By Victoria Canales
Unsurprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic has been brutal to music all over the world. Caught in its path of destruction, cultural and musical powerhouses such as Madison Square Garden and Coachella have had to shut down operations for over a year. Tours were cancelled, album releases were delayed, and countless independent venues had to shut down permanently. For live music, the pandemic was, without exaggeration, catastrophic.
Close to home, Electric Lounge was one venue turned victim. Located in the heart of Downtown Laredo, Electric Lounge was a club known for hosting both local and out-of-town bands within its DayGlo-streaked walls. According to owner Rudy Martinez, the venue had a mission of supporting rock and indie musicians who typically have a harder time finding gigs. In an interview with Laredo Music Scene, he spoke candidly about the lack of diversity in Laredo’s nightlife.
“Tejano there and tejano there and tejano there!” Rudy laughed. But that didn’t stop him from trying something new. “I’m gonna do my own thing. If it succeeds, great, and if it doesn’t, at least I did it my way, and I did something different.”
However, Electric Lounge had difficulties of its own, even before the pandemic. A mixture of bad business partners, skyrocketing rent, and nightlife competition left Rudy struggling months before COVID-19. “I had everything against me,” he explained. “I was faced with a very tough decision. Do I close and just take the loss? Or do I try?”
He chose to try. For a few months, Electric Lounge was attempting to recover from its hardships, and Rudy was staying afloat. But only a few months later, the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the world, and social distancing guidelines were put in place. When it was announced that bars, clubs, and venues had to shut down and there was going to be no way to pay rent, Rudy took it as a sign to take a break and close down Electric Lounge.
Some time later, Rudy got a call from an old friend. Her mom was renting out a property on San Bernardo and, with the knowledge of Rudy’s background in running venues, offered the place to him. Rudy deliberated, excited at the thought of opening up a new place to celebrate music, but the pandemic was still raging and bars were still closed. Luckily, his new potential landlord said she understood the difficulties of paying rent at a time like this and made him an offer: she won’t charge rent until bars open up again, and she’ll give him two months after he opens to get himself on his feet. This made Rudy much more comfortable, and after discussing the details, he agreed to take the locale.
Today, Rudy prepares for the grand opening of Wonder Lounge, which should be up and running sometime in the next month. In the meantime, he plans what measures he’ll put in place to protect musicians and audiences alike. Referring to musicians playing at Wonder Lounge, he suggests, “If you have your own microphones, bring them in.” This will serve to reduce time in between sets that would be spent disinfecting equipment. Regarding masks, Rudy says they’ll still be required to enter, though they can be removed if the person is at their own table. Though maintaining social distancing and mask guidelines will be a challenge, Rudy says, “We’re going to do our very best to make sure that it’s a safe environment for everybody that walks in that door.”
Live music in the coming months is going to look very different than ever before, and in such an unprecedented situation, everyone is going in blind. But artistic expression is an unstoppable force, and if there’s one takeaway from the recent wave of Instagram live and Twitch stream concerts, it’s that musicians are stubborn. Voices all throughout Laredo will continue singing, even if through a mask.
