Durham’s Motorco venue connects Triangle

In the months since it first opened its doors, Durham’s Motorco Music Hall has been working hard to earn a prominent spot on the Triangle’s music scene.

Just a few days before its first anniversary party last weekend, Motorco announced that it would add music industry veterans Glenn Boothe and Josh Wittman to its booking team.

With its new personnel additions, the venue seeks to become a stepping stone, bridging gaps left by other area venues and bringing more acts to Durham. The additions come on the heels of the departure of Chris Tamplin, one of the venue’s founding members, who stopped booking the venue this summer.

Boothe is best known for his club Local 506, situated on the far-west end of Franklin St. He purchased the club in 2004 and has since made it one of the Triangle’s best-known small venues.

Wittman has been entrenched in the music business, working for the likes of CBS Records, Mammoth Records and Yep Roc Records since studying at UNC.

Motorco’s general manager Jeremy Roth said that the 500-capacity club fills a void that has been empty for too long. “There really isn’t another space that fits the same niche as we do,” he said.

The venue’s size means it can attract bands that have outgrown the 250-capacity Local 506, but can’t quite fill the 600 (and growing) capacity of Cat’s Cradle.

“We’re going to have different types of acts here that maybe would have skipped the Triangle altogether,” Roth said. “In that way, it definitely benefits the Triangle as a whole.”

When it comes to Motorco trying to compete with better-known spaces like Cat’s Cradle, both Wittman and Boothe were quick to quell the notion.

“You don’t compete, you just try to work in partnership,” Wittman said.

As for Local 506, Boothe isn’t concerned about any overlap.

“The idea is being able to do both without worrying about one venue cannibalizing the other,” Boothe said. “The two would be operating on different levels of bands.”

Another benefit to Boothe is that he can continue to work with bands who outgrow his club and, without Motorco, would otherwise never work with again.

Roth said that Motorco, too, helps fill the geographic space between Raleigh and Chapel Hill, where most area shows take place. Durham sits comfortably between the cities, meaning more music fans traveling less.

“There was Duke Coffeehouse that had shows once in a while. Pinhook had started to have some shows, but if you wanted to go see any number of different bands — even local bands — you had to go to Carrboro, which is a drag,” he said.

“I think (Motorco) hugely benefits Durham, because now you can go downtown and see any number of really interesting acts.”

Roth wanted Motorco to provide Durham with a venue that could attract both artists and patrons who would otherwise be discouraged by the travel factor.

“Now that Josh and I are involved doesn’t necessarily mean that starting next month, bigger bands are going to start playing there,” Boothe said. “It’s going to take a lot of work to get the bands into the room and have them have a good experience.”

Trying to please everyone — from booking agents to bands to fans — will be Motorco’s biggest challenge in the coming months and, if everything goes well, years. For now, they’ll keep trying until they perfect the middle ground.

Contact the Diversions Editor at diversions@dailytarheel.com.