The Belfry Center - Recently Updated Pages

Buy a day planner: Booking DIY Shows

belfrycenter — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:59:53 CDT

by Jon Collins-read his blog at Rhubarbarism

Behind every mind-smushingly awesome DIY show we’ve ever seen, was a person or people who toiled away at the thankless task of setting it up. They deal with egos, neighbors, and probably even set-up the sound, all just so you could have fun. I’ve had a bit of experience from both sides of the band/booker divide so I’m going to tell you some of the lessons I’ve gathered up from the worst booking mistakes I’ve made.

When I book a show I first choose a day, then I stick with that day no matter what. I do this because otherwise it’s going to get fucking confusing as bands take the standard line that, “we can’t do Friday but how about Saturday,“ and you might even end up with two or three halfway decent shows instead of one rocking one that you were imagining. If it’s a touring band than usually I do the opposite and make them stick to a specific day. But, depending on the limitations of your space, maybe you do want to have a show every night, it’s your choice.

Another important time thing to realize is that bands need some advance notice before they play. Bands have all sorts of responsibilities, and usually somewhere between three and five people and their respectively crazy schedules to consider. If you’re polite you’ll try and get it confirmed at least two or three weeks before hand. So, for me, a good ruleof hand is to at least introduce my proposal to a band a month before hand, and then make sure I track down an answer by a week or two later. For bar-booking the advance notice probably needs to be doubled (be aware bar-bands will probably have these expectations).

People say that Myspace has revolutionized booking. This might be true for the initial contact but unless you have previous experience to the contrary, assume Myspace is sucking all those messages right into Rupert Murdoch’s inbox and make verbal contact with them. If you’re not on a phone-friend basis with anyone in the band then find someone who is. Call them, leave them the what-and-wherefores, and then call them again if you don’t hear back. Don’t rely on your shaky memory that drunk-you and drunk-musician heard the same things the other night at the bar. Introduce the idea to them and find out when they can find out if the rest of their band can do it. Then if you don’t hear back from them, call them back. It’s a mild form of harassment but it helps to iron out most misunderstandings.

So now that I’ve got a set date, it’s time to think about who I want to play. This may seem like a simple decision, right? I mean, you’ve got a thrash band that you really like why not get a few more bands that those guys are in, they could play too, they’ll be there anyway. But we all know how fragmented the punk world is, and let’s be honest and admit that maybe 80% of punk bands don’t even play DIY shows. Now that all that is out of the way, it’s ok for us to say that there’s a lot of interesting stuff going on in underground communities from art-punk to queer-core and folk-punk and back to the aforementioned thrash. It’s my own personal philosophy, and very few other peoples, that sometimes it’s good to mix genres. That way you end up mixing people. And that’s fun. And that’s a decision with political implications, I’d say.

That said, just don’t bother booking bands that you don’t like, personally or musically. If it’s a Crust band and you listen to mostly indie-twee and make fun of Crust (when they’re not around) for sounding like roadkilled zombie cat in a shrinking tin can (I don‘t know), then don’t book them. You’ll do them a favor too. I say this not only because you won’t enjoy yourself, and who wants to not enjoy a hobby, but because the punk scene is as much, if not more, full of assholes than the rest of the world. It’s as simple as, some bands are just assholes and have asshole friends. If people aren’t accustomed to your venue and how it functions or what the expectations are then they will likely disrespect it, not to mention your neighbors, not to mention you. Do you really want to have to baby-sit puking 14 year olds and pull taggers off your neighbors car? Again, it’s a good time to consider what the needs and focus of your venue are. Maybe you just want to have as many rocking shows as you can before the cops show up and find your trashed house. Just be aware.

That’s not to say that bands won’t harass you to get on the bill as soon as it starts looking fun. An artist friend of mine was just telling me that artists are snobby and elitist, but that musicians are friendly because they have to talk to other bands, bookers, and sound people. I corrected him, musicians are schmoozer’s. I resisted calling them snakes. And like everyone else in the radical or underground, they can be flakes. That said, shit happens. Bands cancel. People fight and whine about the order they play in. P.A.’s blow up. What are you going to fucking do? Sometimes things aren’t perfect but don’t let it stress you out too much. Even if no one is there yet, try and start at some reasonable time otherwise you’re setting a dangerous precedent for people who come to your shows not to show up until midnight. And try for gods sake to cap the number of bands, it might be fun to have 6 bands play every once in a while, but for both people hanging out and for you, it’ll get old.

