Smiling Buddha owner charged with sexual assault
Music promoters and bands scrambling to relocate shows after the allegations surfaced
Musicians are boycotting popular College St. live music venue the Smiling Buddha after the owner was charged with sexual assault.
Lucan Wai was charged with one count of sexual assault in February, said Toronto police spokesperson Const. David Hopkinson, who would not comment further on the details of the incident, which has not been proven in court.
Wai, when reached by the Star, said he couldn’t comment beyond a prepared statement that said both he and his bar had been extorted for money by his accuser. Wai wrote that no money was given and a cease and desist letter was sent to the accuser. “I am looking forward to clearing my name,” he wrote.
The news has led booking manager, in-house promoter and long-time Smiling Buddha employee Matthew Sandrin to quit his job and relocate the close to 30 shows he helped book over the next few months, which include close to 100 music acts. Some shows were sold-out events that were moved at the last minute.
Several weeks ago, a band he helped book cancelled their show without giving a reason. “Someone approached and said they weren’t comfortable to play here,” Sandrin said. “It started rumours … a couple more people came and spoke to me.”
Sandrin heard the news properly from Wai’s brother. “I was very confused and very concerned,” said the promoter, who is now scrambling to find new venues. “I don’t feel comfortable booking my shows in a space that is associated with sexual-assault allegations at all,” he said. “For anyone who is involved, whether they’re coming to the show or playing a show, especially if you’re a survivor, it becomes an unsafe space by just the fact that there might be an abuser there.”
One of the musicians playing on March 7 reached out to Sandrin. “When (Wai) walked in, they froze up, mentally and physically, and couldn’t play,” he said. “I thought, ‘I really need to start doing something.’ ” Sandrin quit the next day. “We work with so many bands in the community, I felt it was something I was responsible for, even though I’m not,” Sandrin said. “People use music as a refuge. I know I do.”
Dan Burke, an outside promoter who organized semi-frequent shows at Smiling Buddha, has also pulled out all his shows, as have others such as Collective Concerts, Canadian Music Week and Venus Fest, each of which has relocated their shows to other venues.
“A venue has to be a safe space,” Burke said. “It has to be not only a safe space in reality, but it should be perceived to be a safe space. People have to be comfortable going to shows. If an allegation like this arises, it doesn’t do that.”
Burke believes the Smiling Buddha is a safe space, because the alleged assault didn’t happen in the venue. (Both Burke and Sandrin say the alleged assault happened in Wai’s home.)
“However, with an allegation like this against someone in an ownership position, that puts a dark cloud over the place, even if the venue itself and the staff itself doesn’t deserve it,” Burke said. “I suspect it’ll take a long time to go away.”
Lou Cole, owner of Lunar Architect Records, who has relocated his March 16 record compilation launch event to Duffy’s Tavern, believes this might be the end of the Smiling Buddha because it’s no longer “a space for positive things.”
Sam Bielanski, a member of the band Pony, is heartbroken at hearing the news. The Smiling Buddha was her band’s home for the last few years, “our most-played venue in the city,” she said.
“It’s really important that everyone has the same standards of safety and how women and gender nonconforming people are treated,” she said. “(Music venues) are a place people are expressing something really vulnerable to begin with and you shouldn’t ever have to worry about your safety … that’s meant to be a home for the creative community.”