Not just a dream: New substance-free music venue provides safe place to grow

Not just a dream

New substance-free music venue provides safe place to grow

By JACOB MANN

Frontiersman.com

WASILLA — Nestled in downtown Wasilla, near Nunley Park is the Gathering Grounds Café and MyHouse, home to the new under-21, substance-free open mic venue called The Spot. This last Friday night was the second event of the series, with many more on the horizon. A handful of young adults showed up to play on The Spot stage for the first time.

“It was an amazing experience. I wish I knew about this place sooner,” said high school junior, Bekah Jensen.

Just a few years apart, some in high school and some fresh out, the budding musicians brought a diversity of experience and style to the stage, met with encouragement and mentorship by The Spot staff. Complementing the goals of MyHouse, the Mat-Su Valley’s homeless youth center, the Spot aims to be the first of its kind: the first substance-free music venue for the young, emerging community of young musicians in the area. At the event was Michelle Overstreet, Founder and Executive Director of MyHouse. She was very thrilled with the growing movement.

“This is great. It’s a good, clean and sober place for these kids to play,” Overstreet said.

According to The Spot founder, Michael Consalo, the turnout tripled from the first night. He has high hopes for his labor of love. He and his musical driven collaborators, Jerry Wessling, Rich Byers, and Dylan Winn have known each other for years. Consalo and Wessling are always jamming together in the “Jerry Wessling Band.” Accustomed to playing covers and making it up as they go, Consalo, Byers and Wessling kept the rhythm going throughout the night. Between playing their own sets, collaborating with the new faces or on the sidelines, they ceaselessly bantered playfully and threw waves of encouraging energy to each performer. They played hits like Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man,” Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused” and “Stairway to Heaven.”

“It’s truly an honor to play with you guys,” Consalo said.

Byers has been playing music for over 35 years. He wishes there was a place like this when he was growing up. For each event, MyHouse provided a counselor trained to identify anyone under the influence. Byers said that they are there to help anyone who appears intoxicated, offering a listening ear and conversation. Drug and alcohol use are not permitted on the property. The counselor’s presence is designed to discourage use on site and to be a source of support for anyone who wants to reach out and talk.

“It’s place you can drop your kids off without having to worry about it,” Byers said.

Winn recently picked guitar back up, coming back to life after years recovering from a debilitating nerve disease that left him bedbound. He’s healed up and back to moving around. He has a labor-intensive job and revitalized passion for music and mentoring younger generations with like-minded collaborators. As a part of the long term goals of The Spot, Winn and the Spot staff plan to start leading music workshops with varying lessons and styles. Winn said “there really isn’t much” for the youth trying to break into the Valley’s music scene. He is elated to have this venue available for kids to come play and gain mentorship without having to go to bars or be surrounded by drug use or violence. He called the Spot a “safe environment to learn and have fun.”

“If this was here when I was in high school, I would be here every day,” Winn said.

Budding musician Chris Loraine, 20, brought his guitar to The Spot to play with close, old friends like Consalo and to hone his craft while playing with people he’s never met. He considered his experience a success since all of that happened Friday night. Consalo said that for aspiring musicians, the challenge of an open mic and jumping into songs with people you’ve never played with before is “difficult but great for growth.”

After playing in the Valley for 6 years, this is the first time he’s seen anything like this and he’s excited about the possibilities in its wake. He said that music is everything to him and he knows the power it has to bring people together and the power it has to nurture creative souls. He also noted that nearly everyone, including non-musicians reap some benefit from music and the arts time to time.

“The arts and music are what we live for,” Loraine said.

Phillip (Phil) and Robert (Rob) Hovermale are twins and recently graduated from Wasilla High School. They love metal music and love to play it even more. Phil plays the electric guitar while Rob plays the drums. They didn’t play at the first night but said they would come back. They returned to break into their very first public performance, calling their band “Reason to Continue.” Phil opened with a long guitar solo. Consalo turned into a one man mosh pit, head banging , whooping and hollering with cheer. Phil and Rob played with Consalo, Wessling and Byers.

“That is the first time I’ve seen Jerry play metal,” Wessling said.

The makeshift band fell into synchronization just like how Loraine did with them earlier. Consalo made up songs as they went, like “Where’s My Shorts?” He screamed, mimicking the styles of the thrasher bands that inspired the Hovermale brothers. He did this with his signature band banter.

“Who took my shorts? Who took my shorts? We all know it was Jerry!” Consalo sang and the audience laughed.

Bekah Jensen and her friend, Gabby Paslay are both 17-year-old high school juniors. They sat in the audience all night, listening and clapping to all the acts. Right before the night was over, they each worked up the nerve to get on stage and sing. For each act, they were joined by Wessling and Loraine, backing the girls up with guitar and some vocals. Jensen said that spontaneously making music with encouraging new friends pulled her out of her comfort zone. She said they will definitely come back and bring another one of her friends because this is “right up her alley.” Phil said that this venue was a great place for the younger generations to get encouragement from their peers. He and Rob agreed they will return. They were met with a lot of encouragement and were further set in their dreams to make music their career one day.

“This place shows the younger audience that it’s possible. It’s not just a dream,” Phil said.

The Spot will return on March second and on the first Friday of each month at 6 p.m. at the Gathering Grounds Café.