By SETH G. BLAYLOCK
seth@newsroom.byu.edu
Robbie Taggart just wants a place to play.
Taggart, 18, of Orem, plays bass in a local melodic punk band called I'm with Stupid.
The band has found that Utah Valley is not exactly overflowing with clubs and concert houses.
Taggart's band has been bumped around the valley in search of a place to play their music, but so far, no welcome mat has appeared.
Concert venues in the area have been disappearing over the past few years. The days of Mama's Caf?, the Soul Kitchen, and the Palace are gone. All that remains for local bands is Wrapsody and several bars not open to minors.
Possible alternatives are few and getting fewer. In January, concerts were banned at the American Fork Veterans' Hall after a fight broke out at one of the shows. James Ragan, the former custodian of the hall who originally let the bands in last year, said the concerts had to stop.
The last venue fallout was Saturday, March 11. I'm with Stupid was to play with several other bands at a party that night at Saylor Nine, a vintage clothing store on Center Street in Provo.
The police showed up, stopped the show, and issued citations to several of the participants and the owners of Saylor Nine.
The problem started because of a permit - or lack thereof.
According to Provo City Code 14.34..370, dance halls and places that charge admission for dances or concerts must have a special license. Saylor Nine has a business license - but for retail, not for a dance hall.
Andrea Robinson, 19, co-owner of Saylor Nine, argues that because the concert was not for profit, no permit was needed.
'It was a private party,' she said. 'We weren't charging money at the door. It was not open to the public.'
Creating a dance hall in Provo or Orem requires navigating a maze of requirements for parking, plumbing, location and even sound levels.
Ben Thomson, commercial planner for Orem, said venues are welcome in the city, but hard to find because of the requirements.
Thomson said according to Orem City Code, dance halls must have one parking space for every three-and-a-half people, based on maximum occupancy. Provo City has similar requirements - one space for every four occupants.
This means that a venue with a maximum occupancy of 350 people would require 100 parking spaces nearby. Most former retail and business spaces cannot be used as dance halls because they were not built with enough parking to meet the requirement.
The alternative -- building a dance hall from the ground up according to regulations -- is generally not an option for those seeking a concert venue.
Taggart and his band have been searching for a new venue in Orem, but have run into these problems.
'We've been trying desperately, but it is too hard and too costly,' Taggart said.
Wrapsody is one of the few options left for local bands. Manager Corey Fox said the local scene needs more venues like Wrapsody, but regulations make it difficult.
'I don't think the city is very open the places like this,' Fox said. 'It's tough to go through all of the red tape.'
Fox said he is inundated with requests from local bands to play at Wrapsody.
'Every day more bands call,' Fox said.
And there are not enough days in the week to let them all play. Fox said he is always vying for variety in the type of music played at Wrapsody, but because he is managing a business, he concentrates on the best bands that bring the most fans.
'What I've found is there's very few bands with fans - they have friends,' Fox said.
Guillermo Acosta, 25, provides sound for local concerts. He said the lack of venues is not the only problem; lack of fan support also hurts the local music scene. However, Acosta said these two problems feed on each other.
'If there's no shows, there is no support. If there is no support, there are no shows. It just goes round and round,' Acosta said.