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After the usual paperwork
was cleared, we got started fixing the place up for opening
night. My young lawyer friend and I decided on a name that
suited us to a "L": "Verainslokal
- DOWN AND OUT - art, music, literature, theater live" our
address was 18, Glasergasse, 1090 Vienna.
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I
chose to open the place on my birthday and only a few weeks
later had a very large clientele. Young artists, intellectuals,
musicians and students were our usual customers. To dress
up our local, we entered into an agreement with a local brewery
which allowed us the necessary funds, in exchange for advertising.
They also offered to act as cosigners for a bank loan that
allowed us to make further improvements. Our place was listed
in the top ten spots for youngsters in Vienna. I took care
of the better part of interior decoration and the walls were
especially lit and furnished with hooks and rods to be able
to exhibit my paintings. At the back of the room, a stage
was built for musical presentations, theater, poetry readings
and disc-jockeys.
A small room behind the bar served as a handy storage area
for my paintings.
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Everything
went so well that we soon felt on the threshold of that much-longed-for
financial independence and the end to administrative hassles
and the conquest of the Viennese art scene.
Up until now, everything was moving
in the right direction.
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