Press Release: August 26st Update PM
LUNDI 26 AOÛT PM
MONDAY AUGUST 26, PM
Here are our key findings from our visit to the premises:
• It's not yet known when power will be restored. The ground floor will be connected first. You'll have to be patient for the upper floors.
• The elevators/freight elevators will be out of service for several weeks, if not months.
• Don't expect to be able to access your studios any time soon, even if it's just to pick something up.
• All 3 (!) basements have to be rebuilt. Caution and safety are key.
• An official release from U-Haul is expected soon.
Some people are already working on a class action suit against the city of Montreal. We’ll be back soon with more details. Let’s stand together. The Quebec music scene is one big, strong family.
For those looking for a rehearsal space, we remind you that we can accommodate you in an all- inclusive temporary space near Cité 2000. For more info: studio@boiteamusique.ca
This week, our instruments will be relocated to post-disaster storage for evaluation. We continue to seek viable solutions to better serve you! If you think you can help us in any way, please contact us at info@boiteamusique.ca
See you soon!
The Boite à Musique team
Press Release: August 26st Update
Update #3 on the August 16th incident
Greetings,
It is clear as day: we still do not have access to our premises today. The entirety of the U-
Haul/Cité 2000 building is still without power. Since the incident, teams of professionals have
been hard at work (while prioritizing safety) to achieve the feat of flipping the switch back to
“ON” as soon as possible. For Cité 2000 musicians, there is no need to stop by to seek access to
your studio or for a quick hello. On our side, a visit of the premises has been scheduled to
assess the extent of the damage. We will be back with more details shortly.
RENTAL AND TRANSPORTATION
We would like to remind you that our professional services are currently operational thanks to
the help of several industry partners and the fact that we had equipment elsewhere at the time
of the disaster. Contact us at location@boiteamusique.ca with your inquiries.
REHEARSAL STUDIOS
We are now ready to welcome you in a temporary studio nearby Boite à Musique.
Write us at info@boiteamusique.ca for more info.
SHOP
Our online shop is still up and running. Additional delays are obviously to be expected for
shipping, but it nonetheless allows you to encourage the local scene and to get your hands on
superb releases from here and elsewhere You may also select the in-store pick-up option
and we’ll see you when everything’s back to normal.
We’d like to close by saying a huge THANK YOU to all of you, dear friends, partners, musicians
of all stripes and customers of all tastes for your support and solidarity! Reading you is doing us
a world of good.
See you very soon!
The Boite à Musique team
Press Release: August 21st Update
Greetings everyone,
Here is an update on the August 16 th incident.
First of all, our rental, transportation and technical services are back in operation. Fortunately, much of our equipment was already on site at various events at the time of the loss, which means that we can now meet your requests. We are temporarily located at Showmedia until we can find suitable premises to transfer our operations.
If you have any suggestions or opportunities along these lines, we’d be delighted to hear from you.
About the situation at Cité 2000:
The building is partially accessible. However, according to information obtained from U-Haul, power will not be restored for at least another week.
Building management is now allowing access to basement storage facilities only. For security reasons, we must be escorted by one of their employees at all times. Our equipment can be removed by the middle of next week, at which time we'll have a clearer picture of the damage.
Until further notice, access to upper floors remains forbidden, which prevents us from accessing the shop and studios. We will keep you informed as soon as the situation develops.
Until then, we are working on setting up a temporary rehearsal studio so you can get on with your work and projects, because as you know: the show must go on!
For those who don’t know, Cité 2000 is home to 215 rehearsal studios and over 300 businesses, forming a community of over 1,000 musicians, and music and show business professionals. All of these people and businesses are affected by this situation in different ways. Rest assured that we are doing our utmost to restore normality as quickly as possible. We’re grateful to be part of such a resilient and supportive community and look forward to seeing you again.
There’s nothing quite like a power cut to remind you that the most important thing is… electricity. Luckily, our sense of humor is disaster-proof!
Sincerely,
The entire Boîte à musique team
Communication Lundi 19 août
Greetings to you,
dear friends, colleagues, partners, clients, suppliers and showbusiness professionals.
As most of you know, a massive aqueduct failure in Montreal affected dozens if not hundreds of citizens and businesses in Montreal last week. Among them was Boîte à musique.
Here is the news in case you missed it.
At the time of writing, on the morning of Monday August 19, the full extent of the damage is still unknown as full access to our premises has yet to be granted. However, we are aware that part of our equipment is unsalvageable and will therefore need replacing.
Since Friday’s incident, we have put in place solutions and organised our operations so that we can be up and running straight away and able to supply the equipment requested. There will most likely be disruptions in the coming days or weeks, but we are proactive and on the ball in all our interventions.
We are very sensitive to the consequences this situation has on your activities. Please note that our shop, rehearsal spaces, as well as transportation and technical services remain unaffected by this incident. We will be delighted to welcome you back in our premises as soon as the building’s management gives us a green light.
In closing, we would like to thank everyone that has gotten in touch to offer us help and support since the incident. Is it greatly appreciated and means a lot to us.
And please do not worry if you ever see our technicians armed with rainboots and buckets. They are just testing a new “live underwater” concept! Because after all, showbusiness is also the ability to adapt to all contingencies, even the most… soaked ones! But please rest assured, we are keeping our (dry) feet firmly on the ground to keep offering you the best of services.
Kindest regards,
Steve, Carlos, Patrick, Matthieu, Oscar, Alexandre, Michel, Adriana, Pierre and Félix