Toronto DIY Venue Soybomb HQ Forced to Close

Published Jan 10, 2017

On the heels of Hugh's Room shutting down due to financial troubles, Toronto has lost another live music venue in Soybomb HQ Representatives from the venue have confirmed to Exclaim! that the DIY space will be closing its doors for the time being, saying they have cancelled all forthcoming gigs and have implemented a moratorium on upcoming bookings until the future of the venue is determined. The exact reason for the closure is unclear.A beloved space in Toronto's music scene, Soybomb HQ was founded in 2003 when a group of tenants looked to create a skateboarding space in their apartment through building a half-pipe indoors. While the venue used to open the half-pipe to skaters while bands performed by the apartment's kitchen, the skate ramp has since become the area for musicians to set up in.Not only a venue for local acts, Soybomb HQ has hosted a number of bands from outside the city and around the globe such as G.L.O.S.S., FIDLAR, Alaskan, Hank Wood & the Hammerheads, Column of Heaven, Mount Eerie and more. It was also a venue during smaller festivals such as Not Dead Yet and Next Music from Tokyo DIY music venues and art spaces have recently become the subject of safety concerns after Oakland warehouse space Ghost Ship caught fire during a December event, killing at least 36 people. Since then, users of popular Internet message board 4chan have taken to reporting venues in an effort to "crush the radical left," deeming the spaces "open hotbeds of liberal radicalism and degeneracy."Artists and fans have taken to social media to share their memories in tribute to Soybomb HQ. You can find some of them below, along with an interview with venue co-founder Jason Wydra.