MATT DRISCOLL: FINISHES WHAT HE STARTED IN PRINT >>>

In this week's issue of the Weekly Volcano I wrote a small piece on Club Impact's ten year anniversary show this Saturday. At the end of it I promised more was to come on the Spew. In the business we call that a tease. This is me making good on my promise.

Ten years old. Some of my most dedicated readers (picture-looker-at-ers) aren’t even that age.

This weekend marks 10 years of Club Impact, and whatever you want to say, that’s a pretty astounding accomplishment. If you can tell me a venue in Tacoma that’s been doing it longer, I’d love to hear it. I can’t think of one.

Plenty of things have changed over 10 years.

Many remember the shack on Puyallup Avenue, near the Tacoma Dome, where the drug, alcohol and smoke-free all-ages venue once operated â€" with a mission as much about the music as it was about creating a safe atmosphere for kids to “facilitate discussions about spiritual and life topics as well as encourage artistic expression and creativity,” according to Clubimpact.org. The location has changed, with Club Impact operating out of the Brick City Project at Ninth and Pacific since 2006, but the mission has remained constant.

Bands can use profanity now; that’s a change. But the goal and vision of Club Impact’s staff has not wavered.

“Club Impact provides a clean, safe, positive atmosphere for bands and kids,” says Derek Smith, Club Impact’s president.

“Why it has worked for us, I would say, is because of God, and also the perseverance of the core staff. We want to live a Christian life, our staff, and we want to accept everyone the same, and love on everyone the same. That’s why we let bands use profanity now. It’s an art.”

The anniversary celebration Saturday, April 19 will feature Lakes, The Lives of Famous Men, Last Chance Hero, A Leaf, and Return of the Bison. With such a lengthy history, it should be quite a walk down memory lane.

“We decided to do this a couple months ago, seeing it’s been a decade. As far as I know we’re the longest in operation, all-ages club in the South Sound.”

While Club Impact did take a year and a half off between shows while moving into the Brick City location in 2005, Smith’s assessment of Impact’s accomplishments is hard to argue with. With as many clubs that have come and gone in Tacoma over the last ten years, the fact that Club Impact is still going strong is nothing to make light of.

But it’s not just Club Impact’s longevity that deserves attention. Smith is quick to point out the number of quality bands that have taken the stage at the all ages venue over the years. The list includes Emery, MXPX, Aiden, Amber Pacific, Daphne Loves Derby, RX Bandits, Finch, As I Lay Dying, and the Mad Caddies.

For Saturday’s anniversary show, Smith put extra thought into who to book. In addition to national headliners Lakes and the Lives of Famous Men, all the bands who will take the stage this weekend have had something to do with making Club Impact what it is today.

“We tried to get bands that have had something to do with Impact, bands that had something special about them,” says Smith.

“We’re a DIY venue. We don’t’ have any funding. What we do totally depends on the number of kids who come to see the shows. Local bands are our bread and butter.”

For more information about Club Impact and their ten year anniversary show check out www.clubimpact.org.