Beachland marks 10 years with concerts

By John Benson

CLEVELAND

The Beachland Ballroom, the rock ’n’ roll oasis in the blue-collar Collinwood neighborhood, is turning 10.

The intimate venue with its two stages – the Ballroom and the Tavern – has featured some of the biggest names in rock music since it opened. The list includes the first show for The Black Keys, as well as The White Stripes. Mind you, both of these gigs took place in the Tavern, where space is limited to roughly 100 or so packed folks.

As for the Ballroom, with its proscenium stage and authentically painted walls detailing scenes of life and celebrations from the old country, notable bands that have come through in the past decade include Guided By Voices, Kings of Leon and Spoon, as well as high-profile reunions by The James Gang and The Dead Boys.

The venue has booked a few special shows to commemorate the anniversary – Pere Ubu and This Moment in Black History perform Friday, with Roky Erickson and JJ Magazine on Saturday.

Co-owners Cindy Barber and Mark Leddy reflected on the past decade in a recent interview.

“We got into this at least 10 years older each than we should have to start something like that,” said Leddy, who before The Beachland booked shows at Pats in the Flats.

Barber agreed: “I don’t know what I was thinking starting a rock club at 48 years old.”

What the longtime Collinwood resident and former Free Times editor was thinking about in 2000 was what she could do with this beautiful site, a former Croatian club site.

“The thing that struck me in the Ballroom was at the time, most of the older clubs in Cleveland were in warehouse spaces with pillars causing sight-line issues and echo-y rooms with the sound bouncing around,” Barber said. “I knew this would be a good, proper venue.”

Barber admits her first choice for business partner was former Peabody’s DownUnder owner Dewey Forward, who acted as a consultant early on in The Beachland’s existence. Finally, Leddy came aboard and, well, the club quickly became notable among touring bands to the point where The Beachland has often been cited in various interviews as one of the best venues of its ilk.

“It makes us feel happy and proud that people are saying that,” said Barber, who in the ’70s worked at Peabody’s DownUnder. “I think from the beginning, we got our reputation as being someplace different because we made sure we cooked a homemade meal for people and served it for them as opposed to sending out for pizza. And everybody who works here is a musician or in a band and loves music. So they have an understanding of what it takes to be on the road. Also, the room sounds great. Being in the Ballroom when there’s a really full, packed energetic group of people, it just gives people a lot of energy. The thing we’ve always done is attract a real music lover as an audience person. You don’t come here because it’s the place to hang out; you really come here because you want to experience the music.”

Added Collinwood resident Leddy: “I think that’s the key. You’d have a different band-audience interaction if this was full of, like, West Sixth Street dorks or something [a reference to the downtown Cleveland party zone]. The other thing that is welcoming is all the staff is music lovers. The staff is really friendly. We hear that a lot.’”

The club’s strong pres-ence is undeniable. And a decade later, The Beachland Ballroom appears to be a success story.

“We wanted to build a club with an eclectic booking policy,” Leddy said. “And I think we have succeeded in that and have succeeded in building a reputation locally, nationally and even to some extent internationally. But we probably did go into this hoping it would be a little bit more financially successful. But it’s 10 years, and we’re still here.”

He added, “That’s what it is a lot of times in Cleveland, just surviving. And that’s what it kind of feels like.”

if you go

What: Beachland Ballroom 10th anniversary show, with Pere Ubu and This Moment in Black History

Where: Beachland Ballroom, 15711 Waterloo Road, Cleveland

When: 8 p.m. Friday

Tickets: (216) 383-1124, or ticketweb.com