Community Spotlight: Rob Leishman

The door is open at Bully’s Rehearsal Studios—literally and figuratively.

There’s a cool new mural on the wall since I last visited—and that was before the COVID-19 pandemic. As I wander in, I see Rob Leishman rearranging drum sets and taking a look at a bunch of sound systems. He’s warm and welcoming as he asks me to have a seat at the stage.

Being inside Bully’s during the day is surreal; it’s like looking at the bones of some of my best memories. I’d seen a couple of different bands play here, but that was at night when the space is usually a hub of activity.

By the way, if you haven’t seen a show at Bully’s, you should. The space, formerly known as the Tartini Music Store and Guitar Shop, was first built after the Second World War. While it changed names (and ownership) a few times since, the building along 6th Street, just off Victoria, has been used exclusively for music for decades.

I can’t help but ask Leishman about the mural, and he says it’s by Tyler Riddle, a local tattoo artist. One of Leishman’s projects is trying to get more artists to showcase their work at Bully’s.

However, I’m admittedly distracted by the different drums and instruments out on the floor. So, what’s the deal?

“Ah, yeah we’ve got a bunch of shows tonight,” says Leishman, as he points to one of the drum kits. “Fridays on Front, then a show in here—actually, we’re donating the stage space and whatnot for Fridays on Front.” I have to follow up and ask him when he sleeps.

“I never sleep. But I love this community. I love my community.”

Aside from running Bully’s, Leishman runs The Front, under the umbrella of Suna Studios. The goal is to provide spaces for musicians, by musicians. Leishman is also a drummer in a band, and is fully aware of the struggles artists go through to find spaces to play. The space has also hosted children from elementary schools, and is always available for a pop-up event as needed.

So much of his heart and soul goes into these spaces, so it was tough for him to hear about the complaints made about his space from bylaw a few weeks ago. Leishman took to Instagram to talk about how much it hurt.

“The capacity is pretty low; it’s 50 people [at Bully’s], they’re usually smaller gigs.” While Leishman says they tend to be metal and punk, it’s common for them to host different kinds of music gigs like country performances. “We got some noise complaints when it got warm outside. This happens every year, and has for a long time.”

Leishman says the complainant claimed there had been loud music playing from cars at around 1:30 am, but he says most people had left Bully’s just before midnight. Leishman and a couple of staff had stayed behind to clean up. “We actually noticed there was a party in a neighbouring building, and we could hear it from Bully’s.” Since he anticipated the complaint, they filmed the party from their studio in the event it became an issue.

He decided to take to Instagram because he’s always believed in transparency. “I wanted to make it clear. ‘Hey guys, it’s not always us, it’s a big city with a lot of people in it. If you want to make a complaint, please hit me up first, because I’ll stop it.’ ” While the space welcomes everyone, Leishman has no tolerance for racist, sexist, homophobic behaviour – anything that would make someone feel uncomfortable or in danger. “I’ve got no problem telling people to stop it. I’ve had complaints before, and I’ve made adjustments immediately,” he says. “I want us all to coexist.”

Leishman says the city has been great with giving him time to host these shows. Music at Bully’s can go until midnight, but the gigs usually end at 11:15 pm.

So what are his favourite things about Bully’s, aside from being a place to jam?

“Kids…I love having them visit,” he says with a smile, adding that elementary school visits started when his daughter’s teacher asked if it’d be okay to come by. “So we set it up and it ended up being so awesome.” Leishman says the kids split off into little bands; their posters and their calling cards (you know, to hand out to the music executives!) are still at his desk.

“Sometimes kids just need to bang out some energy. I’ve got drum sets, they can just come in and whack on the drum set for a couple minutes, an hour, whatever,” he says. “I’ve got stickers in here. I want this place to be kid-friendly.”

“A music studio should not be a scary place. It should be a place that anybody that wants to create art or music can come in, meet people, and work.” Leishman says the model is simple: Anyone can rent out the room, bring their music, or even scream into a microphone. “As long as no one is hurting each other.”

If there’s one thing Leishman says he wants to continue, it’s being a good neighbour. “If you’ve got an idea, if you’ve got art, if you’ve got something you’d like to do in the community and you need a space for it, come on down to Bully’s, and we can talk about it.”