The local music scene is full of aspiring young musicians who are eager to find audiences. The only problem is, most music-friendly venues in Fairbanks serve alcohol, forcing bands with underage members to face a dilemma.
Joel Moser, 26, has been a drummer in over half a dozen bands in Alaska over the past six years. He recalls one band’s debut show was timed to suite an underage member. “We had this guy that was under 21 for a few months after we formed the band,” he says. “We just rehearsed until he turned 21, and we snuck him in with a fake ID once.”
But that isn’t the only option. George Rydlinski, father of local heavy metal guitarist Alex Rydlinski of the band Turbid North, accompanied his son to bars on nights his son’s band played. Alex was under 21 at the time.
“I never had a problem,” George says. “Not sure if it was ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell’ or if they looked old enough. My youngest son was the youngest member of the band, though he looked just like the rest. We always accompanied them to bar shows, so there wouldn’t be any trouble.”
Alex Rydlinski remembers his first bar show with Turbid North well. “The first bar was exciting,” he says. “For that first bar show our singer had just turned 21 and all three of us were underage. So we had our parents come with, which they were more than willing to do, and the club owner made sure we had a special designated spot to sit way off to the side of the dance floor when we weren’t playing.”
Fairbanks law states any underage person, musician or not, must be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, or spouse over the age of 21 to enter an establishment serving alcohol. Under no circumstances are people under the age of 16 allowed, and individual bar owners reserve the right to refuse entry to anyone under 21 for any reason.
According to Alex, club owners in Fairbanks aren’t consistent with their application of the law on underage musicians playing in bars.
“Sometimes my parents had to be there, other times a written note was acceptable, other times we just didn’t do anything. Once a club owner told me, “if the cops show up, just keep your head down and keep playing.”
For those who would prefer to avoid the bar circuit, there are several underage venues in town that feature live bands. The College Coffee House features an open-mic night that welcomes live music as well as poetry readings, and Joel’s Place holds bi-monthly concert events every other Saturday at 8 p.m.
Overall, being underage hasn’t presented much of a problem for Alex or his band mates. “The fact is, when it comes down to it, people are more interested in having a good time than something as silly as a minor being in a bar…and I take comfort in that,” he says. Turbid North is currently touring the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas, and can be seen and heard on myspace.