This cellar's GONE UNDER

Pool tables, dart boards, a pinball machine, a bar and a stage. All are lying empty and unused. The Christmas lights and neon signs have no one to illuminate with their glow. The posters on the wall remain overlooked. Occasionally packed to its 200-person capacity, the one large room of the Cellar Lounge bar and music venue is empty, closing its doors after three years of providing Bloomington with an atmosphere all its own -- one that was memorable for the people who came in contact with it.\nThe Cellar Lounge held a unique spot in the Bloomington music scene. Unlike other venues, it was a place less occupied by the college set than Kilroy's Sports Bar or the Bluebird Nightclub. It was a place where Bloomington residents could come together with the college crowd and not feel self-conscious about intermingling.\n"What made it special was it was cultivated out of local music people. It was a local venue where bands could play," says previous owner Toby Purnell. "We had all kinds of music there -- anything from punk rock to blues."\nIn the past three years, the Cellar Lounge has had three owners. Purnell and his family bought the Cellar Lounge from its previous owners in 1999 and then sold it to Bart Inlow, who has been the owner from 2000 to the present. Because of financial stresses, Inlow was forced to close in December. \nWith the Cellar Lounge closed, it will be just that much harder for local bands to get a break in Bloomington. The Cellar Lounge had a reputation for booking local acts that covered a broad spectrum of musical genres, not just the standard pop sound. Everything from jazz to bluegrass to blues to country to punk rock made its way to the stage. \n"The people who came didn't want to just hear a cover. They were good about supporting original music there," says senior Alex Shaurette, Tintern Abbey vocalist and lead guitarist.\nDuring its three-year run, the Cellar played host to everything from the garage band next door to the group on a national tour. Muncie resident Mike Schull remembers the venue primarily as for touring bands, with such groups as The Cherry Valence from Raleigh, N.C. and Federation X from Washington. The Black Halos from Vancouver, a band that was on the 2001 Van's Warped Tour, also played at the Cellar Lounge. \n"We had some really good shows there. The Esquires from Nashville used to come up and do three to four day stints at the Cellar Lounge. It would get pretty packed those days," Purnell says.\nOf the bands that played there, many of them acknowledged that there was something different about the place. With more locals than college kids, the audience was already of a different sort than the other venues in town. They also tended to get more involved in the music than the bands were used to.\n"The music was not just a background. The people were getting into the music and not just staring motionless," says senior Dan Sailer, former keyboardist of the now defunct jazz sextet Olé Tu Madre.\nThe low to the ground stage and intimate setting helped bands form a better connection with their audience. The Cellar Lounge audience also seemed to have a different mentality than the audiences at other venues.\n"When you go to Kilroy's Sports it's packed with college kids -- more of a hookup and gathering place. When you go to Bluebird you go to see music, and the stage and lighting are set for that. The Cellar was definitely a 'let's all get together and have a good time' kind of place," says Three Minute Mile bassist junior Justin Leone.\nLeone played at the Cellar Lounge on multiple occasions with Three Minute Mile and Tintern Abbey. One of those shows was a benefit for Sept. 11.\n"They did a lot there with hosting charity events and definitely played a part in philanthropy," Leone says. \nEven though the Cellar Lounge is closed for the time being, there is hope for the future. \n"People are in the works of buying it and are probably going to move it up to the square and turn it into a bar and grill," Purnell says. "It will be a little bit different, but it will have the same person booking shows so the style should stay the same." \nFuture prospects notwithstanding, Bloomington has lost a main venue for local music, one of the few that provided an eclectic lineup of musical acts. But for now, no sounds will be heard and the stage will remain empty, waiting for someone else to take up the task and recreate the music venue that brought the Bloomington community together.