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When Conor O’Brien is asked what his favorite local concert was, he can’t simply pick just one.
The first on his list was one of his first shows ever at 14-years-old – Captain, We’re Sinking and The Menzingers at the now-defunct Cafe Metro in Wilkes-Barre. He had never been in a mosh pit before, and while the raw energy of the performance was not the catalyst for him opening The Vintage Theater, 119 Penn Ave., Scranton, it certainly sparked his interest.
He goes on to talk about a show at Test Pattern, also long gone, where he worked a merchandise table, A Social State CD release show at his own venue, and an intimate, unplugged performance by River City Extension in that same spot. Without bragging, he hopes that his theater has had its own “substantial impact” on the local music scene. It clearly has made an impact on him.
“What I’m noticing more so, and what is a good thing honestly, is that there seems to be a larger focus on original music again in this region in the past year or so. I’ve seen a lot of focus on that, and I don’t think we were the ones to necessarily create that spark, but I do feel we’ve had a big part in keeping it going and showing that you can be sustainable,” O’Brien explained.
“The biggest challenge has been keeping that balance between friendly, approachable venue and still maintaining a professional level organization. It’s great to be approachable, but if nothing ever gets done, there’s nothing that can ever be produced. But if you’re too formal, you might restrict yourself to more up and coming artists and things that are a little bit more experimental, so we try to walk that very fine rope between the two.”
The now 20-year-old performing arts director co-founded The Vintage just three years ago, and since then has been the host of over 1,000 different artists in 100s of different bands, with at least two of those bands scoring write-ups in Rolling Stone magazine; some acts have since become nationally or even internationally renowned.
“Honestly, we’re just capitalizing on how great a location Scranton really is and can be, in such close proximity to New York and Philly, and it’s not that far from D.C. and it’s not that far from Chicago,” he pointed out. “And also, we do have a very cultivated music scene, I feel. We’ve just simply piggybacked on a really incredible scene, and if we’ve been able to be a part of that, I’m proud to say, ‘Yay!’ but that’s more for others to say.”
The genres have ranged from rap to hip-hop to indie rock to hardcore to jazz to reggae to blues to punk to ska. O’Brien calls the local music scene “eclectic,” a word he also uses to describe the space itself, which blends an art gallery with a performance space and a café.
This diversity led to an exhibit last year called Rhythm of the Region, whose goal was to show how the visual arts are fueled by the performing arts through photography and graphic work; a sequel, Rhythm of the Region II, will open this First Friday, May 4, starting at 6 p.m. This year will also feature photography by Tom Bonomo, but a heavier focus will be placed on original visual art, which will include illustrations by Ted Michalowski and Gerry Stankiewicz. Smeltzer and Smith will, appropriately, provide musical accompaniment while Michalowski hosts a live drawing session during the opening, further solidifying the notion that art and music are synergetic.
“Also, a big heavy focus this year is venue-specific photography and memorabilia, so we have a small collection of stuff from the now resting-in-peace Test Pattern and Cafe Metropolis and others. I’m actually trying to collect memorabilia from places such as Cafe Del Sol and The Dome and The Staircase,” O’Brien added.
“That’s only within the past decade or two. If you wanted to really do a heavy, heavy historical documentation of Scranton’s music history, you’d have to go back to the 1880s, to the vaudeville era…We’re giving respect to the people who created these venues and supported these venues. Without them, there would be no niche for us to fill,” he continued.
“I feel that if you don’t preserve that, like anything in history, if you don’t learn from it, we’re never going to repeat the amazing things that they did and maybe we can learn a little and try to succeed where they might not have. Not that they failed, by any means, but just be able to preserve ourselves a little longer.”
O’Brien facilitated Rhythm of the Region with Visual Arts Director Theresa O’Connor, who is also the exhibit’s curator, and submissions were open to the public. One aspect he is particularly excited to unveil is the wall of t-shirts from local bands.
“That’s art. That’s a form of artwork, and it doesn’t have to be anything too complicated, but collectively, we just want to show through the power of numbers that for every shirt, that’s an average of four or five people and their passion and their music. The shirt is just a piece of merchandise, but it’s what stands behind it,” O’Brien emphasized.
He relates to the bands not just as a fan, but as a venue owner, as he feels that both are facing similar issues to stay alive in today’s economy.
“If one fails, we all fail. I don’t mean that just between venues and bands, I mean that between bands and bands, venues and venues,” he clarified. “Either A, people treat it too much like a business, or B, they treat it not enough. Once again, it’s a difficult balance.”
But he stresses that it’s just as important for music lovers to support both as well.
“Go to shows!” O’Brien exclaimed. “Go to shows that you don’t know! Don’t just go to your friends’ bands…It’s no more usually than five to seven dollars. You waste that on Starbucks…If you find a band you like, support them. Be a fan.”
Because if they don’t, The Vintage Theater and the bands it supports may end up as just another part of Scranton’s musical history sooner rather than later.
“We want to make sure that (closed venues) don’t fade from the spotlight and people remember why they were there and the role that they filled,” he said. “Maybe it’s wishful thinking that someday someone will do that for us.”