Bros. Landreth, Mark Chipman and a Winnipeg congregation come together in deal to save century-old church
A century-old church in Winnipeg’s Crescentwood neighbourhood is getting a new lease on life as the home of musicians The Bros. Landreth and the country duo’s record label.
It’s a partnership the church’s reverend says will help keep the historical building a place of worship despite dwindling congregation numbers.
St. Michael and All Angels Anglican Church parishioners will now attend Sunday mass in the same Hugo Street N. building the Juno-Award winners will rehearse and record music in.
That’s after it was purchased by Winnipeg Jets co-owner Mark Chipman in a deal he says is a win for artists and the church’s community.
“We’ve got the label set up and we’re working on our laptops in the parish hall alongside folks from the congregation,” said David Landreth, one half of the sibling duo.
“Also, being in here, feeling out the space and being inspired by it, writing songs and hanging out and imagining what sort of creative stuff we can get up to.”
For years David and Joey Landreth’s label, Birthday Cake Records, ran out of what Joey called a “broom closet in between a couple bathrooms” upstairs from the Burton Cummings Theatre downtown.
The duo had been looking for a different place to host their label for a while, but it wasn’t until singer-songwriter and long-time friend of the band Steve Bell brought it up that St. Michael’s church blipped on their radar.
Then, Chipman came forward.
“Steve Bell brought this to Mark,” David said. “Mark stepped in and saw an opportunity to help preserve this building, also allow the congregation to continue to worship here and use it the way that they have been for over 100 years, and … allow us to sort of slip in and coexist with these folks.”
‘A space to make beautiful things in’
Chipman, who had helped the group find their label’s first home, said in a statement he’d been looking for a space the city’s best musicians could create and “share their gift with other aspiring artists” for several years, and that St. Michael’s was the “perfect fit.”
Birthday Cake Records publishes the works of Canadian acts like Begonia, The Be Good Tanyas and the brothers themselves. Many of the musicians who’ve signed with the label are from Winnipeg.
Joey said the space will serve other artists for years to come.
“My vision for what we’re doing here is to build a space to make beautiful things in. And that’s something that Mark and I connected on very early when we came to see this place,” he said.
“There’s a lot of room, there’s a lot of space. There’s a a secondary chapel just over there yonder. [The main area] sounds incredible. I mean, that’s what it’s built for: It’s built to amplify sound.”
The duo plans to record some of their next album at the church. They’re in the process of testing the acoustics and addressing the space’s kinks.
“This place is beautiful, and the light that comes through these windows and the way sounds come off of this stage, like it’s a very inspiring place,” David said. “I think that’s really going to influence especially the next record that we’re working on.”
Situation was ‘get creative or you’re going to be closed,’ says reverend
The musicians and label staff will be in the building through the week. Meanwhile, the current congregation will still hold regular service Thursdays and during weekends.
Rev. Lauren Schoeck, who’s been with the church for about a year, said the building sat empty for most of the week.
Schoeck said before her time, St. Michael’s used to attract hundreds of churchgoers every day, but that numbers have been dwindling. These days, about 25 people show up for Sunday service.
“The church was facing a ‘get creative or you’re going to be closed’ [scenario] because they couldn’t afford the upkeep of a beautiful old building. There’s beautiful old problems with it,” she said.
“All the things that go into being a church [are] expensive. And so now that we don’t have to worry about, will we be able to afford to have the lights on or if there’s a crack in the roof.… We get to worship and be together and help our community without that stress.”
Schoeck said that, with congregation numbers for churches everywhere going down, partnerships like this one could become more common in the future — even if some people are wary of attempting anything like it.
“There was at least one person who said, ‘Are we gonna change the altar hangings and it’ll all be like ‘Winnipeg Jets’ up here?'” she said.
“Mark, he’s come multiple times to have meetings with the congregation …They’ve really warmed to it. And remember we were also facing closing. So you kind of get on board quickly.”
Schoeck said the church has organ music and choral groups perform there often, but having musicians with guitars and drums will be very different.
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