Have you been to Site:B lately?
Whether it's made an appearance in your past or not, the Pajama Factory-based concert venue is hoping you'll show up in its near future - 7 p.m. Saturday to be exact - to celebrate its one-year anniversary.
Local favorites Doc Mach and the Field Surgeons will perform, as will The States, a Brooklyn-based band that has made itself a staple at the community venue since Site:B's inception.
The party will celebrate an eventful year for the burgeoning musical haven at 618 Cemetery St. An extension of the Uptown Music Collective, Site:B got its start in July 2008 hosting musician friends of Collective staff, and has since built itself up to welcoming national acts like The States, The Casualties and The Briggs.
"We just want to do something that will commemorate it," said Site:B manager Jared Mondell of the venue's one-year anniversary, as well as the fact that this month marks about one year since The States first started appearing in the area. "It's kind of a two-fold anniversary."
Site:B first became a dot on the radar of the imagination when longtime Collective teacher Dave Brumbaugh decided to expand the school and find a space to open a drum studio. Around the same time, the Pajama Factory opened itself to hosting nonprofit organizations, and had a location that would more than suffice. Was it kismet? Or just coincidence?
Regardless, the opportunity was there, and the Collective jumped on it. Site:B was born, and now hosts two drum studios and an ensemble room behind what has become the Williamsport area's only "all-ages, all-the-time" performance venue.
Allowing a diverse audience through Site:B's doors was important from the beginning.
"We wanted it to be all ages," Mondell said. The idea coincides with the Collective's general youth-oriented mission. Still, he added, the venue's not just for kids. "It's as professional and on the level as any other music venue; there's just no alcohol."
Site:B isn't looking to be just a teen hangout. It also wants, as it always has, to continue to attract national-level acts like The States.
Before construction even happened, a committee formed of Collective teachers, musicians all, who pooled their knowledge of both performance and management. The group included Uptown teachers and contributers, like Hunter Wentzler, Brendan Mondell, Colin Anderer, Colin Beatty and Jesse Rhodes. The committee also turned to now out-of-town Collective graduates, including Seth Olinsky of Akron/Family for recommendations and suggestions.
All had lofty ambitions.
"I wanted (Site:B) to be the CBGBs of Williamsport," Mondell said. "I wanted to make a mark."
CBGBs is legendary, but the Site:B aspires not necessarily to its fame, but to the way it functioned as the musical heart of its surrounding area. And functioning as such is not as far-fetched as it may seem. Williamsport is about four hours or less from several major metropolitan areas, and many times bands that are passing through on tour will stop to spend the night, picking up a gig while they're at it. Site:B hopes to capitalize on that.
It's something the Community Arts Center has taken advantage of before, as well as The Bullfrog Brewery.
Site:B aims to follow in their footsteps, only as an exclusively performance-oriented, all-ages venue.
And while it may seem like a drawback that Williamsport and Site:B are small but growing locations, when it comes to attracting new talent this can also be a draw.
According to Bridget Callahan, who manages The States and now also volunteers considerable time at Site:B, bands often see smaller venues as an opportunity to reach beyond their typical fan base, or to get a break from the overwhelming sense of grandiosity that often accompanies doing a show in a major city.
"(Site:B) can offer a smaller, more intimate setting than what (bands) can get at a major show," Callahan said, adding that, when The Briggs came to town, the band chose to perform at Site:B because "it was an all-ages venue and that's what they wanted."
Local talent also can benefit from what the venue is trying to do.
"There's a huge community of musicians in Williamsport that is very close-knit," Callahan said.
According to her, diverse opportunities at a single location can be very appealing to music-makers. Instead of playing in bars, bands can open for a nationally recognized band, or perform in a family friendly setting, either way expanding their audience. But meeting such goals requires dedication.
"I'd definitely challenge anyone who'd say Site:B isn't a labor of love," said Callahan, who started out as an adviser to Mondell before joining the Site:B team.
The volunteers, all of whom have other jobs at the Collective or otherwise, often work odd hours at the venue, meeting in the evenings before a show to clean and prepare, or holding meetings at 11 at night after the performers have gone home. They also use the internet to their advantage. Whether it's on Facebook or MySpace, Site:B is constantly marketing itself.
It also gets help from Billtownlive.com and WZXR, which includes the venue on its rundown of local concerts.
Booking is done through MySpace, and once bands are on the schedule, Hot Topic at the Lycoming Mall often holds meet-and-greets, and allows bands to perform in-store acoustic sets in the afternoon before their Site:B appearance. Site:B also is getting together a street team to canvass the downtown area and generate interest in their shows.
"If we didn't have dedicated guys who really believe in the place, we wouldn't be open," Mondell said. "There's a reason why there aren't professional all-age venues on every street corner. They're hard to keep open."
As always, money is an issue for a nonprofit like Site:B. Being an all-ages venue, while inclusive, also means Site:B can't turn a profit by selling alcohol, and therefore must rely on getting bodies through the door. It's something that can make it hard to pay the rent - much less the bands who come to play.
That fact hasn't gone unnoticed by the Site:B team.
"Everyone (who works) in that venue is a musician, and we know what it's like to go to a venue and not get paid," Mondell said. As a result, "we try to take care of (the bands)."
His statement's not limited to helping bands set up for a gig and giving them free goods from the concession stand. Site:B also records all audio for each performance, and its volunteers are willing to sit down with band members and mix it for possible EP release, or to simply give performers the hard files to take with them.
It's a generosity of spirit that matches the group's large ambitions.
"I would love to have a regular flow of national acts," Mondell said, adding that he wouldn't sacrifice performances by local musicians to do so. "We want this to be an original outlet for bands that can come and play the music they've worked so hard on."
That music - and those bands - aren't limited to any particular style. Whether it's a local hardcore band or The States, or upcoming appearance by the eclectic Akron/Family and Saffire and the Uppity Blues Women, all Site:B aims for is a good show with good turnout.
"I always want to have variety. I always want to mix it up," Mondell said.
Site:B's track record confirms this. With one year in, the venue is just getting going, and is already branching out beyond music.
Its recent dance nights will become regular bimonthly events, and the team at Site:B also wants to use the venue's wall space as a way to feature local artists, particularly teenagers who want to showcase their creativity.
"We don't like to limit ourselves," Mondell said. "We want to be all-inclusive in what we do."
After all, "(Site:B) has a lot of promise. It has a lot of potential," Mondell said. "We've hit the one-year mark and we're really excited to keep the ball rolling."
Doors for the Anniversary Party will open at 6:30 p.m. and tickets are $5 in advance and $7 at the door. They're also available from the bands, or from Mondell and Callahan themselves, who may be contacted through Site:B's MySpace page, www.myspace. com/sitebvenue.
