CLets not downplay the metal scene here in El Paso—this desert town has had a rich history of home grown metal with the likes of Torture, Pissing Razors, Reign of Terror, The Hate Campaign and Years of Cold to name a few. These bands, along with other out of town metal acts, helped fuel our metal scene over the past decades, musically thrashing a myriad of bars and clubs all over the Sun City. These venues played an important role in keeping the metal scene alive because without any place to play, then there wouldn’t be a scene at all.
Scorpios, the Big Apple, Sasos, the Attic, Surges, The Pit, even Club 101 and Tricky Falls all had a hand in keeping the metal scene alive. Over the course of time, a lot of those venues, bars and concert halls that catered to the metal scene closed their doors. Not all of them of course, but enough where the effects on the scene left a vacuum and a demand for both bands and fans, needing some place to headbang and mosh to the music they live for. To say there was not any place for metal bands and their fans to congregate is not true, but the scene was in dire need of a true metal place to call home.
A few years back an old well-known dive bar started making some changes to get both regional and national touring bands to play to the El Paso metal-rock scene. Those changes and a lot of hard work are paying off because more and more touring bands have been making a stop at the Rockhouse Bar and without a doubt, the Rockhouse Bar is living up to its name.
It’s not a hole in the wall, but at the same time not a concert hall. Rockhouse owner Matt Martinez explains, “Rockhouse is a bar with a kick-ass stage. We are not a venue because a venue holds 600 people. Even though we are limited because of our capacity, most of the big bands don’t have a problem with that because they are used to playing similar size places in Europe.”
Bands such as Deicide, The Convalescence, Einseferium, Paul Gilbert, Upon a Burning Body, Tony MacalpineandAttila have all played this past year on the Rockhouse’s stage. Heavy hitters like Soulfly, Kataklysm and Exhorder are slated to play the month of September. This place has been relentlessly bringing some great out of town national acts to its stage for a good while now. The number of concerts that the bar has been offering not just on a monthly basis, but on a weekly basis has re-energized the metal scene and has been building the Rockhouse’s reputation on the touring circuit as class act place to play, well worth making the stop in El Paso.
Matt recounts,” Rock house before was mainly a neighborhood bar that had local bands. We were not focused on anything that was on a national level. My partner Gabe had a vision of what this place could be, how it is now. He took it so far. When I came on board I was able to bring the connections I had made with booking agencies and promoters when I owned House of Rock. Once word got out what we were trying to do, we got bombarded with emails. It started us looking at making Rockhouse a place that could cater to bands on a national level.”
Matt believes the positive feedback from the bands and touring managers so far have helped the bar get more shows being booked there in the coming months. In between those big shows, Rockhouse has the local/original and cover bands play their stage. Matt is quick to point out, “A lot of times people think there is nothing going on here if there isn’t a big show. We are still a neighborhood bar with happy hour and we have a great kitchen. You can come out here on any given night and catch a show here. See an up and coming band that you will see and hear of on a bigger stage in the coming years.”
Like the metal venues before it, Rockhouse is doing its part, giving the fans a place to see and hear metal live, which is necessary for a scene to keep going and growing. The metal scene thrives on music, the places to hear and see that music, and the fan support that drives it. Without the support of the music community going out and being a part of the scene, there will be no scene. Rockhouse is ushering in a new era for our metal scene, be a part of it.
By: A. Lawless