Idaho Spotlight is The Arbiter’s mini-series highlighting people in Idaho doing novel, noteworthy and newsworthy work. Each story is independently reported and produced by students enrolled in PHOTO 480, an interdisciplinary course in the Department of Media.
Tanner Nielsen is the owner of Realms Arcade, an all-ages venue, bar and arcade. The advent of an all-ages venue in Boise was a never-ending-cycle of failure for decades, considering venues make nearly all their sales from alcohol. However since Realms’ inception 3 years ago, it appears the cycle has been broken. Tanner seems to have found the recipe, through a mix of ‘bar-cade’ sales and prophetic community-curation instincts, building the framework for local projects otherwise deemed too experimental or progressive for Boise’s sensibilities
Tanner and the Realms team is currently gearing up to host their first ever 2-day music festival, focusing on local artists with a handful of internationally established acts like Los Thuthanaka and Twistur. ‘Realms-Fest’ is set for September 26 and 27.
Below is a transcript of Nielsen’s conversation, which has been lightly condensed for brevity.
Tell us the story of how Realms was born.
Realms was born out of a pure, momentous blast of cosmic energy that happened between my dad’s love for arcade games, heavy metal and my desire to move back to Idaho from Japan.
I wanted to create a space I would have liked growing up as a teenager/ young adult in Boise. As well as the perfect factors of timing, money, availability and everything just kind of fell into place in ways that I don’t completely understand.
What was the feeling of seeing it all put together for the first time? What does that moment mean to you now?
It’s weird, I feel like I’ve spent more time inside this building than my own house. Time just kind of flies by and there’s very brief moments of…
Oh shit.
This is all real.
I remember getting the occupancy permit, that shit was a big deal. It legitimized everything, and I remember having tears of joy and pain. For how much it took to get to that point… doing all the contracting basically by myself and learning everything
And honestly, every time I always see what could be better. Decor upgrades, different ways to rearrange things, whatever. Ironically, it wasn’t until this year (the third) I started remembering the original vision. Now that the community has grown into a more genuine base, there’s a foundation now. We have a real history.
As our fourth year unfolds I’m starting to come to real terms with what Realms is, especially as a successful business that’s staying afloat and not sinking.
Is it a trip to have a business that’s competitive, while still prioritizing integrity?
I do think about that a lot. I feel really blessed by the community that’s shown up. Even beyond the music scene, like our birthday party customers, and the people who do private parties here. I’ve always been really impressed with the quality of people that choose to spend their time at Realms. So many cool families, cool kids.
I haven’t done a lot of birthday party advertising, it’s mostly word of mouth. We had a party this last weekend where one of the dads is a local musician who’s come to a bunch of shows. It’s just all very quality people. I’ve only had to forcibly remove two people in almost four years, despite having alcohol in the venue, which is crazy.
What was your experience growing up in Boise, without any all-ages venues?
I was always seeing shows I wanted to go to at the Neurloux and being really annoyed I couldn’t go. As someone who wasn’t an extreme socialite, I still liked going out. There wasn’t an inviting and relatable third-space for me and my friends to go to, you know?
Other than that though, I mean, I love Boise. It’s kind of got that small town pace, but with enough metropolitan things. It’s not extremely boring or super clicky like small towns can be sometimes. And being really close to nature was always something that I appreciated.
Describe the experience of seeing people grow up under the influence of Realms, and how they’ve changed over the past 3.5 years.
It’s the trippiest thing. Even Dean, co-owner, started working here when he was 18 and is now 21. For everyone, it’s affirming.
Everyone who chooses to come here often exists under a like-minded banner of interests and values. Open-minded, usually alternative, and maybe don’t really belong to other spaces. Having the validation of knowing Realms will always be here to support. It’s powerful.
I think as well, in a more macro sense, Boise has an ever-dwindling alt scene. It’s Idaho, y’know? It’s a red state. People want to leave the city as soon as they get old enough, and that’s fine. But without places like Realms people forget about it. There’s no voice for those people. I think Boise of all places, a medium-sized American city, needs something like Realms. Idaho is kind of an oppressive state. Boise is not even affordable….
I think it’s good. Even beyond the venue stuff and it being a third space to come socialize with people outside their friend group and play games. There’s something for everyone. Realms is for everyone.
Tell us about Realms-Fest.
For me, Realms-Fest represents the very overlooked, experimental side of Boise music that is usually left out of Tree Fort. It’s a culmination of the true underground of Boise. Giving younger people a better chance to perform and just come together.
Honestly, I don’t even really care what the turnout is. We’re just trying to break even. Realms-Fest is for Realms, first and foremost. Knowing the net of artists that are playing, it’s going to be such a beautiful moment for us to come together, socialize and experience each other’s performances. It’s a celebration of what’s been done and what’s in our future, in a very spiritual sense…
At the end of the day, though, it highlights what matters to people who are taking their values properly and living life to the fullest
