CLEARFIELD – Once upon a time, there was a special place in Philipsburg, where talented musicians played original music in a comfortable nightclub setting. It was called the LaunchPad.
“The quality of music there was higher than average,” LaunchPad creator, Shawn Inlow said of his unique venue.
The bands who played there wanted to come back and although it drew crowds from all over Central PA, it was not a profitable venture for Inlow. When the lease at his North Second Street location ended, the LaunchPad closed about a year ago.
But the dream is still alive. Soon the LaunchPad will be returning, this time at Ethan’s Café in Clearfield.
Inlow is calling this version the LaunchPad Lounge refueled by Ethan’s Café.
His unique idea developed because no one wanted to hire his group, Stoneman, that performed original music.
“People didn’t believe that we could do quality music,” he said.
Inlow has been in bands since the MTV years, but “I was not doing anyone a service by singing Bon Jovi. My voice is my voice and my songs my poetry.”
It took two years to fill out his band with musicians who wanted to do original songs.
Stoneman gets $500 for a gig but the other members of the band can actually make more money performing separately.
“We are making less doing our creative thing. It is not about profit,” he noted.
Musicians who played at the LaunchPad appreciated the attention to detail with special lighting and a top sound system, which aren’t available at your local bar. It had couches and comfy chairs raising the level of comfort for the audience to homelike.
“It felt like a Brooklyn loft: a real ‘speak easy’ feel.”
By following his own dream, Inlow proved a point that if you play quality original music, crowds will follow.
“I gave creative musicians a chance to play original music in front of a crowd that appreciates it,” he said. “People were heartbroken when we closed. A lot of people loved it.”
The owner of Ethan’s Café, Josh Diehl, was a big fan of the LaunchPad. So, after it closed, Inlow called Josh up.
“Ethan’s allowed us to come here and do what we want. This is a risk for him. He told me at the old place, ‘We need this crowd in my place.’”
This new venue required a new approach.
“This is its own thing” with the café being transformed with a little bit of light and music.
They did a test show in December with Stoneman and “We were rockin’ the place,” Inlow boasted.
The performance included food service provided by the cafe. No alcohol was served, although attendees were allowed to bring their own beverage, which was kept cold for them as was the custom at the original LaunchPad.
After the test performance, they listened to the opinions of the audience on the quality of the sound, if it was comfortable for them and if the food/service was good.
Because everyone stayed in the front of the café and no one went into the back room during that show, they decided to make it more inviting.
Inlow and his partner/designer, Jeannine Wonderling, got busy redecorating it into a “LaunchPadish”, more comfortable space.
“I don’t do art for money. We don’t want to do something average. We want to do something great.’
Inlow’s proposed line-up for the new venue includes groups he has hired before-artists who wanted to be in “that room”.
Most of the bands he booked were performing original music or things you don’t normally hear. For example, Mr. Pocket, an eclectic band with original material.
“That’s what I want.”
The next expansion is into a lounge area upstairs where they may do Avant Garde theatre, which was also done at the original LaunchPad.
Inlow, who has been involved with the Clearfield Arts Studio Theatre for decades, drew a parallel with his latest venture.
“Every place has talent, you just have to convince them to be creative,” he said. “CAST creates artists. We want the same thing here.”
Currently the schedule for the venue is the “house band” StoneMan on May 4, followed by The Tussey Mountain Moonshiners (bluegrass band) on June 1, Mr. Pocket (an Americana style rock band) on July 6, The Jaded Lips (an Altoona power trio) on Aug. 3 and Ish (a Phish cover band from Scranton) on Sept. 7.
Tickets are available at cultureandcriticism.com or at the door.
Check out the LaunchPad.Press Facebook page for updated show dates.
