with me because I had always stuck with them. Twenty-four hours later, I was back in business. I owe them a great debt. Those guys even come here and fix the PA gear for me.

Q: Are local bands still important to you now?

A: I now depend on local bands. I need them and I appreciate every person that they bring me through the door. This is their place to play, and I am happy to provide that opportunity for them. Times don't change. Bands don't change. Bands just want respect. They are the last of the dreamers. They are the last with a vision and a heart. So I take a hands-on approach to my club. I help the scene by being right here with the audience. I still love rock and roll and love to watch a great band get their show over to a crowd.

Q: What are the club's specifications?

A: Our capacity is 500 here, which means we can get some great crowds. We have the same sound system that the old Living Room had, and although it has years on it, it is still a warm and big sounding PA. It's a three-way system and has a 32-channel board. We run up to six monitor mixes, which is better than most systems in the state. The ticket price is always cheap, but it depends on the night and the act. We are an all-ages club, so everyone is welcome. We are open every night of the week. We have live bands six nights a week and Tuesday nights this place is transformed into Energy. That's DJ Venom's night. He is one of the most talented people I know. In the beginning, there were 10 or 20 people coming to hear him spin. In a year Tuesday night has grown to capacity. He has guest DJs from all over the country and other places in the globe coming here.

Q: What about paying your bands?

A: I don't have enough cash flow to offer big guarantees. I just paid a whopping water bill, and I have a lot of other bills I am paying off, little by little. That's why I depend so heavily on the local bands. We're in the trenches together. I see the club as a mine, and the local bands and I are the miners. Eventually we'll strike gold.

If anyone wants to talk to me, walk right up and say hello. I'm usually the doorman and bouncer. Hey, it's a struggle, but I have this place almost paid off. In two years the building and the business will be mine. Can you imagine what a business can do when there is no overhead?

WANDERING EYE. If you get this paper early, you're in luck. There's a party this Thursday (June 28) at Matt, Jeremy, and Steve's place behind Fort Thunder, with live music from Six Organs of Admittance (California), Fur Saxa (Pennsylvania), Jack Rose (Virginia), and Iditarod (RI). The party's free, but put gas money in the hat. The night starts at 8 p.m and will go til late.

If you've heard their song "Baby Gap" on FNX, you probably know by now that the Gravel Pit will be playing a record release party at the Green Room this Friday (June 29). They're Boston-based, but lots of folks love 'em around here, which is why the gathering for their fourth album, Mass Avenue Freeze-Out, should be quite the time.

Next week, Aspera will be at AS220 on Tuesday, July 3. They just released their Sugar & Feathered CD on Big Wheel, which will likely be reviewed in these pages soon.

Bob Gulla can be reached at b_gulla@yahoo.com.