Economic problems finally lock Green Door

By George Lang
The Oklahoman

Every door eventually closes. After five years as a key venue for local alternative and punk bands and a preferred stop for national touring acts, the Green Door will swing shut at the end of this month.

Owners Reggy and Lucy Wheat will close the club with a two-day "Farewell Bash" on Jan. 27 and 28, featuring at least 25 bands including the Roustabouts, Klipspringer, Union Calling, the Misled, American Ruse and the Disposables. The Green Door was an important place for many of those bands, but by late last year, Wheat said that he knew his efforts to keep the club afloat had reached an end.

"We got into a mountain of debt, and we tried to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy last February," Wheat said. "It got declined in November. Chapter 13 is a restructuring bankruptcy, so we could get into a payment plan for the taxes, but it got declined due to lack of profit, basically. So, without being able to do that, there was no way we could renew our licenses."

Wheat said he owed the Internal Revenue Service about $100,000 in back taxes. To maintain the licenses and permits to operate the club with a full-service bar, he said he would have had to be in an organized payment plan with the IRS. Without the licenses and permits, he could not earn the money to pay off the debt, creating a vicious cycle.

The Wheats never saw any profits, but he said they didn't go into the business looking for them, either, describing the club as an expensive hobby.

"You know, little things like health insurance, stuff like that you really need," he said. "We've been trying to start a family for a while, and that's been a main goal: get a retirement fund set up and get some insurance, but we never really achieved that." The Wheats are expecting their first child in March.

When it was going strong, the Green Door was a groundbreaker, serving as a regular stage for local bands and an important stop for alternative rock bands on national tours. Originally at 8911 N Western (now home to the Conservatory), the Green Door became a destination spot for bands on the rise. Groups such as Stillwater's All-American Rejects played the Green Door just before hitting big on the national scene, and alternative headliners such as The White Stripes, Ben Kweller, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Electric Six and Hot Hot Heat all played memorable shows at the club.

In August 2003, the Green Door relocated to 329 E Sheridan in Bricktown, a larger and centrally located building. While Wheat said rumors surrounding the closing center on the cost of rent in Bricktown, he said moving to the entertainment district was not a major factor in the Green Door's demise.

"Everyone says its the rent down there, but if you compare it to the rent plus the maintenance on the old building, there's only about a $500 difference," he said.

Wheat did acknowledge that the scene became crowded with competitors -- successful clubs opening in Oklahoma City and Norman that hosted many of the same bands as the Green Door. But he said it was the concert business slump that made it more difficult to sustain the club. The cancellation of the Lollapalooza festival last year was an indicator that things were not going well in the alternative rock touring economy.

"Obviously, we didn't get into it for the money, but it takes money to keep things going," he said.

After the final show, Wheat said he will continue as a concert promoter, working with many of the agents who have brought shows to the Green Door. He said he wants the farewell bash to be a celebration, not a tearful wake.

"You know, man? Things can't last forever," he said. "I mean, it sucks, but it's not a sad thing. The final show, I'm not looking for it to be a pity party. I want it to be a celebration of all the good times people had. "There's so many kids who come up to me and tell me, 'I grew up here, you know? All my teenage years were spent at your club.'" Wheat said. "That's honorable, you know?"