I went to high school in Gig Harbor just across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.  It’s a beautiful little town but it can be really boring when you’re a 16 year-old vegan, punk rock, know-it-all.  Luckily for me and my friends, the Vera Project was a car ride away.

The Vera Project has changed venues since then, and is now located on Warren Ave N. and Republican in Seattle Center.  Many Seattleites have heard of Vera because a number of mainstream bands have played there as well as our some of our friends and neighbors.  But for those of you who don’t know let me introduce you to Seattle’s longest running all-ages club.

Picture a place where young people can help create a welcoming and exciting place for their peers through volunteer work. A place where they can express themselves through music and art. Oh and by the way, this place is a non-profit, alcohol-free and smoke-free environment. It may seem like every parent’s dream, but it’s also many teenager’s dream! In all seriousness though, the Vera Project is an awesome venue where rock and roll transcends age and engages the community of Seattle and beyond.

The Pagliacci community is one in particular that has embraced the Vera Projects’ ability to put on a great event. When we first set out to hold our Battle of the Bands competition four years ago, we were in over our heads. Lucky for us, Garrett Lunceford, a past crew member at Queen Anne Pizzeria and guitarist for the band formerly known as The Divorce, recommended that we work with Vera Project to get the job done.  Since then Pagliacci has pledged to donate all of the Battle of the Band’s proceeds to Vera Project in an effort to support the goodwill that they promote in our community and the young talents that they inspire.

Check out their website to get a list of up and coming shows, bands and events!

http://www.theveraproject.org/