In a era where nothing lasts long especially a good thing, we find a ray of sunshine or in this case a cornucopia of sounds. This east end Montreal musical haven formerly known as Musitec now goes by the name Studios Musitec and since 1996 hundreds of Montreal area musicians have found refuge in the many rooms of Studios Musitec, paying a modest fee to practice music, store gear, or just hang out. Roberto the caretaker says 70 keys for rehearsal rooms exist, and key-holders are welcome to come by anytime, as long as they respect the place. Most other Montreal area rehearsal spaces charge hourly fees, some even ask for extra fees for storage, and don’t allow for impromptu socializing.

Some of the Studios Musitec tenants at 11908 Notre-Dame East use words like “community,” “family,” and “collective” when describing the practice spaces that are so much more than rehearsal rooms, they are also recording rooms, a quiet place to reflect, write lyrics, or even nap. Many of its key-holders have been using the space for close to 20 years, including Philippe the singer for UnderMess, and Antoine longtime Montreal musician who plays bass for Undermess. “It’s extremely helpful. We are tight knit family here,” say the members of The Moon Project Band, some of which even moved just to be closer to Studios Musitec. “You can drop by in the morning and stay all night until the next morning if you want. It gives you a lot of latitude for creating… and for us that’s priceless.”

The space has seen its share of impromptu jam sessions over the years, but now it seems that Studios Musitec is branching out into other purposes other than rehearsal rooms, further extending their reach into the east end artistic community. “We have 70 rooms available that can be used for everything from dance classes to meeting rooms and even storage rooms, We’re pretty flexible with our clients, why not take advantage of the rooms that we have at our disposal “

Groups will pay about $280 every month to rent a rehearsal space. Other Montreal rehearsal spaces might charge $25 an hour. “It’s the best deal in Montreal,” says Philippe. “There is an established a community of artists in east end Montreal that they’ve kept going for 20 years,” says Antoine. And by the looks of it, They aren’t going away anytime soon . www.studiosmusitec.com