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You don\u2019t have to look to the cities to find those venues and artists either \u2013 they\u2019re in areas both urban and rural, and right here in Connecticut as well \u2013 some advertised and others hidden from plain sight, but there for the audiences who know where to find them.<\/p>\n
And sometimes in those audiences, and other times behind the scenes, you might find Evan Elmore \u201927 (SFA), who grew up in West Hartford and started seeking out those underground venues and those independent artists \u2013 often with a camera in hand \u2013 when he was 18 years old.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout two years ago, I started going to local shows, because some of my friends make music and they perform sometimes,\u201d says Elmore. \u201cThey knew someone who hosts shows, so they get to perform, and I just saw what a cool community the local music scene has.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elmore isn\u2019t a musician, but he is an artist \u2013 his medium is film, with a little photography thrown in as well. Which is why he started going with his musician friends to their shows.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was kind of backstage, since I was photographing and taking video for my friends, but it was super cool to see how it was all run,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was just five bucks to get in, and it was an artist that I didn’t really know, but it was cool to be a part of that and see that, even though it’s on a small scale, kind of in the middle of nowhere, it was still run and still had the same energy as a big concert.\u201d<\/p>\n
That energy has kept Elmore going back to shows in an underground music scene that\u2019s active and alive in Connecticut, he says, at places like Howard\u2019s Bookstore<\/a> in Torrington, which hosts open mics every Wednesday and regularly produces shows with local rappers and hardcore bands.<\/p>\n And at Cheery Street Station<\/a>, a stomping ground for punk and metal bands in Wallingford.<\/p>\n And at The Dog Pound<\/a>, a relatively new and inclusive basement venue in Storrs that hosts local bands of all kinds.<\/p>\n What all three venues and the people who frequent them have in common, Elmore notes, is the same sense of community.<\/p>\n \u201cI think a lot of people would be surprised how supportive and respectful people are at these shows,\u201d he says. \u201cNo matter where you’re coming from, and no matter if it’s bands of different fan bases or genres, everyone’s really supportive. All the bands support each other, and all the crowds are respectful, and everyone just wants to have a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s the scene\u2019s energy and sense of community that Elmore is hoping to capture and share through a documentary project he\u2019s working on this summer, supported by an IDEA Grant from the UConn Office of Undergraduate Research<\/a>.<\/p>\n The IDEA Grant program awards funding up to $6,000 per undergraduate student to support student-designed and student-led projects, including creative endeavors, community service initiatives, entrepreneurial ventures, and research projects and other original and innovative projects. The program is available to undergraduate students of all majors at all UConn campuses.<\/p>\n Elmore learned about the opportunity for IDEA Grant funding for an original project through the UConn Student Daily Digest as a first-year student, and decided to apply during his sophomore year.<\/p>\n \u201cI was like, I should take this opportunity and make a documentary, because that’s been done a lot of time before that with the IDEA Grant, and I enjoy documentaries, and I think they’re very doable by yourself,\u201d says Elmore, who watches a lot of documentaries himself. \u201cAnd also, just on a small scale, even with not a lot of gear or experience, you can really make something that’s impactful.\u201d<\/p>\n And impact is what he\u2019s going for, as he\u2019s spent the first part of the summer filming at the those three venues in order to share the essence of the local music community; the feel of the venues; the histories they hold within their walls; and the stories of some of the rappers, solo artists, and indie bands who play there.<\/p>\n For Elmore \u2013 who started making YouTube videos when he was 15, which sparked his interest in pursuing film \u2013 this IDEA Grant documentary project is a step toward his ultimate goal, which is to start his own business that would partner with music artists and work alongside them to produce visual content.<\/p>\n \u201cAll types of visual content, like graphics, photos \u2013 to go on tour with artists and take photos and videos for them,\u201d he says. \u201cBeing part of any sort of process of artistic process with music would be super cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
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