So let’s say that you do get this show set up, you get bands confirmed. It’s your responsibility to make the flier and put it up all over town, certainly don’t assume that bands will do it. It’s part of your responsibility to them. And if you want lots of people to show up you have to create what corporate types call synergy. You can call it hype. It means you put up two fliers in different places. Two friends will see it separately. They will then have the following conversation:

“What’s going on tonight?“
“I heard Bla Bla Black Sheep is having a show.”
“I heard that too, let’s go! And let‘s buy them beer!”

I realize that it’s tempting in the age of Myspace to just send a bulletin about the show and be done with it. Myspace though, like the rest of that pornhole called the internet, suffers from information saturation. There’s too many people sending bulletins about their Spring Break plans for your little punk show to get noticed. And in any case, the DIY flier is a distinguished art form, you‘re obliged to carry it on.

Money is another important issue. No one charges more than $5. Sell cupcakes to drunk people if you need to make more. For touring bands, try and get them some gas money. No expects to get rich on tour but try and get them enough to keep going. Also, for touring bands, it’s proper etiquette for you to help them find someplace safe to sleep, and unless they are assholes they will love you forever if you feed them. (My roommate just made a breakfast of quinoa and oats for this touring band from California. They filled up their bowls with it, left the dirty dishes, went to White Castle, and then left their wrappers laying around the house. Fuck California.). Something that is completely infuriating is the kids who regularly show up without a cent. These are the same people who don’t mind spending money when bars and liquor stores force them to pay on threat of punishment, but who can’t dig into their pockets to help bands or support spaces. They have a sense of entitlement (which probably comes from the background of entitlement that you can see if you look hard enough past their aesthetic), and although I’ve never turned anyone away, everyone should know that these shows only exist because people work hard, dedicate their time, and sometimes, invest their pocket money. If I were you I wouldn’t be afraid to point it out.

I think that people who book shows occupy an interesting space in DIY culture. They’re not the people in the bands wallowing in adulation (ha), or the zinesters hiding in the shadows scribbling smarmy notes. It’s really a fun thing to be able to do, you hear and promote good music, and hang out with your friends. Don’t let people make you feel like you’re obliged to deal with their every little whim, or to let them play when they just show up (a despicable practice), or that you really have any obligation other than hosting the show. You’re not getting paid after all, so don’t worry about all the bullshit that people might expect or oblige of you! Just have fun!

events and classes

belfrycenter — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 15:16:58 CDT

The Belfry offers free or sliding-scale classes on an monthly basis.
If you are interested in teaching a class, please email us at belfrycenter@gmail.com

Home

belfrycenter — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 15:16:29 CDT

is a collective that puts on d.i.y. art, and educational events.

Our mission is to foster democracy and build community through the arts, activism, media, and education. We encourage the participation of as many members of as many communities as possible, but especially those whose pursuits are pro-democracy, pro-peace, queer friendly, anti-racist, anti-sexist, and generally friendly.

***BELFRY STATE OF AFFAIRS***

Dear Members of the Community,
The current location of the Belfry & Bat Annex Library at 3753 Bloomington Ave is currently under duress by the city of Minneapolis. We have been ordered to cease nearly all all of our events because we do not have entertainment or food licenses. This means all of our music shows and Food Not Bombs are cancelled at this specific location to avoid fines from the city. When we reached the office that issued our letter we were told that the zoning of our location makes getting those licenses for all intents and purposes impossible. They had a scanned copy of one of our fliers for the March Fest included in the letter and the representative was looking at our Myspace page while we asked for answers. The city of Minneapolis is surveilling our community's actions and events and wants its coffers filled at the price of a collectively and rather simply run arts space and library. A space that thought (somewhat naively) that a 501-C3 wasn't the only way to do this. A space that had cheap enough rent to be a relatively sustainable commodity in our community. This particular location is no longer right for our goals. The Belfry's 3753 Bloomington Ave location will have to close. The search for a more fitting space is on and in the meantime our money-generating events are cancelled, which means we need help tying up loose ends and making rent for the duration of our time at this address. So if you have ever been to a show at the Belfry, checked out a zine, danced till 4, had an event or meeting, looked at the art, or just hung out now is the time to chip in that extra $2 you didn't want to donate the first time around. Benefit shows, volunteering, and donations at the events we will be able to have at this location will be so greatly appreciated by our small collective. This Saturday we will be having an closing party for Alex Kuno's art show, The Miscreants of Tiny Town (see press release below), at 7 pm. We invite you all to come and have fun and we can talk about the future we envision for the Belfry as well as ways to better subvert the capitalistic and suffocating actions of our local government. Thank you for your support and keep your ears open for more updates on the future of the Belfry and the Bat Annex Library.
Love,
The Belfry

We depend on you to help us pay our rent and keep our space running!
Send donations to belfrycenter@gmail.com through Paypal, become a Belfry member, or help us cross things off our wishlist!

