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The HQ » home

Welcome to THE HEADQUARTERS official site. We're a new all-ages local music venue aimed at providing a quality local music scene in the Monroeville and Pittsburgh areas that's friendly to not only our area's youth but also to any lover of music in general. Some of the best events in our city showcase Pittsburgh's local bands, and we aim to spread this love of ours for local music using our venue as a medium.

This seems obvious to most, but to get back to the main page you press the close button in the corner (X).

1. Bands of all genres are welcome to play. We're one of few venues that does not discriminate on styles of music. We're big fans of expression and freedom, and as long as you don't annihilate our venue (that includes the pacman machine, more on our facility later) and you can bring a crowd, you're welcome to play.
2. There are no ticket sales, period. WE ARE 100% AGAINST PAY-TO-PLAY OPERATIONS and WE WILL NOT BE ONE OF THEM. We aim to change the scene with this philosophy. We hate to say this, because we don't like putting dampers on good things, but please do not consider having no forced ticket sales as our way of saying "don't advertise for your show". We advertise our little hearts out so everyone has a good time. Nobody wants to play to an empty venue, nor do fans want to be the only ones there. Make it fun for everyone guys. =D
3. That being said, we are a promotion/production company and a venue all in one house. We have a full sound system and a glorious amount of awesome that makes our venue THE go-to place, including pool tables, Foosball table, air hockey, Pac-Man, snack bar, storage rooms for equipment, a lounge room for bands to hang out and network with others, and couches to chillax and listen to some sweet jams! Take a look at our photos section on the previous page for more info.
4. We usually have shows on Saturdays, though shows may occur any day of the week. The best way to check up on this stuff is to go back to the main page and click the shows link for an updated listing of all our shows.
5. The Headquarters also has a room, floor space, and hallway space for bands to store their instruments before heading on stage as well as a lounge room specifically for the bands. We also have tables available for bands to sell their merchandise. We aim to record shows soon for the bands to sell a live set.
6. Each set is approximately a half hour long. We are not extremely strict on our set times for most shows. Changing of sets should take no more than fifteen to twenty minutes. If things get very far behind we may speed up the process to compensate. We're not bad people, we don't think. Just remember that the show must go on.

The Headquarters
2628 Mosside Boulevard
Monroeville, PA 15146

We are located across from Gateway High School. For photos of the exterior and interior of our venue, click the photos link on the main page.


View Larger Map The easiest way for us to produce shows at THQ is to first set up empty dates (on the shows link on the main page, the shows will say "X Bands Needed!" and will have a date) then invite bands to jump on these dates. This eliminates a lot of confusion as well as streamlines our promotion and production processes. To play at The Headquarters, visit our main page's link to booking. You will need the following info when you wish to book a show with us, and all info is needed unless otherwise stated:

Band Name:
Myspace Link:
Music Styles:
Location:
Date you want to jump on:
Phone Number:
Screen Name (optional):

Q.What time do we have to be at the show?

A.We prefer if you're at the show about a half hour early or so. If you're one of the later bands, we prefer you at least arrive by the start. Plan your trip this way. Many bands have been lost on the way here somehow... we DO have directions up from YOUR HOUSE to our venue on our pages! =D It's okay. But if you DO GET LOST, PLEASE CALL 412.758.4114 so we know you're going to be late and we can steer you back on the right path, hopefully.

Q.Can my girlfriend (or boyfriend) get in for free?

A.We would love to have a totally free venue where everyone can jam, post, and migrate like grazing cattle or geese or something. Sadly we have to charge everyone who is not a band, including photographers, merch attendants, roadies, record label people, and groupies. This ensures that it's fair for all patrons and we can continue operating a sweet venue like ours.

Q.Can we smoke inside the venue?

A.While we think that The Headquarters is a really great place in many aspects, one rule we do have is no smoking inside or around the venue. If you have to smoke, please do it in your vehicle or far away from the facilities. There are many reasons for this, and we're not getting into detail, but one quirk to the venue is this no smoking rule. We prefer if you kick the habit but understand if you do not.

Q.I'm a promoter, how do I rent The Headquarters for a show and how much is it?

A.The Headquarters is a venue and a promoter all in one. There are tons of benefits to this. One of which is the philosophy for bands to not be forced to sell tickets for their concert. We also keep shows as low in price as possible, and we have a deal for touring bands to get paid. Because of that, The Headquarters is not up for rent.

Q.Can my band get paid by playing here?

A.This has changed. We offer two forms of payment for THE HEADLINING BAND OF THE EVENING ONLY. If there are multiple bands on tour, we cannot promise bands other than the headliner money. There are two deals we do, you may pick ONE OR THE OTHER. The first involves paying the headlining band a set amount of money. Due to the low cost of the shows, we can only yield about $30 tops in a guarantee. The second option is much more popular amongst touring bands, as we've gained a bit of a reputation in Pittsburgh thus far, and that is a door deal where the headlining band gets $2 per person through the door. The per-person deal is based on paying fans and does not include other band members from other bands or our staff or outside companies selling stuff. In other words, the number of people in the place total times 2 won't equal your payment, but bands who choose this option make a heck of a lot more than the guarantee deal, including upwards of $100. Likewise, this is a gamble, as much of the music industry is, and there is no minimum guarantee with the door deal. Therefore, choose wisely.

Q.I saw your sound system and you don't have _______ part that I need.

A.That's a statement, not a question. Anyway. We have a great sound system and we hook it up to sound optimal. That being said, if we don't have something that you need, and you do, feel free to bring it with you. Try and get at the show a little early so we can try and hook it up right with what we have. If it's something simple like a mic or a DI box that you've brought, you can hook those right into our snake. If it's something more extravagant, let us know so we can plan accordingly.

Q.I'm in a band, but I want to play _______ date and it isn't listed on your calendar. Can we have a show that day anyway?

A.Possibly. Many touring bands request dates now that we don't already have booked. Likewise, some local bands also need a date that's not on our calendar. There are only a couple reasons why we wouldn't be able to do it, but THE BEST THING TO DO IS JUST ASK. The most we can say is no, and that's pretty rare.

Q.I'm in love with your new venue. How can I help?

A.If we were greedy, we'd say something like "Get to every show because they WILL sell out," which is what many companies use to crudely advertise their shows. We could say for you to bring your friends though. We're not saying this because we want to suck your wallet dry (look at our show prices for proof), but rather we want to spread the love of local bands to as many people as we can. We could also say for you to support bands that play at our venue. Many of them have teeshirts and CD's for sale. They need your help. We have flyers on our page, why not post a couple on your Myspace beneath that fancy layout code of yours? If you REALLY want to help us, and we're not asking you to do this, you're on your own... you could print our flyers from our page and hand them out to as many people as you can. Fit four on a page, and guess what? You have four times as many flyers as you have copies. Do it yourself, that's the indie way.

We are extremely fortunate to have Teen Oasis host our venue. Teen Oasis is not directly affiliated with The Headquarters Music Venue. We must say, they are wonderful and kind people and we encourage any and all to help support our venue and their facilities at the same time. Every show helps both our causes. For more information about Teen Oasis please visit their website at http://www.teenoasis4u.com/ Do not direct any booking requests through their web site. For booking your band at our venue, please check out our main page's booking link.