Meag Kennedy, a senior art major at the University of Massachusetts, could be found at Flywheel, a music venue located in Easthampton, Mass., most any Friday or Saturday night when she was in high school.

A native of Agawam, Kennedy went to the Flywheel’s dirt cheap punk shows as often as she could. In spring 2007, Flywheel closed its doors to move to a bigger location much closer to downtown, but has not yet been able to reopen.

Flywheel came to be after Cindy Bow and Helen Harrison’s grassroots artistic collective, Valley Arts and Music Alliance (VAMA), was founded in 1998. The organization was founded on the purpose of valuing creativity over profit. The members helped one another to arrange free or low-cost, all-ages shows. VAMA held shows in VFW halls, churches and other spaces until a friend found a permanent place for them in a vacant cabinet store in December 1998. Flywheel was born in this location as more members joined the collective.

Flywheel officially opened in 1999. After eight years at 2 Holyoke Street, Flywheel decided to close in order to move to Easthampton’s historic Old Town Hall at 43 Main Street.

“I’m really excited [it’s reopening]. I didn’t know it was happening. I got kind of worried [when they closed]. It was such a haven for me in high school,” Kennedy said.

The Old Town Hall building is a more beneficial location for Flywheel. On Holyoke Street, the venue was in a residential neighborhood where it couldn’t have shows past 11 p.m. because of Easthampton’s noise order. Neighbors of the venue would get nervous when they had bigger shows. Lila Wolan, Flywheel’s secretary, said they’ll be able to be more flexible with their times by moving into the business district of town.

Flywheel’s move hasn’t gone as smoothly as they hoped for. Numerous snags in their renovations to the Old Town Hall, a building constructed in the 1860s, have pushed back their new opening.

Their most recent issue was the discovery of lead paint on the ceilings. The task of properly removing and disposing of the paint will set them back $12,000 to $15,000. Wolan thought Flywheel would transition into its new location almost seamlessly. Between a sprinkler issue and a lead paint problem, renovations have been held up as they secured more and more funding.

Flywheel receives some money from grants, but their real bread and butter are donations ranging from $1 to $1,000 from supporters. A biannual record fair is held at Eastworks in Easthampton to benefit the organization. Concerts, tag sales, car washes and house shows have also been set up to support them, and their caf’eacute; sales provide them with extra funding.

Time donated to Flywheel by volunteers is most essential in keeping it going. Wolan said Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth has been supporting their efforts a bit, also encouraging the community and his friends to support them.

“It’s kind of funny. When I mentioned to my lawyer that I was the secretary of Flywheel, his eyes lit up. I know that we have name recognition,” Wolan said.

Flywheel is an important asset to the local community as they are the most reasonably priced venue in the area for booking shows. The venue is all ages. The cover charge at Flywheel is never more than $6. Wolan was quick to mention that they use a sliding fee scale and never turn anyone away if they don’t have the money.

“You’d go because you loved music and had a great chance of stumbling upon something great and undiscovered and not mainstream,” said Scott Brodeur, UMass journalism professor and Northampton resident. “You could feel the energy.”

Though Flywheel typically hosts local musicians and artists on occasion, the venue has also hosted some big name musical acts. Le Tigre and Fugazi both performed there in 2002. Sonic Youth and Bright Eyes have also made use of Flywheel’s space in the past.

“I’ve been so lucky, I book so many shows. I can’t pick a favorite anymore. They’re all so unique and different,” Wolan said.

Wolan’s role at Flywheel, in addition to her secretarial duties, is to bring in new bands that people haven’t heard of from places such as Boston or Connecticut. She likes to be able to show the community new and different music.

Wolan rattled off the names of her favorite acts that have performed there, including American Business Machine, Man Man, Dennis Most and the Instigators, and Gone By Daylight.

Kennedy’s favorite show was when the band Lightning Bolt played.

“There were easily 100 people waiting to get in outside. They had to turn people away,” Kennedy said. “I’d never seen it packed like that.”

Flywheel is entirely run by volunteers and nonprofit. It serves the community by providing an inexpensive space for live music, art exhibits, film and video screenings, poetry and spoken word events, theatrical and performance art, a zine library, a caf’eacute;, and a place for meetings and discussion groups. Flywheel’s mission statement says they believe art and information should be equally accessible and affordable to all people.

Anyone can join Flywheel. The collective is governed as a consensus, based on the Quakers, and isn’t owned by anyone. Members receive a “myFly” login for Flywheel’s Web site, where they can communicate with all the other members.

“Since we’re all friends, it’s been more laid back lately. There’s a time limit on presentations and no one speaks over one another,” Wolan said. “One or two people may have an issue and they keep debating until they reach a consensus.”

The collective operates like a wheel, hence the name Flywheel. Members of the “hub” are the movers and shakers of the group. They invest a bigger time commitment to the group and are responsible for the activities that keep Flywheel running on a day-to-day basis. They must invest eight to 12 hours and attend two meetings per month in the collective.

Members who are legally responsible for what happens at Flywheel are on the board. These members have been involved for three months or more and must be able to serve on the board for at least one year.

Members who deal with booking shows are called the “spokes” of the collective. Spokes can book up to two shows per month. They simply pay the rental fee and are more or less free to promote their show do-it-yourself style.

Flywheel provides artists and show organizers with space, a portion of door money, and some promotional services. These include publicity in Flywheel’s monthly calendar, Web site and email list, as well as other local publications. Most importantly, artists have free reign over their shows. They have and will host any kind of show, and very rarely refuse anyone.

“They [bands] are not there to support the local scene if they’re going to be negative. We don’t like anyone making fun of gay and lesbian groups,” Wolan said. “We are communicative to social causes.”

In order to become a spoke, one must attend a certain number of meetings throughout the year and become a member of the collective. Before a meeting, they must give notice that they want to become a member. The group collectively interviews and decides acceptance the same day. The collective trains them in lighting and sound, among other duties.

The volunteers at Flywheel are a diverse group of individuals. They range from artists, musicians, parents, videographers and community members. All volunteers in the collective have an equal vote in Flywheel’s decisions. There are more than 70 volunteers at any given time.

Volunteers earn a free pass to a show after completing two volunteer shifts. Volunteers can pick and choose the shows they volunteer at, but Flywheel will ask volunteers to staff shows that don’t have enough people.

Flywheel can also provide students with internships, which provide plenty of hands-on experience.

Wolan is hopeful that once the lead paint problem is taken care of, all the other renovations will fall into place much quicker.

Al
l that’s left to do now is to take care of the lead paint, renovate the floors and put up new dry wall. Wolan hoped they’d be open by now.

“I’m crossing my fingers [to open] for early 2009,” Wolan said.

The next Flywheel general body meeting is Monday, Nov. 17. New volunteers are always welcome – only a few shifts per month could help them out a lot. They’ll be discussing updates in fundraising, renovations and most importantly, shows.

One can get more information about joining Flywheel’s collective as a volunteer by calling 413-527-9800, or e-mailing [email protected]. Answers to questions about volunteering can be found on their Web site, Flywheelarts.org.

Andrea Murray is a Collegian editor. She can be reached at [email protected].