We are currently closed. We are looking for a new space.

to contact:
belfrycenter@gmail.com

www.myspace.com/belfrycenter

library

belfrycenter — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:13:28 CDT

The Belfry inherited the Bat Annex Free School Library from the Bat Annex Free School collective. It consists of a lending library of books on acitivism, art, gardening, health, politics, radicalism, DIY and foreign language. Our zine collection is large, and we have both zines available for checkout and a reference collection.

Anyone can check out materials for 3 weeks, just ask a Belfry member for a library card, and start reading.

We ask for donations on a sliding scale to keep our library and space operating, but no one will be turned away due to lack of funds. We always welcome donations of books, zines, music, instruments and tools. Our library grows through donations.

Search our catalog!
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.librarything.com/ltsw/mySearchWidget.php?option_userid=batannex&option_title=Bat%2520Annex%2520LibraryThing&option_width=238&option_height=300&option_title_color=%23FFCC00&option_color=%23FF6600&option_border_color=%23E55600&option_searchsource=1&option_linkSocial=1&option_covers=1&option_linkAuthor=1&option_showRel=1&option_amazonAssocCode=&build=%C2%A0%C2%A0Rebuild%20this%20widget%C2%A0%C2%A0&option_searchboxText=Search%20my%20library"></script>

View our catalog online at:

www.librarything.com/catalog/batannex

and our profile at:

www.librarything.com/profile/batannex
be our friend at:
www.myspace.com/batannexfreeschoollibrary

art

belfrycenter — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:57:22 CDT

The Belfry Center has rotating art shows every month. We aim to offer exhibition space to non-traditional artists. Anyone is welcome to submit slides and show ideas, epecially local artists and those who share our ideals of direct democracy and community involvement and have a d.i.y. attitiude (no baditudes please). We would like to create a space that is interesting and exciting and accessible to people who are often intimidated or bored by the art world.

April
Look! Art. Spring Collection 2008- a guest curated show

May
Amanda Peterson

To talk to us about a show or if you want to volunteer, email us at belfrycenter@gmail.com
We are always open to new ideas and new helpers

Friends of the belfry and local resources

belfrycenter — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:51:41 CST

The Alamo House-Mpls Alex Kuno

Amazon Bookstore Collective-Mpls
Founded in 1970, Amazon Bookstore Cooperative, Inc. is the oldest independent feminist bookstore in North America. The store is a worker-owned cooperative offering products and services that foster the strength, wisdom, beauty and diversity of women, girls, and their families.

Anti-Civ Records

Arise! Bookstore- 2441 Lyndale Ave S Mpls
Known as an activist information hub for the Twin Cities for over ten years, the Arise! Collective provides works of resistance by Marx and Engels to Audre Lorde, John Zerzan to bell hooks, Annie Sprinkle to Noam Chomsky. Arise! is open every day, 11 AM to 9 PM.

Art of This- 3506 Nicollet Ave S Mpls
ART OF THIS GALLERY curates socially relevant, new and experimental artworks on an on-going basis. The gallery is also available for forums of artistic community participation and discussion about art’s interaction
with society.

Bedlam Theater- 1501 S 6th St Mpls
Since 1993 Bedlam Theatre has been cranking out the livliest, grittiest, most wildly imaginative theater around. How! Through the blood, sweat and tears of endless numbers of amazing individuals. Whether working together on Bedlam Theatre productions or finding their own voice in the early years through "Snatches".

Castle Greyskull-Mpls

Extreme Noise- 407 West Lake St Mpls
Extreme Noise Records is a punk record co-operative serving the punk scene of Minneapolis and the Upper Midwest. Founded in 1994, Extreme Noise's staff is all-volunteer. All proceeds are re-invested into the store and other punk music projects.

Frostbite Distro-Mpls
A small online distro that distributes awesome and radical independent music and media from the great city of Minneapolis!

FWD-MN: Federation of Workplace Democracies

FWD-MN, pronounced "Forward Minnesota", is a federation of worker cooperatives, volunteer collectives, and democratically run non-profits in Minnesota.

The Grease Pit Bike Shop- 1507 S 6th St Mpls
Since 1998 Bedlam has housed the volunteer run, Do-It-Yourself, bicycle build & repair center. Now the Grease Pit is in the back of the Shop Building with a glorious patio directly accessible to the Bicycle Greenway.

Hard Times Cafe-1821 Riverside Ave, Mpls

House of Balls- 212 3rd Ave N., Mpls

Hub Bike Co-o p- 301 Cedar Ave S., Mpls and 3020 Minnehaha Ave S., Mpls

L'Etoile Magazine-Mpls

Minneapolis Food Not Bombs

Minneapolis Subterrestrial

Minnesota Center for Book Arts-Mpls

Peddling Records-Mpls
A label and distro hand delivering cassette tapes on a bike!

