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Well, we are sad to relay that the rumors concerning the Church of the Friendly Ghost are in fact true... kinda.
In a telephone conversation, Aaron Mace told us that while no formal charges had been filed against him (or the other tenants or property owners), a cease-and-desist letter filed by the neighborhood association would go into effect on May 21st. This means that all music performances at the Church have come to an end.
Even though he was disappointed, Aaron told us he expected this to happen eventually and passed on his thanks to the Austin community for their support, both past and present.
While this is definitely sad news for the Austin music scene, Aaron wanted everyone to know that COFG sees this as a temporary matter. He is currently working towards obtaining a new certificate of occupancy along with permits which would allow COFG to continue to run as a gallery. Programming would shift, focusing on art openings and workshops to allow the venue to utilize daytime hours which are more neighborhood-friendly.
The Austinist would like to take this time to personally thank Aaron and the rest of the Church dwellers for their dedication to the Austin music and art scene. While we are sad to lose our favorite organic music venue, we are excited to hear that they are using this opportunity to move in a new direction. Austin needs more people like this. Hooray for the Church, hooray.
Do you have a special COFG music-memory? Share it with us!
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Thank you for the info Austinist!
The rumors were upsetting, i am glad you could shed some light on the future of COFG and we can now be on the look out for whats next with the space.
thank you COFG! we will support you in your new endevours.
wow. My first show there was Woozyhelmet last week. Too bad they're closing, it was a lot of fun. After the bands were done, some kids from across the street came over, one was wearing a blanket (the friendly ghost I guess), and they started playing around on the drumsets and dancing on stage. It was hilarious.
i played in monthly shows at the Church for almost a year and it was always a wonderful experience. it's a sad day.
My favorite show ever took place at the church of the friendly ghost, it was one i helped book, it was the Josh Pearson/ Carolyn Berk show and it was magical.
Also the show with all the denton bands was great. The girl from shiny around the edges made an enormous delicious apple pie. What other place can you go to that would have something like that? I will certainly miss it.
I am still super grateful for the Church hosting Songfight! Live 2004. They were incredibly patient and flexible.