The news that the iconic Denton, TX music venue/rehearsal space Rubber Gloves would be shutting its doors after twenty years was met with quite a bit of sorrow and anger from the local music community and rightfully so- it’s been the bedrock of the independent music scene in Denton for a long time.

I don’t live in “little d” anymore and so my reaction was less anger and more riding the wave of memories that flooded over me upon hearing the news. I was in a band in Denton circa 2001-2006 and we had numerous shows at Rubber Gloves . We shared a rehearsal space there for a time and I saw more shows there than I could ever remember. More than that, it was a great place to hang out.

It’d be easy to dismiss Rubber Gloves as another dive bar with local live music and shitty bathrooms. And if you only visited there once, that would be the quick takeaway. But the list of bands that played the venue is a who’s who of indie and underground hip hop bands. Chances are a lot of people you listen to graced the stage at RGRS. In a small but abundantly talented music scene like Denton, Rubber Gloves was a place you could see national acts to inspire you one night and yet grace that same stage with your own band the next.

When we started the band one of the first places we wanted to play was Rubber Gloves. I remember showing up before it opened and waiting outside its double doors on a cold Tuesday night to sign up for open mic night. More bands usually showed up then slots available but we were able to play that night. We shared the stage with some young kids in a screamo band and an elderly gentleman playing a Casio keyboard singing jingle-style songs. It was that kind of place. All were welcome, especially if you were genuine in what you were doing.

Years later we held our second CD release show there and headlined the place with some amazing bands we had made friends with. For the show we placed a solitary colored bulb over each member of the band (we were a three-piece) and the plan was during the last song each member would turn of the light and exit the front of stage. I was first and I put down my bass, turned off my green light and headed down the stairs on stage left. However our friends in the audience blocked the stairs and made me turn around so we’d play another song. It was that kind of place, you were always surrounded by a supporting community of friends/musicians.

Rubber Gloves was open for nearly twenty years. For those not in the know of the music scene that’s almost unheard of. In my twenty years of living in the Denton/Dallas area I could name fifty venues that came and went during that time, most only lasting a few years. None as fun as rocking the stage at the Gloves.

It had everything going against it. It was on the wrong side of the tracks (literally the only business in a run down, deserted industrial area), had city fathers that considered it a nuisance, and let’s face it- running a music venue post 90s live music explosion isn’t easy. Most venues try to blow with the trend winds and make a quick buck. RGRS just booked solid bands at a great cover price and stayed true to itself.

What it had going for it was an owner, Josh,  who ran that place not to make money but to give the musical community a place where music came first. It always had good sound, made the bands feel welcomed, and was about as pretentious as an old pair of socks. Which to say it wasn’t, it was just a damn comfortable place to hang out and play. Or watch. Or shoot the shit. And the bartenders were awesome, usually local musicians trying to keep the dream alive.

This weekend is the last weekend it will be open and a lot of current Denton acts and bands of days gone by are giving it the send-off it deserves. Sadly I won’t be able to make it home but even sadder is the notion that there is now a huge void in the Denton music scene. One that will be incredibly difficult to fill.

Thanks for the memories.

 

Out of the thousands of videos on youtube of shows at Rubber Gloves it was hard to pick one that epitomizes the place. But favorite son Will Johnson coming back to perform this comes close.