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St. Cloud State University
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Rox offers new option for minors
By John Behling
Published:
Thursday, November 7, 2002
For those who think that there is nothing for a minor to do in downtown St. Cloud, there is now another option.
Although it hasn’t been widely known until now, since early September The Rox has been putting on live bands to an 18+ crowd on Sunday nights. Previously, bands such as Nuke, Alchemedic Blue and Ferd Mert have graced their stage, and coming up this Sunday, Truth Alex and Monday Dead will play.
“We want to create another venue for the subculture,” says Roman Snider, who organizes the shows and books bands.
He and Rox manager Shawn Workman decided to put on 18+ shows to give bands a place to play and the younger crowd a place to see bands play. According to Roman, other bars aren’t interested in putting on 18+ shows because they don’t bring in enough money. Without the revenue generated by selling alcohol, the shows’ only source of income comes from the cover charge, which requires the bands to pull in a substantial number of concert goers.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. Tim Andrews, member of the band Alchemedic Blue, who also does all the booking for his band and several others, comments that even in a larger population area like the Twin Cities, it’s tough to find venues that put on 18+ shows.
“Most places just don’t want to take a chance on it, and those that do seem to not last for very long,” Andrews said.
But to the few places that take a chance on 18+ shows, what does the younger crowd bring to live shows that bar crowds do not? “I think kids that come to these kinds of shows are more willing to take a chance on a different kind of music. Some older audiences have already found their genre of music and aren’t as open. I also think younger audiences are more willing to support bands by purchasing their CDs and heading out to more shows.” Andrews said.
Joe Laudenbach, drummer from the St. Cloud-based band Truth Alex echoes this sentiment.
“You’re able to bring your friends. And kids are more open,” he said.
Laudenbach also said that there are plenty of local bands that could fill up slots if other venues would be willing to take a chance on original music.
With bands such as Clair De Lune, Monday Dead and Ferd Mert being drawn to St. Cloud, it may be that the city is fostering a more active musical scene. According to Andrews, this is happening due to the migration of out- of-state acts to the Twin Cities, which claim a lot of venues from local bands.
This is forcing bands to consider branching out to places like St. Cloud in order to find shows. As this trend progresses, hopefully more venues will be persuaded to take a chance on giving minors in St. Cloud something to do.
