A positive alternative

Saturday, April 30, at 6:30 p.m. Adonijah, Fall of Enosis, Ocean of Mirrors, Lenore, Olessya. Admission is $5.

Friday, May 20 Brian Griffon. There is no ticket price or concert time listed yet. Check www.dogooddrinkcoffee.com for updates.

Details:

Coffee Revolution is located at 2008 S.E. Eighth Ave., Camas, inside RiverRock Church. It is available as a venue for concerts and musicians. For more information, call 833-0108 or e-mail info@dogooddrinkcoffee.com

Anyone who wants to see a live rock show and lives in the Camas-Washougal area knows the routine: Drive all the way into Portland, attempt to find free parking somewhere, and walk several blocks into sometimes sketchy venues.

However, employees at Coffee Revolution, a non-profit business that donates a majority of its proceeds to the community, have come up with another solution.

For the past year, they’ve invited bands of varying musical genres to come perform in the space next to them, which also houses RiverRock Church.

But if you expect to find pious people listening to quiet music, think again. Several of the bands are fairly hard core rock, although there are also a fair share of Indie, ska, alternative and praise groups as well.

Employee Shaun Elligott came up with the idea to host rock shows last year, when Coffee Revolution first opened its doors.

“It was really a combination of wanting to do something to impact the community and utilize the resources we have here to the fullest potential,” he said.

Admission to concerts, or “shows” as their typically referred to, range from $3 to $10, a bargain when one considers they don’t have to drive 25 miles each way to attend.

Earlier this month, the bands Woodland Creatures and The Opera House played. Their Indie rock style got the crowd into the performance, and a group of approximately 40 to 60 kids were clapping, cheering and dancing.

The performance area has a professional sound and lighting system, so it’s becoming a popular spot for bands to play, Elligott said.

“People love it here,” he said. “Their reaction is usually, ‘Yeah, wow!’ We have a lot of people who appreciate having shows in their town and bands who appreciate being able to play without paying a fee for the venue.”

Elligott is a bass player for the band Adonijah, which he describes as “Christian metal core.” The band frequently plays at Coffee Revolution.

Elligott said that although some of the bands were pretty hard-core, the environment is clean and respectful.

“It really speaks to the level of community between the young people here,” he said.

Coffee Revolution assistant manager Justin Haag, who plays guitar in the band Fallstar, describes the venue as a “chill environment.”

“I like it a lot,” he said. “If you live in the Vancouver area or play in a band here, this is becoming the venue to come to.”

Jake Mercer, a concert attendee and volunteer, enjoys running the lights during shows and helping out in whatever way he can.

“I love Portland, but I hate going all the way there from Battle Ground just to see a show,” he said. “The shows [at Coffee Revolution] have great diversity and the environment is totally chill.”

In the future, Elligott would like to attract some more prominent bands, as well as continue to feature local talent.

“I really want to establish this as a place where bands can play and be respected,” he said. “When we first started the business, I knew this could be a valuable opportunity for us in many ways.”