Club owner contemplates future

Lonnie Fisher, the owner of Sonar, one of the top concert venues in Baltimore, sits in a room tucked behind Sonar's main stage, which usually functions as the pre-show dressing room for acclaimed musicians.

Here, everyday objects are seen in a different light. Instead of being just a leather couch, it could be a leather couch that was sat on by Jenny Lewis, the frontwoman of the band Rilo Kiley, who played here earlier this month. Instead of merely being a used plastic spoon, it could be a plastic spoon that Kool Keith used to scoop out peanut butter from a jar of Skippy before his show on September 15. Instead of being another yellowing microwave, it could be a microwave that Interpol used to reheat leftovers.

It's almost harrowing to think that that maybe the members of Interpol use microwaves, that maybe the members of Interpol eat food. The mental image of Carlos D eating a hot pocket becomes almost too much to bear.

Indeed, in recent months, under the guidance of its enterprising owner Lonnie Fisher, Sonar's dressing room has seen the presence of some big names in the indie scene. While Sonar is gradually gaining more acclaim for hosting the best and brightest in music, its growth was an evolutionary process, centered on adapting to the often unpredictable whims of the American dance scene or, according to Fisher, "the vibe."

For an owner of a concert venue, it's all about the vibe. "The vibe, without sounding too existential, is the collective attitude of the crowd. If everyone's there and having a good time, it's a good vibe. It's like a collective energy," he explains. "For me, it's not about chasing the money; I'm chasing the vibe."

Fisher is balding at 36, and his height does not top 5'5'', but he makes up for his stature with an inexplicably sonorous and booming voice, most likely attained from years of commanding countless raves an thriving dance parties.

Growing up in the city of Baltimore, Fisher lived under the care of his single mother. On weekends, when Fisher's mom went out on dates, he would throw parties for his neighborhood friends. Throughout the nineties, Fisher felt "the vibe," hosting some of the biggest DJ events on the east coast under Ultraworld, one of the largest producers of electronic music events in the country. He played the latest in drum and bass, jungle and multiple sub-genres of electronica, simply because that was what the crowd moved to.

The past five years have the turning point for the electronic dance movement. According to Fisher, "People began to focus too much on the DJ and not about interacting with the crowd. By the end of the 90s, the entire rave scene pretty much fell apart."

From the ashes of the electronic music craze, however, came the indie dance scene. "Each generation has a place where it can find that `dance party' vibe," says Fisher. In the 70s it was in the discoth8fque, in the 90s it was at the raves. Now the tides were turning towards the shiny new indie movement, which came as retaliation against a rave scene that had reached bacchanalian proportions. As opposed to the mechanical, seizure-inducing intensity of the rave culture, the indie movement, while still retaining the craze that defines every dance movement, had a more lo-fi quality.

With this new movement on the horizon, Fisher's Sonar Lounge officially opened in 2001 in Canton. It started as a coffee shop and nightclub. Sonar's popularity, restrained by a 100-person capacity, forced Fisher to move to a bigger location. The freshly gutted warehouse space on East Saratoga Street was the prime venue for his new endeavor.

The Sonar Lounge became Sonar in an attempt to drop the "lounge" image. It also hosted Taxlo (short for the Taxidermy Lodge), weekly dance parties, which encompass everything from Britpop and post-punk to hip hop and Baltimore Club.

Earlier this September, Sonar had its grand reopening, featuring three dance nights in a row, a performance by Rilo Kiley and a Taxlo super party that accomidated over 800 people. "It was a signal of the official ending of the mindset that we're an electronic music club. Now we're a live music venue," says Fisher. Throughout the months of September and October, Sonar will be hosting both several up-and-coming bands and the biggest veterans including the Decemberists, the Bravery, Ghostface Killah, Social Distortion, Gang of Four and, of course, the Pixies.

Next Friday, the Pixies will be coming to Baltimore. At approximately 8 p.m., Sonar will open its doors and welcome the masses of indie super-fans to its main stage where Frank Black, the grandfather of alternative music, will spew his songs into the microphone.

The bigger story here is not this legendary act but the venue where they will be perform. Fisher lights up when he talks about future plans, bands he would love to have at his venue -- among them Hot Hot Heat, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Spoon. As he reclines in the black leather couch that seated so many famous artists before him, Fisher is no longer just the owner of a concert venue, but a king sitting upon his throne, contemplating all the bigger things in store for the Sonar backstage dressing room.