Pi Bar-Mpls
Pi is an awesome social club for queer women and their friends. Pi has hot women, dancing, karaoke, trivia, lots of live entertainment, free pool during Happy Hour from 4-8 PM daily, awesome drink specials, and tasty food

The Pocketknife-Mpls

Profane Existence-Mpls
The Profane Existence Collective was formed in 1989 by a small group of young people with the common goal of contributing to build a stronger and more politically active punk rock movement. As a collective, they are a small group of individuals that have joined together our ideas and abilities to work on numerous projects as part of a single entity, in an overall struggle against tyranny and oppression. Thier politics are anti-state and anti-oppression (anarchist if you prefer) and thier community is from within the DIY ("Do It Yourself") punk rock movement. They publish Profane Existence Magazine.

RNC Welcoming Committee-Mpls
The RNC Welcoming Committee is an anarchist/anti-authoritarian organizing body formed to prepare for the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. The RNC-WC, composed primarily of Twin Cities-based anarchists and anti-authoritarians, will function as an informational clearinghouse and organize a spokescouncil for RNC resistance. They will coordinate logistics (food, housing, transportation), and engage in education and outreach. Meets at the Jackpine.

Seward Cafe-2129 E Franklin Ave, Mpls

Sisters Camelot-3649 Chicago Ave S., Mpls
Sisters' Camelot is a collective working to create sustainability in the Twin Cities. By meeting everyone’s basic human needs (freely, with no strings attached) they move beyond survival and begin to recreate a healthy, glowing community. They drive around in a school bus converted into a vegetarian kitchen handing out free delicious food.

Stevens Square Center for the Arts-1905 3rd Ave S., Mpls
The Stevens Square Center for the Arts (SSCA) is a nonprofit, educational community arts center located in the Stevens Square neighborhood of Minneapolis. They rent artist studios, have art and music shows, host a zine library and the annual Twin Cities Zine Fest, as well as Humid Cities Distrobution. They also organize Red Hot Art.

Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies-Elmer L. Anderson LIbrary, U of MN, 222 21st Ave S., Mpls

Twin Cities Avengers
The Twin Cities Avengers is a direct action group committed to queer women's survival, visibility and community. Thier aim is to dismantle patriarchy and other forms of oppression. In this effort they work to raise awareness within thier group and society about many issues including: gender oppression, heterocentrism, women's choice, capitalism, safer sex, struggles against war, racism, violence, and the environment as they relate to queer women locally and globally.

Twin Cities Eco-Prisoner Support Committee

Twin Cities Indymedia

Twin Cities IWW-Mpls
The Twin Cities General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World includes workers from around the greater Minneapolis/St. Paul area. As workers in different industries, they organize to establish control over acceptable working standards – fair wages and working conditions, job security, dignity, and respect. Their branch is actively building a network of solidarity where members look out for each other no matter what. They meet at the Jackpine.

Twin Cities Trans March
The Trans March is an independent, DIY, community event. They work to: demonstrate that they are a significant and growing portion of the LGBTIQ community, increase visibility and presence both within and outside of this community and build connections among FTM, MTF, crossdressers, transvestites, drag queens, drag kings, transsexuals, travesti, genderqueers, two spirit, intersex, those with other labels for themselves and no labels for themselves, those who see gender as having more than two options, and those who live between the existing options, not to mention a million other objectives.

Two Pines-Mpls

They are a house that has shows in the basement and upstairs. Acoustic and electric.

Quatrefoil Library-St. Paul, MN

A GLBT community lending library

Zombie House-Mpls

projects in other cities

belfrycenter — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:46:58 CST

ABC No Rio-New York

Aboveground Zine Library-New Orleans, LA

AK Press-Oakland, CA

Allston Skirt Gallery-Boston, MA

Atomic Books-Baltimore, MD
An alternative, independent bookstore selling zines, comic books, CDs, DVDs and of course books.

Barnard Zine Library-New York

Beehive Collective-Machias, ME
Mission: To cross-pollinate the grassroots, by creating collaborative, anti-copyright images that can be used as educational and organizing tools. In the process of this effort we seek to take the “who made that!?” and “how much does it cost!?” out of our creative endeavors, by anonomously functioning as word-to-image translators of the information we convey. We build, and disseminate these visual tools with the hope that they will self-replicate, and take on life of their own. They make cool posters, stone mosaics and custom posters.

