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The Guvernment
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The Guvernment
The Guvernment, formerly known as RPM, was a nightclub complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was also the name of one of the two main performance venues within the complex. The other venue was Kool Haus (formerly The Warehouse). Other smaller rooms within the complex included: The Drink (renovated to become Cathouse then Surface), D'Luxe Lounge (renovated to become Haven), The Orange Room (renovated to become Chroma), SkyBar, Charlies (renovated to become Gallery), Tanja and Acid Lounge. The Guvernment opened in 1996 and closed in early 2015. The Kool Haus venue became known for hosting the first ever concert performance by Canadian rapper and singer Drake.
Prior to closure, the property was sold to The Daniels Corporation real estate development company and is since March 2015 in the process of being turned into C$700 million condominium development called City of the Arts.
The site of the Guvernment was first converted into a nightclub in 1984 as Fresh Restaurant and Nightclub by Tony and Albert Assoon, two of the four Assoon brothers who had simultaneously been running the successful and influential Twilight Zone after-hours club at 185 Richmond Street West in Toronto's Entertainment District. However, Fresh did not do well and was quickly sold by late 1985.
The space returned almost immediately as RPM under the ownership of Murray Ball, an artist who had formerly fronted the Toronto-based punk/new-wave band The Dishes before turning to hospitality entrepreneurship on the Toronto nightlife scene having successfully run The Copa in Yorkville on behalf of its owner – Tom Kristenbrun's Chrysalis Group. Joining Ball in the new RPM ownership group were Martin Arts, formerly The Copa's original general manager, and Neil Vosburgh.
Within a few months, by March 1986, well known local DJs Terry "TK" Kelly and Chris Sheppard were brought over from The Copa to be RPM's residents. Initially, TK played Mondays (billed as 'Psychedelic Mondays'), Thursdays ('Disco Thursdays'), and Saturdays ('dance‐music Saturdays' blending house, funk, and new wave), while Sheppard was hired away from his popular alt-rock Sunday-night gig at The Copa to recreate the same energy at RPM. TK's Monday nights quickly began gaining in popularity, attracting patrons with an eclectic rock mix covering a wide range of old and new from The Four Horsemen, AC/DC, and Jimi Hendrix to The Doors and Nirvana. Bringing his Sunday-night club act over from The Copa, Sheppard decided to infuse it with more underground music and remove the age restriction; his all‐ages Sundays immediately became RPM's signature night with teenage crowds reaching capacity well before 9 p.m. each week and many lining up outside around the block at the foot of Jarvis Street. Sheppard occasionally booked live acts for appearances during his club Sundays such as the time during fall 1986 when he brought on the still-not-widely-known Beastie Boys whose debut album had just come out.
From the very beginning, in addition to club nights, RPM served as a live music venue. Among others, its star DJ, Chris Sheppard, participated in booking acts for live gigs at the venue, bringing Ministry, Skinny Puppy, and Chris & Cosey throughout 1986. A synth-pop band in the middle of making a turn towards industrial music with the release of their second album, Ministry's show at RPM on 10 April 1986 became particularly notable due to its bootleg recording that would end up getting circulated for almost thirty years before the band eventually decided to release it as an official live album named Toronto 1986.
Initially capped at 1,100, RPM's capacity steadily expanded over the years due to high demand. Featuring oversized art, blacklight, and bright psychedelic lighting throughout the venue, the group of individuals running RPM especially focused on the club's visual component, manipulating it regularly every year with different installations including dinosaurs, dolphins, an airplane with parachuting soldiers, flashing neon signs as well as a black convertible Cadillac suspended from the ceiling with wax figures of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis sitting in it. The club's sound system was installed by the Canadian audio engineer Ted MacDonald. Located in a semi-industrial area on the eastern edge of Toronto's downtown, due to being somewhat off the beaten path, RPM's management arranged a free shuttle bus service from Union Station throughout the night.
A few years into RPM's operation, Sheppard moved to Fridays for a 19+ age-restricted night that was simultaneously broadcast live-to-air on CFNY while his vacated Sunday spot got taken over by Terry Kelly and later Matt C. Initially playing dance music in the most general sense, Sheppard's club nights at RPM gradually began moving away from rock and coalescing around house music and the emerging rave culture with even some early bleep techno.
