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HITTINGA CHORD Harmonious pairing of musicians and audiences brings life to downtown Fredericksburg CONCERTS ON TAP

January 12, 2008 12:36 am

IN HIS NEW BOOK, local photographer and Web designer Ian Soper deftly uses his camera to chronicle and celebrate the warm-and-fuzzy, against-all-odds, teenage-volunteer-driven success story of the Fredericksburg All-Ages music series that has become a bit of a phenomenon downtown.

"Community should not be trivialized," series founder Adam Bray notes in Soper's book, "FAA ONE." "This is bigger than all of us."

Bray's day job is with the National Council of Churches in Washington, working in environmental advocacy. He then advocates for a healthy environment for live music for local kids when he comes home from work.

He's the Fredericksburg's musical moral equivalent of George Bailey. He's made personal sacrifices over the last 18 months to create a wonderful life for the less fortunate in the local music scene, from formerly deprived teen fans who couldn't get into bars to see shows to budding rock bands looking for a sober audience that actually cares about music

"Adam is really in tune to music and to youth culture and making sure we have really good bands," the 28-year-old Soper said this week. "And he takes the high school bands under his wing. He's created a really exciting scene."

Bray, a 28-year old Stafford High School and Mary Washington College graduate, grinds it out during the week, taking the train to his job in Washington, then hits the road as part of the progressive pop band Tereu Tereu on Friday and Saturday nights. But he still finds time to put together the nonprofit indie and folk rock FAA series. It's played primarily, but not entirely, to youngish audiences, with the ages of fans ranging from 7 to 70.

"FAA is a safe place to be where they can have a good time, and where the artists can have a venue for their music," Soper said.

Years ago, when he was playing locally with the band Divide By Zero, Bray was unhappy about seeing fans turned away from shows in Fredericksburg because they were under 21.

All-ages shows like the ones at Washington clubs such as the 9:30 Club and the Black Cat were rare in the Fredericksburg area, partly because local nightclubs often are lucky to break even on ticket sales for shows and usually make any profits from live music on beer sales. An undeterred Bray launched his all ages series in the summer of 2006. At the time, then 15-year-old Luca Terziotti, a James Monroe High School student who plays guitar and sings in the local band Rocky's Revival, said of young fans' dilemma, "It's pretty hard to go to Washington, because most people can't drive."

With the help of an army of young volunteers and cooperation from the Fredericksburg Athenaeum, a local nonprofit dedicated to the arts and literature that recently received a half-million dollar donation from the Silver Cos., Bray has succeeded where others have failed.

He knew this would work in the beginning, and he knew why--the sheer will of the kids who wanted it.

"I think it's gonna be a big success because of their hard work," Bray predicted before the series' first show in the summer of 2006.

He started FAA at the Loft, a downtown Fredericksburg nightclub, but soon had to find another venue. The series moved to The Wounded Bookstore, where it established itself with a year of shows that packed that small structure, with typical crowds a more than respectable 100 persons.

Consistently good crowds led to a move to The Third Floor, a large art space located upstairs at 810 Caroline St. in downtown Fredericksburg that has become FAA's primary venue. The first anniversary show there for the series drew 350 music fans--a big number for a Fredericksburg show, especially without the lure of alcohol. All concerts are nonprofit and alcohol-free. Admission to all shows is an affordable $5.

"The nonprofit feel of it helps," Bray said this week. "We've depended on student volunteers from the beginning. I wouldn't be able to run the shows by myself. It's really a community thing. And that's huge."

He said he takes input from his young volunteers into account when he selects bands for the series, many of whom are making Sunday evening stops in Fredericksburg after playing Saturdays in D.C. and some of whom are on the verge of being on the verge of breaking through on the national scene.

"When bands come in off tours, they're really impressed with the atmosphere and the vibe," Bray said.

In "FAA ONE," Patrick Glynn of the Brooklyn, N.Y., folk-rock band The Lost Americans says of Fredericksburg and FAA, "the all ages shows are the best--better than the [frozen] custard than the historical re-enactments."

As someone who sometimes finds himself onstage before drunks Bray gets it.

"I've played in bands at many bars and it's a different feeling in all-ages shows--especially in a space that doesn't have alcohol," he said. When you play in a bar, people come and drink and hang out and the band is sort of background music. At all-ages shows without alcohol, people pay attention. They're coming to hear you."

The FAA series continues tomorrow at 6 p.m. at The Third Floor with bands Bottle Up and Go, Tereu Tereu, Bronze Episode and Dylan Gilbert.

Soper, co-founder of the Panta Rhei Arts Project for youth sponsored by the Fredericksburg Athenaeum, has a show of "FAA ONE" photos documenting the series that runs through Jan. 27 at the Wounded Bookstore at 109 Amelia St.

The "FAA ONE" book is on sale for $25 at the Wounded Bookshop, Riverby Books, Apple Music and Visual Treats.

"We've managed to keep the ticket price affordable [$5] while bringing touring acts like Birdmonster, Ra Ra Riot, Essie Jain, Oppenheimer and Casper and the Cookies, who all play in larger cities for much higher ticket prices," Bray said.

"I'm just as proud to boast about all of the great local high school bands who I've matched up with the touring bands--giving them a stage to perform for their peers. The average attendance of the shows has been over 100 with a lot of shows drawing 130-150 teens, college students, families, and even grandparents who come to see their grandchildren perform."