Bikes Not Bombs-Boston, MA

Black Flag Tavern-Boston, MA
Black Flag Tavern is Boston's premiere anti-establisment drinking establishment. It was started in 2002 by a group of class war anarchists that like to drink... alot. They brew and sell most of their own beer. Being anti-profit, whatever money they make is donated to anarchist projects, political legal defense, and revolutionary groups from around the world. They are an underground alternative for people who are looking for later last calls, no cover charges, halfway decent music, free pool, cheap food and drinks... and, of course, some healthy 'fuck the system' attitude and ambience.

Bluestockings Radical Books-New York

Boxcar Books- Bloomington, IN

Brick House- Louisville, KY

Cape Resistance Collective-Cape Cod, MA

Charm City Art Space-Baltimore, MD

Chicago Underground Library-Chicago, IL

Community Homestead-Osceola, WI
A non-profit rurual community living and working with people with special needs. Established in 1995, they are now a lively group of about thirty-nine people in six households centered around an organic dairy farm and garden. They raise chickens, bake bread, make furniture, create crafts for sale at craft fairs, and through their catalogue, cook, eat, sing, laugh, dance, canoe, and hike.

Crimethinc. Ex-Workers' Collective

Flywheel Arts-Easthampton, MA

In Other Words-Portland, OR

Infoshop

IPRC- Portland, OR
The Independent Publishing Resource Center facilitates creative expression and identity by providing individual access to the resources and tools for the creation of independently published media and art.
Since its inception in 1998 the center has been dedicated to encouraging the growth of a visual and literary publishing community by offering a space to gather and exchange information and ideas, as well as to produce work. The IPRC is an Oregon 501(c)(3) Nonprofit organization.

Iron Rail Books and Aboveground Zine Library-New Orleans, LA

The Lucy Parsons Center-Boston, MA

Mess Hall- Chicago, IL
Mess Hall is an experimental cultural center. It is a place where visual art, radical politics, creative urban planning, applied ecological design and other things intersect and inform each other. We host exhibitions, discussions, film screenings, brunchlucks (brunch + potluck), workshops, concerts, campaigns, meetings (both closed and open) and more.

Microcosm Publishing-Bloomington, IN
Microcosm Publishing is an independent publisher and distributor based in Bloomington, IN and Portland, OR. They distribute & publish zines, books, pamphlets, stickers, buttons, patches, t-shirts, posters, films, and more!

Midwest Zine Collective-Madison, WI

OH+T Gallery-Boston, MA

Papercut Zine Library-Cambridge, MA

People's Free Space-Portland, ME

Portland Zine Symposium-Portland, OR

Radical Reference-Radical Reference is a collective of volunteer library workers who believe in social justice and equality. They support activist communities, progressive organizations, and independent journalists by providing professional research support, education and access to information. They work in a collaborative virtual setting and are dedicated to information activism to foster a more egalitarian society

Red Emmas- Baltimore, MD

Samson Projects-Boston, MA

Slingshot Collective-Berkeley, CA
Slingshot is a quarterly, independent, radical, newspaper published in the East Bay since 1988 by the Slingshot Collective. They also publish the annual Slingshot Organizer radical calendar planner. They are an all volunteer, non-profit, tax exempt project of the Long Haul.

Spontaneous Celebrations-Jamaica Plain, MA

The Recyclery-Chicago, IL

Working Bikes Collective-Chicago, IL

Finances

belfrycenter — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 14:54:33 CST

-You need one person to deal with the finances. You could have one person paying rent, one person paying bills, but you would both have to be on the bank account.

-The easiest way to do the bank account is just to have your personal name on the account. This means that when checks are written out to the space, they have to know to put your name on it and not the spaces’ but if it happens, you can always sign the check over to yourself. There are pros and cons to this method. The cons are that people might be confused or uncomfortable writing a check to a person they don’t know and not the spaces’ name, which would be a lot easier. The pros are that you don’t have to set up a business account that usually costs money, you don’t have to submit your tax ID number to get a DBA (doing business as) account, and there are less rules on a personal account, and you usually get free checks and a free bank card. Banks usually don’t understand how a collective is run anyway, and want some “authority” to write a letter on your behalf saying its ok you open this account.

-Obviously, keep your own money separate from the space’s account.

-Credit unions are really cool. They are not banks. They are not out to make money. They are community based and focused. They’re the closest in ideals to collectively run as you’re going to get with a money institution. If you can’t get into a credit union (but usually there are credit unions anyone in a certain city are eligible to use) try to find a bank that has good ideals. They actually do exist.

-Pay your rent on time. You really don’t want the landlord breathing down your neck. -Set up a Paypal account so members and non-members can pay their dues or a donation.

-Keep track of everything that is paid in a notebook. If you have a dropbox in your space to hold all the money (which is a good idea), don’t post the combination anywhere, empty it often and deposit, and ask people when they are putting money in it to indicate what the money is from. And people will write directly on the money, but you might miss that, so it works to put it in an envelope or wrap a piece of paper around it so you know.

