Move from 8-year site unsettles many

Through Skrappy's, a local youth organization, the 24-year-old guitarist for The Bled, a hard-core band, fostered relationships and networked with future bandmates. Those people became his best friends, traveling with him to countries around the world: Japan, England, even Australia.

"For us as a band, we all played and met each other from Skrappy's," Ott said.

That's just one of the many stories connected to the longtime Downtown youth center, which has become a staple for the alternative scene in Tucson.

But Skrappy's doesn't have a permanent home anymore, at least for the time being, as it closes its doors after eight years at South Fifth Avenue and Broadway and moves to a temporary location in the basement of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson building. It's expected to reopen there Oct. 9.

Our Family Services, Skrappy's parent organization, has a three-month lease with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization, 160 E. Alameda St., with an option for a two-month extension. But many close to Skrappy's remain concerned about its long-term future and the possible effects of the move.

Skrappy's' mainstay, concerts, won't continue in the new location although Kathy Wooldridge, the program coordinator, said other programs such as capoeira, a Brazilian martial art, and break dancing will proceed as usual.

Skrappy's and Our Family have been searching for new locations since December, after learning the landlord had plans to redevelop the block.

Lyz Crump, a 20-year-old who has been attending Skrappy's on and off for about five years, said some anxiety about the move is to be expected, but she's trying to stay optimistic.

"It's going to be really sad that this building is going away because this is where I've been hanging out three to four nights a week for the past five years of my life," she said. "It's going to be sad to see the building get torn down. It's sad that we're not going to be in this place anymore, but it just means that we're going to have a bigger, better, cleaner building."

Lindsey Duel, a 19-year-old who works the door at Skrappy's, said she has had some fun at the Broadway building, including last year's Halloween concert when she dressed up like a mime.

"It sucks because this building has so many memories," she said. "But we're taking the same people with us."

Dave Mason, a 30-year-old capoeira teacher who has known Wooldridge for more than 10 years, said kids might be more likely to get into trouble without the social outlet that Skrappy's provides.

"I don't think it's going to suffer much as far as its street-cred," Mason said before a Tuesday capoeira class. "I think that the kids are going to suffer, like if they can't go to a show or they aren't comfortable" going to the Big Brothers Big Sisters building.

Mason said Skrappy's is important to the music scene in Tucson, especially for those younger than 21.

"It kind of became the standard as where you go to see a show," he said. "If you're not trying to go drink and have a band in the background but you're there to see the music, you're going to go to Skrappy's to see something special. It's not like going to a bar."

The youth music scene in Tucson might be a dead for a while "because no one dedicates that much time and energy to having that many shows per week," Crump said. Other Downtown venues like The Living Room and the Dry River Collective have concerts only periodically, and, "The rest of them are at bars where we can't go anyway," she said.

Sue Krahe-Eggleston, executive director for Our Family Services, said her agency and Skrappy's are looking at a couple of properties but cannot go into specifics because nothing has been finalized.

Finding a location near or in Downtown is difficult because Skrappy's is such an unusual program, she said.

"We have looked at quite a few, and either they weren't appropriate or weren't zoned appropriately or they weren't large enough ... or the neighborhood didn't want us."

Krahe-Eggleston said Skrappy's can plan concerts at a site other than the Big Brothers Big Sisters site.

"We have up to five months. We hope to find something within the next month or two," she said. "We're just hopeful. And very supportive of the program. The agency board is trying to find the right place for it."