Musician Chad Perrone from Haverhill. Photo by Donna Starr
The Sad Café in Plaistow, New Hampshire looks much like any other rock club on the inside. The lights are dimmed, and the plush couches around the perimeter give you the feeling that you are in the living room of a good friend. The air not only smells like popcorn, but hums with the anticipatory excitement of a crowd waiting for a good show.
This is where the comparisons to a typical rock club end. At The Sad Café there is no alcohol, no smoking, and no drugs allowed. There are no age restrictions or bouncers. Well, there are bouncers—but their names are Linda Ard and Donna Starr, and they’re the “two moms” that run this non-profit, family-friendly club.
“It’s not unusual to see an 80 year old grandmother clapping and yelling,” says Linda of the loyal patrons that support the club. “They come to see their grandchildren play.”
Since 1997, The Sad Café has given burgeoning musicians a place to play in front of a live audience and allowed local youth to experience the euphoria of all types of music in a clean, safe place. The name of the club comes from an Eagles song about friends gathering inside The Sad Café. The teenagers that spend time here feel an ownership to this unique place that allows them to express themselves and trusts them to be substance free. “I think that a lot of kids have changed because they’ve passed through these doors,” says Donna.
Rock Band Jekus Crobe from Methuen
The club has made a name for itself through word-of-mouth and their very popular MySpace.com site, where visitors can sample the bands’ music firsthand. With a sharp website, a professional mixing board, strong acoustics, and even a rehearsal room, The Sad Café has gained a reputation as a first rate venue for great music. The club not only books bands from surrounding communities, but pulls in acts from all over the country, seven nights a week; they host over 400 bands and performers a year.
Asad Rahmn’s band, Fly Upright Kite, has played the club three times—most recently when Linda asked them to play for her birthday. The Sad Café is one of the Berkley student’s favorite venues. “Really cool bands come here to try out new material. The sound system is great and the people that work here are really nice. Other clubs always kick you out. And a lot of venues that are all-ages are getting closed down because the kids get rough. Here Linda and Donna make sure that there’s no moshing, no swearing. And [the Café] gives the bands that play here a free recording of their performance. Few venues give you this amount of respect,” says Asad, as a friend brings him mozzarella sticks, and Donna spots him and runs over to deliver a hug.
Asad, a regular at the club, is back on this particular night to support a completely different series of shows: “Broadway at the Café.” Budding young actors, musicians, and directors from five to nineteen years old belt out show tunes and shimmy across the stage, all smiles. (Some of the older girls in the production wrote up a grant, still pending, to fund the show.) You can see how much being a part of this place means to them and their families.
The Café also offers programs during the academic year. An after-school program called “Making a Band” is available for those students from the Sanborn and Timberlane communities who would like a little more “rock” instruction than they can get from their school bands. The Sad Café picks them up from school and brings them here in a bus.
The Sad Café’s production of Annie. From left to right: Samantha Carrigan, Emily Baker, Emily Stikeman, Haley Hart, Becky Gregg, Sophia Carver; crossing in front is Molly Hadyen. Photo by Donna Starr
“Our main goal here is to provide a place for kids to come,” says Linda, speaking about the need for a venue like this. “There are very few places in New England that are all-ages and don’t have alcohol.”
However, their dedication to being alcohol-free also means that the club struggles financially; they scrape by on private donations and grants. “We barely keep the doors open,” says Linda.
As if on cue, little orphans from the Annie cast weave through the crowd selling raffle tickets. They are smiling from ear to ear, no doubt still elated from being on stage, and excited to be a part of such a special place.
The Sad Café is located at 148 Plaistow Road/Rte. 125 in Plaistow, NH. (603) 382-8893. Check on their website: www.thesadcafe.com for show listings.
Spotlight on the Arts – Rock for Youth: The Sad Café
Musician Chad Perrone from Haverhill. Photo by Donna Starr
The Sad Café in Plaistow, New Hampshire looks much like any other rock club on the inside. The lights are dimmed, and the plush couches around the perimeter give you the feeling that you are in the living room of a good friend. The air not only smells like popcorn, but hums with the anticipatory excitement of a crowd waiting for a good show.
This is where the comparisons to a typical rock club end. At The Sad Café there is no alcohol, no smoking, and no drugs allowed. There are no age restrictions or bouncers. Well, there are bouncers—but their names are Linda Ard and Donna Starr, and they’re the “two moms” that run this non-profit, family-friendly club.
“It’s not unusual to see an 80 year old grandmother clapping and yelling,” says Linda of the loyal patrons that support the club. “They come to see their grandchildren play.”
Since 1997, The Sad Café has given burgeoning musicians a place to play in front of a live audience and allowed local youth to experience the euphoria of all types of music in a clean, safe place. The name of the club comes from an Eagles song about friends gathering inside The Sad Café. The teenagers that spend time here feel an ownership to this unique place that allows them to express themselves and trusts them to be substance free. “I think that a lot of kids have changed because they’ve passed through these doors,” says Donna.
Rock Band Jekus Crobe from Methuen
The club has made a name for itself through word-of-mouth and their very popular MySpace.com site, where visitors can sample the bands’ music firsthand. With a sharp website, a professional mixing board, strong acoustics, and even a rehearsal room, The Sad Café has gained a reputation as a first rate venue for great music. The club not only books bands from surrounding communities, but pulls in acts from all over the country, seven nights a week; they host over 400 bands and performers a year.
Asad Rahmn’s band, Fly Upright Kite, has played the club three times—most recently when Linda asked them to play for her birthday. The Sad Café is one of the Berkley student’s favorite venues. “Really cool bands come here to try out new material. The sound system is great and the people that work here are really nice. Other clubs always kick you out. And a lot of venues that are all-ages are getting closed down because the kids get rough. Here Linda and Donna make sure that there’s no moshing, no swearing. And [the Café] gives the bands that play here a free recording of their performance. Few venues give you this amount of respect,” says Asad, as a friend brings him mozzarella sticks, and Donna spots him and runs over to deliver a hug.
Asad, a regular at the club, is back on this particular night to support a completely different series of shows: “Broadway at the Café.” Budding young actors, musicians, and directors from five to nineteen years old belt out show tunes and shimmy across the stage, all smiles. (Some of the older girls in the production wrote up a grant, still pending, to fund the show.) You can see how much being a part of this place means to them and their families.
The Café also offers programs during the academic year. An after-school program called “Making a Band” is available for those students from the Sanborn and Timberlane communities who would like a little more “rock” instruction than they can get from their school bands. The Sad Café picks them up from school and brings them here in a bus.
The Sad Café’s production of Annie. From left to right: Samantha Carrigan, Emily Baker, Emily Stikeman, Haley Hart, Becky Gregg, Sophia Carver; crossing in front is Molly Hadyen. Photo by Donna Starr
“Our main goal here is to provide a place for kids to come,” says Linda, speaking about the need for a venue like this. “There are very few places in New England that are all-ages and don’t have alcohol.”
However, their dedication to being alcohol-free also means that the club struggles financially; they scrape by on private donations and grants. “We barely keep the doors open,” says Linda.
As if on cue, little orphans from the Annie cast weave through the crowd selling raffle tickets. They are smiling from ear to ear, no doubt still elated from being on stage, and excited to be a part of such a special place.
The Sad Café is located at 148 Plaistow Road/Rte. 125 in Plaistow, NH. (603) 382-8893. Check on their website: www.thesadcafe.com for show listings.