-Pay artists on time. They really need the money.

-If someone has bought art and given someone the money for it, mark on a sheet of paper what piece they bought, if they’ve paid in full or if they owe and how much, the name of the artist and the contact info of the buyer if they still need to pick the art up.

-When giving a finances update, know your balance and how much you’ll need for that month’s rent so you can plan ahead.

-If money is tight, it’s not unusual to ask everyone to pitch in.

past bands at the Belfry

belfrycenter — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:32:12 CST

Angelworm
Angie Oase
Appalacian Terror Unit
Attack Formation
Aya'aa
Best Friends Forever
Bill Tucker
Bla Bla Blacksheep
Bouncer Fighter
Breaksea Caravel
Brian Whitson and the Night Wolves
Brientering the Bratmosphere
Candliers
Chickadee Mountain Martyrs
Chimera
Chokecherry
Cock Pliers
Daisy's Compact Mice
Dark Dark Dark
Dear Stabby
Dingus
Dirtyard
Dizzy Obstetrics
Doc Holliday
Dreamland Faces
Dustin and the Furniture
Enfantes Terribles
Eric Peterson
Falcon Crest
Finally Punk
Friendly Enemies
Fucking Buckaroos
Gay Beast
Gear Grinder
Ghost Family
Gospel Gossip
Hangun Man
Hardcore Crayons
Harlequin
Harsh Reality
Hondo War Machine
Hot Tony
Illusive Little Dippers
Jose Bove
Kinetic Disconnect
Kitten Forever
Lady Franklin
Ladyslipper
Lambs of God
Last Legs
Luc the Drifter
Machination
Marlah
Metallicoix
Mischief Brew
Missle Dick
Nancy Drew Crew
Natalie Joy
Old Man Orville
Painted Saints
Paul Baribeau
Polka Madre y La Comenzon
Poor Boy Willie
Poor Nobodys
Potential Caskets
Pretty Boy Thorson
Rob Noxious
Screamin Cyn Cyn and the Pons
Sin Horses
So So Glos
Spacewolf
Strip Mall Seizures
Styrofoam Duck
Sundowners
The Agenda
The Blackthorns
The Chickadee Mountain Martyrs
The EZ Bleeders
The Floorbirds
The Greazy Chicken Sisters
The Jack Ruby Carosel Minstrels
The Knotwells
The Mill City Mongrels
The Poor Nobodys
The Transformers
The Van Gobots
The Velveteens
The Vignettes
Thunder in the Valley
Toby Foster
Tough Tough Skin
Two Wheels and a Heart
Unicorn Basement
Wartorn
Woodcat
Your Loving Tiger

past artists at the Belfry

belfrycenter — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:53:55 CST

Max Arouse
Emily Larson
Josh Hosterman
Amy Smith
Alex Betzenheimer
Dan and Chiaki
Beehive Collective
Jennifer Barnett-Hensel
joAnn Blohowiak
Jenine
Kristi Ternes

wishlist

belfrycenter — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:11:32 CST

We need your support to stay open!

If you can contribute anything from this list, let us know!

Stop by during open hours any Sunday from 2-8pm or during an event.

Or you can send donation to belfrycenter@gmail.com through Paypal.

The Belfry Wishlist

Members and volunteers- stop by our open hours any Sunday between 2- 8pm or email us to volunteer! Visit our membership page for more info on becoming a member.
Money to help us pay for rent and supplies- we need $700/mo just to stay open, plus utilities and supplies. Any donation amount is appreciated.
Photocopier or free copies somewhere
Books, zines, CDs, Tapes, Records and tools for the library
People who want to book art/music shows or teach classes- email belfrycenter@gmail.com for art shows/classes/other events or music shows.
A computer from this century and a wireless internet connection
A scanner
A projector
Toilet paper/paper towels/cleaning products
A Gocco screenprinter
A letterpress and type
Back issues of Sassy or Dirt magzine
Art supplies

How to do publicity

belfrycenter — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 10:04:25 CST

-The only way people are going to come to your shows and know about your space is if you flyer the hell out of the city. This means you make a really cool looking flyer. I think it helps if you put up only one flyer so people recognize the image, realize it’s everywhere so a lot of people have seen it and it’s going to be big, and so they don’t get confused thinking it’s different events.

-Once you have made the cool flyer, make a million free copies somehow and give piles to your friends and leave a big stack at the space so that people can pick them up to flyer. If you want to be really organized, make a list of all the places where people usually flyer and each take a neighborhood or a few places and cross those off the list so people don’t all waste their time going to the same place.

