Heard Presents, owner of the Empire Control Room and Garage, and Simple Tone Ventures announced in a news release Jan. 5 that they purchased The Parish music venue from previous owner Doug Guller of ATX Brands. "It was important to me, and I think everyone in our community with all of the concern over iconic Austin creative spaces disappearing in the face of developmental pressures, that the Parish end up in the hands of an experienced operator committed to supporting local music," Heard Presents founder Stephen Sternschein said in the release. "The best way to ensure that happened was to do it ourselves." ATX Brands, then the owner of The Parish at 214 E. Sixth St., Austin, put the 5,300-square-foot space up for auction on eBay on Dec. 1 with a starting bid of $1. After a 10-day auction, the venue—which has hosted musicians including Leon Bridges, Shakey Graves and Pete Townshend—was sold to the then-private bidder Dec. 11 for $376,445.