The other day I barged in on a monthly member’s meeting at Charm City Art Space. Located near MICA and a block from Baltimore’s Penn Station, a place I walk to every morning to catch my train to work, I had no idea of the eye opening experience I was in for. CC Art Space is simply a venue for any kind of art… and I do mean any kind… it’s a music venue, a visual art gallery, and even home to the occasional flee market if you want to consider that art. Why not, right? They do a lot of good for young independent bands who just want a place to play for their friends/fans. The space itself was eerily reminiscent of the teen center that I grew up with 50 miles east of Baltimore, and no doubt similar to many other “open” spaces across the globe. It’s a dingy place and yet it’s full of life at the same time. The building suffers from a lack of maintenance, but not from a lack of love or employment.
Like my old teen center back home, at CC Art Space there’s no alcohol or drugs to complicate matters. I have yet to attend a show so I don’t know in what state of sobriety people arrive to shows in, but I got the feeling all these people care about is the music… that is as long as they’re able to keep their heads above water and get by on their own.
Mike, was the apparent leader and organizer of the meeting and while the rest of the crew were a bit busy figuring out what to make of me barging in like I did, Mike was very warm and welcoming. My goal in attending was to learn what the group was all about, ascertain what they knew about the creative commons, and find out if any musicians would be interested in having their music recorded live and posted on the site. Perhaps not... but perhaps.
Well… while Mike entertained my rambling about SoundSprout.com, I could tell the group either didn’t get what I was doing, or more probable, didn’t care. To them the creative commons was old hat. I believe the response I got was “Oh yeah, that licensing thing… so, what about it?” She had a good point. What could I tell these people that they didn’t already know; I’d be preaching to the choir. So instead of talking, I listened to their rants, musings about bluntly pornographic band names, and the space’s financial status.
It’s a gritty place, and I imagine the acts that come through there are only more gritty and righteous. My SoundSprout business-looking flyer stuck out like a soar thumb on the folding table that held a rainbow flashy/artsy abstract-looking flyers for upcoming shows and other event info. When we first started SoundSprout, I had come up with some artwork to represent the site, and now I think I finally have a home for that artwork other than this blog.
Anyway, I can’t wait to dig my eyes and ears into some of these shows. I hope they’re raunchier than ever. Mostly, I’m looking forward to exploring the raw power of music from the next generation, like I used to do frequently before I sold out and went to work for the man, if I’m being honest. I’m going to try and work with some of these artists and record some of these shows and post them on SoundSprout. After all, why should Jimbo over in Spokane Washington, miss out on the show The Trites performed in Baltimore just because they live 2000 miles away???
This is the backbone of free music. This is the fun part!
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