-Bring the flyers with you at all times. Give them to people when you run into them or if they look cool. You can make different sizes: a full sheet for hanging up and quarter sheets for passing out and leaving places. When you go out flyering, if you remember to bring tape or pins or a stapler it will help you.

-You know you don’t have to just photocopy the flyer. If you want to get really fancy you could screenprint it, make patches out of it, Gocco print it or letterpress it. You could put it on stickers or balloons or toilet paper. Really however much you want to do, and no pressure, but keep in mind that with each flyer you make you are adding to the underground cultural history of your city and scene. Poster art is really happening these days. Live it up.

-It’s really not nice to cover up other people’s flyers on bulletin boards, but if there is a flyer there for something that has already happened, by all means take it down.

-It is also not cool to take someone else’s flyer for something that has not happened yet because: you like the poster and want to keep it, or you don’t like it and want it down, or it is happening the same night as your event and want people to go to your event.

-Myspace. Yes, it is really a great way to get to a lot of people. And sure, post a bulletin, post your scanned-in flyer on your space and other’s comments. But don’t expect the internet to do all the work for you. It’s really in the flyering. It’s an art.

-Press releases. If it’s an art show or something unusual, it can’t hurt to write one if it’s far enough in advance. A press release is really just a few paragraphs describing what is happening, why it’s important and why people would want to go, maybe some background on the show or event, and the essential details: Who, What, Where, When, How Much. You can send these to newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and the regular media. You also want to send your listing to these places’ art editors so it is at the least in their events listing section. There is always a week limit at the least, so if you know your event is happening far enough in advance, this is a good way to get free publicity. If you can make friends with someone at a paper, this will ensure you more blurbs, if that is what you want. If your event is something where you’re breaking the law in some way, be careful about publicity in the mainstream press. You don’t want to draw too much attention to the fact that you don’t have insurance/ sound permit/liquor license, etc

-When making your flyer NEVER write anything about liquor, or BYOB or ANYTHING. You don’t want any trace that there was alcohol at an event that wasn’t a bar. Seriously.

How to deal with each other

belfrycenter — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 09:34:14 CST

-If you plan an event, you’re responsible for being there when people need to set up/hang a show, etc. Please don’t give your keys away to people you barely know and if a key is given away, try to get it back.

-If an event is cancelled or changed, please let people know to the best of your ability. Really try to stick to it, unless unforeseeable events arise.

-It’s nice to come to events even if you didn’t plan them, and show up early to clean up, or stay late to clean up, and work the door or monitor people. You know.

-If you plan an event, the publicity is your responsibility. Although you can leave posters and flyers at the Belfry, no one’s guaranteeing they’ll extensively paper the town. It’s up to you.

-If you set a date for a meeting, please show up or let people know you’ve cancelled.

-Don’t yuck other people’s yums. If that person is totally into a Yanni tribute show, just roll with it. You might be surprised that you learned something about new age music.

-If you plan an event or have an idea to implement, it’s all on you. This means you are probably the most excited about it and can’t expect anyone to do your work for you.

-If you are moving out of your house, please find somewhere else to dump your stuff. The space is not a storage locker.

-In other news, if a whole pile of your personal stuff is there taking up valuable paid-for room, please get it out. Especially if asked repeatedly.

-If you are the email checker, then respond and forward messages if needed. It’s nice to have someone on top of things so it’s getting done.

How to act at a space like the Belfry

belfrycenter — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 09:33:11 CST

-Isn’t it great spaces like this exist? Yah! And they only do because you pay your way at the door. Sure, sometimes you really did forget money before you went out, but I find that hard to believe. If you pretend or don’t want to give money how can spaces exist? You’ll pay a million dollars for your sneakers but are trying to sneak in the back of our space? Not cool.

-Please don’t write graffiti on our building, or our neighbor’s, or on the street or sidewalk. Not trying to squelch your creativity here, but it attracts bad attention to our space and we’re blamed by the neighborhood for attracting “the wrong kind of people”. Go on over to a big box store and beautify that.

-If you are under 21, please don’t drink here. I know it’s tempting since your parents aren’t looking and we’re not really carding, but do you know what could and has happened other places? You’ll get in a car wreck or puke on your friend’s parent’s carpet, they’ll figure out where you were and blame us for supplying you with liquor. And then we’ll get shut down and there will be one less cool place to listen to music. Damn. Do you want that to happen? Think it through. Go elsewhere to do your illegal underage drinking/drug doing.

-Oh yeah! Don’t smoke pot in our space or do coke in the bathroom. Not only do we not want to get busted, but we only have one bathroom and there’s always a line for those who really do need to pee!