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The Guvernment
The Guvernment, formerly known as RPM, was a nightclub complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was also the name of one of the two main performance venues within the complex. The other venue was Kool Haus (formerly The Warehouse). Other smaller rooms within the complex included: The Drink (renovated to become Cathouse then Surface), D'Luxe Lounge (renovated to become Haven), The Orange Room (renovated to become Chroma), SkyBar, Charlies (renovated to become Gallery), Tanja and Acid Lounge. The Guvernment opened in 1996 and closed in early 2015. The Kool Haus venue became known for hosting the first ever concert performance by Canadian rapper and singer Drake.
Prior to closure, the property was sold to The Daniels Corporation real estate development company and is since March 2015 in the process of being turned into C$700 million condominium development called City of the Arts.
The site of the Guvernment was first converted into a nightclub in 1984 as Fresh Restaurant and Nightclub by Tony and Albert Assoon, two of the four Assoon brothers who had simultaneously been running the successful and influential Twilight Zone after-hours club at 185 Richmond Street West in Toronto's Entertainment District. However, Fresh did not do well and was quickly sold by late 1985.
The space returned almost immediately as RPM under the ownership of Murray Ball, an artist who had formerly fronted the Toronto-based punk/new-wave band The Dishes before turning to hospitality entrepreneurship on the Toronto nightlife scene having successfully run The Copa in Yorkville on behalf of its owner – Tom Kristenbrun's Chrysalis Group. Joining Ball in the new RPM ownership group were Martin Arts, formerly The Copa's original general manager, and Neil Vosburgh.
Within a few months, by March 1986, well known local DJs Terry "TK" Kelly and Chris Sheppard were brought over from The Copa to be RPM's residents. Initially, TK played Mondays (billed as 'Psychedelic Mondays'), Thursdays ('Disco Thursdays'), and Saturdays ('dance‐music Saturdays' blending house, funk, and new wave), while Sheppard was hired away from his popular alt-rock Sunday-night gig at The Copa to recreate the same energy at RPM. TK's Monday nights quickly began gaining in popularity, attracting patrons with an eclectic rock mix covering a wide range of old and new from The Four Horsemen, AC/DC, and Jimi Hendrix to The Doors and Nirvana. Bringing his Sunday-night club act over from The Copa, Sheppard decided to infuse it with more underground music and remove the age restriction; his all‐ages Sundays immediately became RPM's signature night with teenage crowds reaching capacity well before 9 p.m. each week and many lining up outside around the block at the foot of Jarvis Street. Sheppard occasionally booked live acts for appearances during his club Sundays such as the time during fall 1986 when he brought on the still-not-widely-known Beastie Boys whose debut album had just come out.
From the very beginning, in addition to club nights, RPM served as a live music venue. Among others, its star DJ, Chris Sheppard, participated in booking acts for live gigs at the venue, bringing Ministry, Skinny Puppy, and Chris & Cosey throughout 1986. A synth-pop band in the middle of making a turn towards industrial music with the release of their second album, Ministry's show at RPM on 10 April 1986 became particularly notable due to its bootleg recording that would end up getting circulated for almost thirty years before the band eventually decided to release it as an official live album named Toronto 1986.
Initially capped at 1,100, RPM's capacity steadily expanded over the years due to high demand. Featuring oversized art, blacklight, and bright psychedelic lighting throughout the venue, the group of individuals running RPM especially focused on the club's visual component, manipulating it regularly every year with different installations including dinosaurs, dolphins, an airplane with parachuting soldiers, flashing neon signs as well as a black convertible Cadillac suspended from the ceiling with wax figures of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis sitting in it. The club's sound system was installed by the Canadian audio engineer Ted MacDonald. Located in a semi-industrial area on the eastern edge of Toronto's downtown, due to being somewhat off the beaten path, RPM's management arranged a free shuttle bus service from Union Station throughout the night.
A few years into RPM's operation, Sheppard moved to Fridays for a 19+ age-restricted night that was simultaneously broadcast live-to-air on CFNY while his vacated Sunday spot got taken over by Terry Kelly and later Matt C. Initially playing dance music in the most general sense, Sheppard's club nights at RPM gradually began moving away from rock and coalescing around house music and the emerging rave culture with even some early bleep techno.
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