Greenville Scene

By: Ellen Kelly
and Michelle Hannon

You don’t have to look hard to find folk, acoustic, bluegrass, or jazz music in Greenville, but you may be hard-pressed to find an indie rock show. Most places in town offering live rock are likely to be oriented around a bar and feature local metal, nu-metal, jam bands or cover bands. The Handlebar on Stone Avenue is our main source for indie shows.

The Handlebar books a hodge-podge of rock, blues, bluegrass, folk, jazz, world beat, hip-hop, and metal acts. Included in that mix are indie rock shows. These shows typically sell out and have featured bands such as The Ravonettes, Eisley, and Of Montreal. Still, the Handlebar is not an indie rock club. Greenville has no consistent place to offer touring indie rock bands an outlet. Surrounding cities like Athens, Atlanta, Asheville, Charlotte, and Columbia all have such venues, and quite frankly, we’re jealous. Why should Greenville not have its own indie rock club?

GreenvilleScene’s Ellen Kelly spoke with Neal Nelson about his attempt to open an indie rock club in Greenville recently. Neal worked at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA for two years. He currently owns a bar called The Max Canada in Athens.

GS: Why do you think Greenville is a good spot for an indie venue?

NN: I think it’s a good spot geographically. It’s a great place for a band to play in between Charlotte and Atlanta/Athens. I think the 18-28ish crowd is thirsty for live music. The town is just so ripe.

GS: You were planning to open a venue here. What was the process like?

NN: I went around with realty companies and looked at properties in the downtown area. I saw some really cool spots, but rent was high. I met some really awesome people at the downtown Earshot, and through MySpace that were nice enough to show me around also. I tried to contact the owner of the Bait Shack. That was the property I was most interested in purchasing. But my phone calls weren’t returned. You’ll see below, that it wouldn’t have worked out anyway.

GS: Why didn’t it happen?

NN:The rent is too high. It’s hard to imagine making ends meet unless you are a franchise or corporate blah blah blah in downtown Greenville. Also, there is the crazy “dance floor” law. I think it says something to the effect of; you can’t have a certain amount of space without tables and chairs on it. And it’s a tiny amount of space too. So that was a red flag for anybody trying to start a venue. It’s like they were saying, “You’re not welcome here”. Know what I mean? Downtown planning boards are gearing it towards families and baby strollers and fine cuisine. Rock and Roll doesn’t really fit into their plan. I’m pretty sure I would have never been given a liquor license. Listen up kids! Your favorite places to hang out are not going to be in downtown for much longer. They’re going to be pushed out slowly but surely. Just watch. Also there aren’t enough kids to support the size venue I had in mind. Don’t get me wrong; the kids that are there want it really badly. There just aren’t enough of them.

GS: What do you think would need to happen in order to have a good venue in Greenville?

NN:The Handlebar needs to be re-zoned commercial instead of residential. Did you know that The Handlebar can get a noise violation? As if they were some keg party at your friend’s house or something. I think that’s ridiculous. That leads to lots of problems for the bands and the club. Like, “Could you um, please turn it down and, don’t leave the back door open”.

GS: What do you think about trying again to start up a new venue here?

NN:My solution is house parties. Some hyper-ambitious individual needs to turn his/her house into the most kicking place to see shows. With the right contacts that person can have really great bands, trust me. Bands love to play house parties. I’m pretty sure that one day there will be a pollstar.com rip off that is only devoted to house parties. That’s what I want to see happen in Greenville. You can keep the bands and people coming just by using MySpace. I swear!!!