PARISH THE THOUGHT - Weitzel (seated) with the rest of Parish Hall's operating collective.

We all know the Grog and the Agora, but what if you are a local band just getting started, a touring act on a small indie label, or a young unknown artist, where do you display your music and art? What if you can't afford to make a demo, don't have a solid following, or just lack the connections? Well, in Cleveland, as in most major cities, there are alternatives. DIY, or do-it-yourself, venues aren't centered on making a profit, but providing a place where music and art can be shared intimately without corporate ties. Parish Hall is Cleveland's newest addition to the world of DIY venues, and perhaps its mostly likely to succeed.

"Going to shows at a lot of DIY spaces is like going to a house party," says 26-year-old Ryan Weitzel, one of the five-member collective that runs Parish Hall. "Someone told me a long time ago that 'art is a business, deal with it,' and it's true. DIY is just another term for entrepreneurship. You have to go through some of the bullshit, because it is a business."

Located at 6205 Detroit Ave. in the Detroit-Shoreway area, Parish Hall, as its name suggests, is the former gathering space for the Orthodox church (which is now only rented out for services) that rests on the same lot. It's a large two-story brick building whose main hall is warm and spacious, as opposed to the basement aesthetic usually associated with DIY venues.

"It was all sort of a natural progression," Weitzel says when discussing the origins of the space. "Bryon Miller and I were running the Miller Weitzel Gallery down the street for about two years, and we were losing our space. I was talking to James Levin, the executive director of Ingenuity Fest, about a proposal, and the fact that we were losing our space came up and he told me about the hall."

Weitzel, who's himself involved in art installation and design (hinted at by his paint-speckled knuckles and pants), as well as music (his band Mystery of Two was recently featured in this paper) wanted to create a place where new and timely art that may not have a home elsewhere in Cleveland could be displayed in a manner that was youthful and immediate.

"A lot of the organizations in this town have aged and grown into something different from when they first started," Weitzel says, "and as a result, I think one of the things missing in Cleveland is young people owning businesses, something that we as young people wanted to accomplish with Parish Hall."

While the intentions of the collective that started Parish Hall are noble enough, owning and operating a DIY space or alternative venue is no simple feat, especially when this ambitious.

"We aren't doing anything wrong," says Weitzel. "My greatest fear is that people won't take us seriously. We have been talking to council members and local businesses; we even send out press releases. I want people to know we aren't just some crazy kids trying to party."

So far, it looks like Parish Hall's hard work is paying off for the collective. When the Evens performed at the venue recently, front man Ian MacKaye, DIY icon and member of seminal bands Minor Threat and Fugazi, was so impressed with Parish Hall that he gave them $50 to buy a light for the side of the building. Shows and exhibits have also had good turnouts and there have been no legal issues. And this week, Columbus-based singer-songwriter Blake Miller, who has a new disc of indie folk tunes out on Cleveland's Exit Stencil Recordings (also based at Parish Hall), plays the venue.

"The biggest problem we have may be that we all work full-time jobs and do this too," Weitzel says. "It is a lot of hard work, and we all have to help pay the rent. It gets frustrating, but it is a labor of love."

Colorforms

Astralstorm

(self-released)

colorforms.net

The improvisational sound on Colorforms' sophomore release, Astralstorm, is created with a slew of synthesizers and samplers. The duo (multi-instrumentalists Everyman and J. Kyle Moyer) proudly boasts, "The rhythm comes from the interaction of the musicians, rather than from drums," which may be why you don't hear a single drumbeat on the album. "The Seemingly Perpetual Entrance" is a nine-minute track of trippy ambient sounds; later the song turns into birds chirping. "The Ocean Before Us" experiments with different levels of delay. It's the perfect track to listen to while getting a massage. In fact, the whole disc has a trance-like quality that makes it ideal for all things Zen. — Stephen Tompkins

Colorforms perform at the Literary Cafe (1031 Literary Rd., 216.861.3922) at 9 p.m. Friday, December 15. Tickets: $5.

The Unknown

Unpopular

(Boss Tuneage Recording Company)

theunknown.us

Cleveland's the Unknown may have taken its sweet time (four years) while recording its sixth studio album, Unpopular, but the wait should only have built anticipation. And it's not like the band hasn't been busy; it's toured Europe twice since its 2002 release, Radio Lied to Me. Unpopular is full of pop-punk ditties that in some cases sound similar to the Descendents. "Lipstick" channels the Offspring, and "Zeroes" is a catchy skate- punk tune that stands out as a highlight. Entitled "???," the closing track sounds like the Misfits at first but turns into something completely different by the song's end. It's the exclamation mark on a solid release. — Stephen Tompkins

The Unknown performs with This Is Exploding and The Story Changes at 8 p.m. Friday, December 15, at the Jigsaw Saloon and Stage (5324 State Rd., 216.351.3869).