Ten minutes before the Collective opened its doors for the first show. Photo courtesy of the venue.

Name: The Dayton Dirt Collective
Founded: May 2008
Location: 144 East Third Street, Dayton, Ohio 45402
Booking: www.daytondirtcollective.org
Q&A With: Founder/treasurer Nick Anderson and public relations specialist Ambir Turnpin

What type of bands do you book?
We book lots of different genres of DIY music — mostly punk rock, but we also have experimental jazz, post-rock, noise, alt. country, and acoustic — pretty much anything that sounds good.

Why did you want to open a DIY venue?
The limitations you have with booking in bars is frustrating. I don't care how much beer I can help sell; I care about the music.

Is your venue grounded on any ideals?
We started this because around Dayton there isn't anywhere for touring bands or for anyone under 21 who wants to go to a show. We want to contribute to touring bands, inspire our community and create a place where the youth is welcome.

What kind of crowd do you attract?
We thought that opening the space would have tons of 15- to 18-year-olds dying to get in and see bands. We do get some, but ironically, it is mostly people old enough to go to bars.

How has the venue been an attribute to a community?
We have had some benefit shows and were able to give some money to events such as a local Ladyfest and we [held an event] for a friend who was hit by a police truck while riding his bike. Also food drives — we work with juvenile probation officers and let the kids work in the space. And every time we are open, it gives someone an alternative to sitting around taking bong hits and playing video games.

Have you been met with any challenges running a DIY venue?
Attendance is hands down the biggest problem. As technology keeps going, it seems the desire to see actual live music or talk face to face with real live people is fading away.

Are there any significant musical acts or artists that have drawn a crowd or have had a significant performance?
Defiance, Ohio drew the biggest crowd of any touring band we have had so far. Lemuria is the first touring band to play the space twice. CJ Boyd Sexxxtet was the first and only band to play completely naked. Brody's Militia came and bled all over the floor. I thought it was amazing when we had overseas bands come to town. In our six months of being open, we've had bands from Sweden, Germany and the UK.

What advice could you give those who are interested in opening their own venue?
We decided early on that we were going to go completely legit. We didn't want to put all kinds of work into raising money to get a space to get it shut down in two months. Once you get organized, go to the city and tell them what you are doing.

Be upfront with everyone: landlords, police, neighbors. You'd be surprised how supportive people can be. Always use the words "art space." "Music venue" scares the shit out of people. But let them know there is going to be music.

Try not to get frustrated when people don't come. Set low expectations. Be happy if 20 people come. Don't take donations at the door for entry! People will not pay if they know they can get out of it. I know — it's not punk, right? Well, get rid of that attitude right now. Being "punk" isn't going to pay the rent. Then your space will close down and you'll be back to sitting on your porch complaining and drinking shitty malt liquor.

What events do you have coming up?
We have great touring bands coming: La Armada, Off With Their Heads, Bomb the Music Industry, Runnamucks, Finisher, Lord Mantis, Foul Stench, Brother Von Doom, Half Gorilla, Daisycutter, Landlord, plus more.

The Dayton Dirt Collective: www.daytondirtcollective.org and www.myspace.com/daytondirtcollective

ALARM’s ongoing series exploring the best grassroots, non-traditional music venues

Defiance, Ohio engages with the audience. Photo by: Ben Grad

Name: WonderRoot Community Arts Center
Year Founded: 2004
Location: 982 Memorial Dr. Atlanta, GA 30316
Booking contact: Booking@wonderroot.org
Q&A With: Witt Wisebram, co-executive director / co-founder

What type of bands do you book?
We try to keep the programming at WonderRoot as diverse as possible. We have had everything from Hip-Hop to metal to dance performances. We are always open to any ideas on how our performance space can be used.

Why did you want to open a DIY venue?
We wanted to incorporate a performance space into our community arts center, because we felt that it was important for Atlanta to have a place that bands just starting out and touring bands that don't have much of a draw in Atlanta would feel comfortable performing at. Our venue has the same feeling of a house show but we try to provide decent gear that would be expected at more of a traditional venue.

Is your venue grounded on any ideals?
We really believe that all types of artists have the ability to change the world. It is important to offer a space that allows all artists to have their voices heard, not just the ones that are good at "music business." We also believe that it is important to give the community access to new and exciting art and music, and that is why we keep shows to $5 and under (with a policy of never turning anyone away) and are one of the only all-ages venues left in Atlanta.

How has the venue been an attribute to a community?
Besides from just being a music venue, we provide the community with all sorts of art production resources such as a recording studio, a dark room, a computer lab, an art gallery, a ceramics studio, and classroom space. We believe that it is important to offer the tools and the space for people in our community to express themselves creatively.

Aside from live music, do you host any other events or programs in your space?
During the day we have workshops open to the community on all sorts of art production. We also let community groups use our space for meetings. We have had a lot of different types of events in our venue space besides music, such as dance performances, collaborative art nights, author readings and movie screenings.

Are there any significant musical acts or artists that have drawn a crowd or have had a significant performance?
The biggest turnouts that we have had have been for Defiance, Ohio, Jeffrey Lewis and the Jackals, Nana Grizol, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Hope for a Golden Summer, Best Friends Forever, and The Terrordactyls.

What advice could you give those who are interested in opening their own venue?
I would say to go for it… it has been the most challenging and rewarding experience of my life. It is important to find a good balance between planning and accepting the unexpected. It is good to have a solid foundation, but really it is important to follow your heart and instincts as well.

What events do you have coming up?
We have some really cool events coming up. We have the Gadabout Traveling Film Festival with great DIY films and art by the Just Seeds CO-OP and music by Halo Fauna. We have some really great art shows coming up including one curated by an amazing local artist Mike Germon on behalf of the local Thoughtmarker Blog.

WonderRoot: www.wonderroot.org
www.myspace.com/wonderroot