Perth Voice Interactive

A BID to make a popular recording studio and pint-size performance venue a permanent fixture in Baker Avenue has hit a snag, with a neighbour complaining that the after-parties are decidedly off-key.

CentreStage Recording Studio sits across from Birdwood Square in Vincent’s slab of Perth, and while it looks across to the buzzing Brisbane Hotel on Beaufort Street, it’s tucked behind one of the residential homes that line the avenue.

It’s the passion project of well-known Perth accordion player, composer and arranger Nunzio Mondia, who lists collaborations with Ray Charles, Michael Crawford and even Hugh Jackman on his CV.

Last October Mr Mondio wrapped up a recording session at CentreStage for the Shadows’ legendary guitarist Hank Marvin’s latest album Foolin’ with the Feds, and again joined him last weekend for an intimate concert at the studio. Earlier this year CentreStage also held a “melodic feast” of classical Italian music and even hosted Christmas Carols with a twist last December.

The studio has been on an 18-month trial which expired in August and Mr Mondio has applied to be able to operate permanently, asking to double his patronage to 80 people on weekdays, and to have an extra hour in the evenings.

But one of his neighbours fronted Vincent’s public question time at this week’s agenda briefing hoping to pull the pin on the entire endeavour.

Commercial

“The fully commercial concept venue he has been running has made an already bad situation much worse,” she said.

The neighbour (sadly the council’s microphone died during her introduction so we couldn’t catch her name) said she’d suffered years of after-performance noise.

“These celebrations naturally involve food and alcohol,” she said.

“Mr Mondia and his friends are one thing; post-performance parties take it to a whole new level.”

The studio has approval to run shows with 100 patrons every Friday, and the occasional Saturday, but the neighbour said that meant an army of Ubers arriving to drop them off, then sitting outside her home idling while waiting for pick-ups.

“Mr Mondia has pushed the envelope at every opportunity, first running a busy home business from his home in a residential zone, and from the time he moved in 10 years ago.”

But Mr Mondia said he’d been living there for near-on 30 years and had invested heavily in the studio’s noise insulation so the concerts barely raised a peep.

“The problem with my neighbour is she is not willing to negotiate,” Mr Mondia said.

“No one else has an issue.

“It’s an area that’s growing and we need to be pro-active he said,” urging the council not to bow to “backward thinking”.

With support from the Northbridge Common Town Team, the application could have been expected to sail through, but there were some nagging questions from councillors, plus support from the neighbour from former councillor Dudley Maier that might put Mr Mondia on edge.

The final decision on CentreStage’s future comes before the full council meeting this Tuesday.

by STEVE GRANT