Echo's relationship with the church from which we rent has been a blessing. We can store our equipment on site which means our set-up time is minimal. The building is in great shape, with fully operational heating and cooling. The rent is dirt cheap, which definitely helps our overall budget. All in all, things are awesome. But allow me to express the one thing that annoys me about our rental space.
A choir meets there the second Sunday night each month; it should be noted that no one from their church is actually part of this choir. It's a community choir, comprised of people from all over the greater Cincinnati area. They meet in the church's fellowship hall and usually have a pot-luck dinner afterward. They don't bother us too much except that they take up almost all the parking in the lot when they gather. Repeated attempts to claim our fair use of parking have proven unsuccessful. My only hope was that their choir would eventually dwindle until there is no one left.
I might not be that lucky.
Kelly directed me to a Time Magazine article devoted to Sacred Harp singing, the kind of music this choir performs [actually, they never actually "perform." They only practice. Still not sure about that]. Sacred Harp is a bizarre harmonic, shaped-note singing of old Christian hymns. It dates back to the Civil War but I had never heard of it until we started Echo. I listened to some of the music online from a PBS special on Sacred Harp but, even when done at a professional level, it doesn't sound very appealing.
So the article says that Sacred Harp is the new, hipster activity to do. Even though they sing Christian hymns, it has broad appeal; it's popular among people from various religious backgrounds. And now that Time has covered it, I bet more locals will come out for the sing-sing in the fellowship hall. In short, parking is going to be impossible to get at Echo on February 10th.
And, long-term, I guess the choir won't be going anywhere soon.
Suck.
Of course, if that's the worst thing we have to deal with the amazing space we have the opportunity to use, then I have nothing to complain about.