-Please clean up after yourself to the best of your ability. There are strategically placed garbage and recycling bins. Get it? If you don’t clean up after yourself, we have to. And we’d rather be dancing.

-Please don’t be loud and disrupt our neighbors. We try to plan events to be done at a semi-reasonable hour, but sometimes we just can’t stop dancing, you know? So please don’t scream a lot outside. ALSO, please do not pee outside. Thanks.

-If you need to smoke, go outside. Did I even need to say that? And put your butts in the asstray.

-Please don’t get drunk at our space and drive home. Not cool.

-If someone tries to talk to you, don’t be too cool for school. We try to be friendly. Have you heard? Being nice is the new punk.

-Please respect our policies. We are not trying to be fun-stoppers or squares. We are just trying to cover our asses.

-If you are racist, sexist, homophobic or anything else close-minded, please stay away.

-If you want to get involved, do it! The more the merrier. Just talk to a member or come to a meeting.

-Close the door behind you. Were you born in a barn?

-Please don’t steal anything from anyone or the space. We worked hard to get our space where it is, please leave it as you found it.

-Feel free to stop by at a work day to beautify the space.

General policies

belfrycenter — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 13:17:44 CDT

-No liquor selling. EVER.

-Pay rent each month-a minimum of $10.

the how-to guide

belfrycenter — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 13:07:09 CDT

A work in progress handbook to not only the Belfry, but collectively run spaces like it.

How to start a library

belfrycenter — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 13:06:33 CDT

-First you need library materials. Otherwise your library is just empty shelves and good ideas. Ask for donations from schools, other libraries of your type (for duplicates), your friends, book stores, etc. You can also look on Myspace for zines and ask for donations. You’d be surprised at how willing people are to donate.

-Get the library’s name on every alternative library list as possible-Zine World, Zine Street, Zine Wiki, Stolen Sharpie Revolution, Zine books, Papercut Zine Library’s resource page, etc.

-Set up an account with LibraryThing. Individuals can catalog up to 200 books for free, then it’s a sliding scale lifetime membership. Link your webpage to your catalog so people can look up books. Add keywords (tags) indicating what the book is about so people can search subject, etc.

-Make a library card checkout system. Can people check things out at all? How long can they have it for? How many can they check out at a time? Hmmm??

-Organize your books/zines by topic, or alphabetically, or chronologically, or by size or color. Really however you want. By subject is the most popular for browsing. DIY, punk, gardening, herbs, the more specific the better.

-Find some shelving on the street or somewhere. Need tings to put your periodicals in? What about cutting the sides off of cereal boxes? Instant periodical holder.

-Visit other libraries to see how they do things. Check out their catalogs online.

-If anyone (authorities) ever come through the door, shred your library patron records. Seriously. Especially if your space is in any way vaguely political. They are using library records against people now.

-You don’t have to keep everything in your library. If someone donates something that you already have two of, or it just doesn’t fit in your collection, don’t feel guilty about passing it on. It’s called weeding and it happens all the time. You need room for only the coolest books and zines.

How to use the library

belfrycenter — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 13:04:33 CDT

The library is organized by topic. The books are labeled according to their subject. After that, I try to keep them in alphabetical order by title, but if it doesn’t happen, the world will go on. The zines are also organized by topic, much broader topics. To issue a library card so someone can check something out:

1. Make a library card for the patron. Put their new library card number on it, which can be found in the binder with library information.

2. Take the person’s name and phone number and email address and make a card in the index for them. It’s organized by first name. This way their contact information is saved in case the books never come back.

3. Write down in the book what they’re taking and who’s taking it. Also write it on their card.

4. Let them know when it is due (3 weeks)

5. When the book/zine is returned, put it back in the section it belongs.

If books are donated, put them in the box near the zines so it can be cataloged, a place found for it, labeled and stamped.

How to host an art show

belfrycenter — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 13:02:52 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

How to host events

belfrycenter — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 13:02:32 CDT

-This would cover anything that’s not an art or music event. Free school classes, carnivals, science fairs, dance parties, clothing swaps, potlucks, bingos, etc. The steps to follow are pretty much the same, but with a little more research and creative flyering. If you’re hosting a knitting circle, maybe you’d want to put flyers up at knitting-specific places.

-If you’re hosting a class, it’s a good idea to ask people to RSVP and put some money down. This locks them into it, you get some cash up front and you know more how many people to expect. There will always be people showing up last minute, but the more people you can get to commit, the better. It’s easy if you set up a Pay pal account so people can easily get money to you.

-For auction and prize events don’t be shy in asking local businesses and museums to donate tickets or gift certificates. Remember to write a thank you and reciprocate that donation if ever asked and let people at the event know who the sponsors of the event are.