Galaxy Nuts || March 2, 2007

"Property seized for non-payment of taxes owed the State of Texas."

Roughly 14 months ago, we drove to Deep Ellum on a cold night to discover that statement on the door of Club Dada. The sign was courtesy of the Texas State Comptroller, and the reason was over $18,000 in beverage and sales taxes that long-gone former owner Steve Shin hadn't paid.

This many months later, the district faces a sad sort of repeat: another cold night in Deep Ellum, another investigative drive to a music venue, another Texas State Comptroller seizure notice. This time, the Galaxy Club on Commerce St. is the venue in question, closed officially on March 1 by our fair state. No other signs were up explaining the situation this evening, though bands booked at the venue this weekend have already begun sending MySpace bulletins alerting their fans that shows have been canceled...whether they got word from the venue itself remains unconfirmed. (And if you visit the club and look closely, notice that one of the mini-windows in the front has been busted open. This window doesn't allow access to unlock a door or anything of that sort, but it seemed worth noting.)

I've sent e-mails to the Galaxy Club's management with requests for more information; if they call or e-mail back, I'll be sure to update the news right here.

But in the meantime, I may as well bust out my own guesses. I only visited the place a few times--in particular, to see a personal fave touring band, Lucero, almost a year ago. The incredibly large, concrete room was never set up properly for amplified sound, full of echoes and other sound problems, and the booking catered primarily to the kind of 102.1 The Edge-friendly rock that I've vocally opposed ever since I started blathering about music. That being said, the place always seemed to pull a solid crowd whenever I walked past it on a given night, though that's not to say the crowd was consistent or large enough to cover the venue's lease.

But a warning from the Texas State Comptroller is different than a place simply collapsing. The last time the Comptroller came calling, Shin's alleged record of cooking the books, keeping extra money and leaving people unpaid soon went public. At this point, all I can confidently say is that I'm very interested to hear Galaxy's side of the story, along with that of any bands that have played the venue and are familiar with its recent goings-on. Hit us with an e-mail if you know anything. -SM

UPDATE: Here's a rumor report we've already received from an anonymous source: "Earlier this week, the Galaxy was raided for failure to pay TABC taxes. Employees asked the boss, who said the club would be fine, business as usual. Tonight (March 1), one employee went to work and found the doors locked up. The boss apparently cleaned the place out the night before and just locked it up." Hopefully we'll get a response to this from the folks at the Galaxy Club, as this is currently an unsubstantiated rumor (though well-placed enough for us to post it here).