A Year Later, Clawfoot House Continues to Grow Onward and Ever Upward

By Sarah F. Sullivan

In only a year, local music hub, Clawfoot House, has become an artistic dynamo on the Lincoln scene. Started in January 2009, the house concert venue and arts community located in Lincoln’s Everett neighborhood hosted 45 events last year and effectively solidified their reputation for high artistic quality with their variety of excellent music and art events.

These lively functions included creative folk, rock and experimental music concerts, art shows, workshops, literary events, puppet shows, potlucks and plays, as well as the monthly Clawfoot Salon for female musicians.

Started by ambitious local musician Ember Schrag, Clawfoot House evolved from a music venue to an all-around creative haven, offering cultural and educational opportunities in both music and the arts. By the end of last year, Clawfoot House had established itself as a non-profit business, proudly taking its place as a prominent member of the Lincoln arts and music scene. As a new year begins, Schrag is ensuring that Clawfoot House doesn’t lose its momentum, reaching out to musicians and artists to continue to provide exceptional and engaging productions for Lincolnites to enjoy. 

“Creative programming is a big part of what Clawfoot House is trying to do -- not just presenting all different art forms, but presenting our main focus, music, in a different way,” said Schrag. “That means having an eclectic schedule. You wouldn't find this mix of avant garde/improvised music and folk music at most gallery-type venues. When you throw in the chamber music and the Old Timey Front Porch Potluck Grill, it really is pretty unique.”

Also a part of that creative programming is the effort to engage the audience and encourage them to be more than just spectators. As Schrag said, “We want to dismantle the old rut of audience-as-passive-consumer.” To do this, she regularly holds social events like porch shows and potlucks where patrons bring not only themselves, but their conversation, interaction and, sometimes, their food. 

“We've found out that Clawfoot-goers are amazing cooks, so we try to make the food thing happen as often as possible!” said Schrag.

Among the new events coming to Clawfoot House are a variety of workshops and classes, something Schrag hopes to make a staple. On April 11th, New York percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani will teach an Introduction to Improvised Music class. A Beginning Belly Dance workshop will be featured on May 15th and July will see a Clawfoot Salon-sponsored karate self-defense class with a focus on safety for touring musicians. In August, there will be an instrument building workshop with Eric Leonardson, an instrument builder/improviser from Chicago.

Other events you can expect to see at Clawfoot House are more of the curated Experimental Issue series shows, art shows (the next opening is in May for Jad Fair of the cult rock band Half Japanese from Austin), a dance performance on May 15th, possible youth workshops, including a potential collaboration with Academy of Rock and, of course, a slew of local bands.

Ember is also considering transforming the large, ragged backyard behind Clawfoot House into a community garden. Though she has thought about loosely collaborating with Community Crops, she hasn’t heard from anyone interested in working on the project, something that she says can’t happen without “a community effort.”

Besides the new offerings at Clawfoot, Schrag is hard at work developing the things that initially made the house a destination for music lovers, including the experimental music sub-series. Just this past April, the series hosted multi-instrumentalist musician and composer Amy Denio, made possible by a grant from the Berman Foundation. Schrag only hopes to continue bringing talented, high profile musicians such as Denio to Clawfoot House, creating an exceptional opportunity for Nebraskans.

“To my understanding, a focused, ongoing avant garde music series with artists of this caliber is pretty unprecedented in Nebraska,” Schrag said. “Creating awareness and appreciation for avant garde music is part of our mission statement. This is more of a curated series where we're reaching out to select and contact artists, rather than drawing from the pool of touring artists who come to us.”

Some of the artists Schrag hopes to present this year include Crank Sturgeon (traveling junk-sound Dadaist trickster), Jad Fair (of the cult rock band Half Japanese, Austin), Maria Chavez (experimental Turntablist, New York by way of Peru), D.B.H (of Friends and Relatives Records, Indiana), Manrico Montero Calzadiaz (environmental soundscapes/bioacoustics, Mexico), The Friction Brothers (cello, percussion and dry ice, Chicago), Wu Fei (composer and Guzheng performer, visiting the US from China) and Cheryl Leonard (site-specific compositions with natural materials, San Francisco).

In the beginning, with the help of Schrag’s partner in the series, Bryan Day, musicians gradually made their way to Clawfoot House. Day’s label, Public Eyesore, has put forth over 200 avant garde, experimental, improvised and unusual music from across the globe for the past 17 years. Utilizing his connections, he would ask musicians if they would be willing to come to Clawfoot House if it could raise the money for travel expenses and performance fees.

“Most of these artists rarely tour in the same way a rock band would, and if they do it's unlikely that they've made it out to the Midwest,” Schrag said. “So it's actually a unique opportunity for the artists. I think it's a surprise to them that this is happening in this part of the country; a lot of them said they'd never been to Nebraska at all.”

With the series expanding to greater heights, it naturally needs the support of the curious and music faithful of Lincoln. Schrag is accepting donations to support the experimental music series as multiple avant garde musicians from across the globe, including New York, Mexico, China and Chicago have offered to perform if money can be raised for expenses and performance fees.

“I really hope we can raise the funds for this series. And I am optimistic: we're a pretty grassrootsy place, so we'll be able to put on these events for such a small fraction of what more 'official' arts organizations/venues would likely spend,” said Schrag.

Finally, benefits and fundraising projects will also take their place alongside regular events so that Clawfoot House can continue to bring unique and exciting events to Lincoln. A house show benefit is expected in May, as well as an art auction with food and music in June. There’s also the potential for a benefit show to take place at The Zoo Bar, an event where Schrag can “book all the bands that are too loud to play at the house!”

This summer, Clawfoot House will implement their new membership plan and will be made the recipient of “Thank You Tuesdays” at A Novel Idea. Throughout the summer months, the bookstore will donate 10% of their sales every Tuesday to Clawfoot House.

“Lincoln has really embraced Clawfoot House so far. I'm hoping that will keep happening with these fundraising events this summer, and that individuals will continue to come forward and say, ‘Hey, this is unique, I want this continue, and I'll support it with the financial donation that I'm able to give,’” said Schrag.  

It’s clear that though Clawfoot House has been in existence for a little over a year, things have taken off at a rocket pace. Looking back at the time that has passed since the house’s inception, Ember Schrag has only fond memories and hopes for the future.

“There are so many highlights: having the Chiara String Quartet play; meeting Stephen Elliott; cooking breakfast for twelve musicians asleep on the floor under yoga mats while the neighbors' cat, Muse, stalks around the living room; working with the greatest people on our board; getting a mention in the New York Times; that amazing benefit event last October,” Ember mused. “I have to say I'm really pleased. Lincoln has been the perfect place to start something like this. . .Everyone's been so respectful of the environment we've tried to create -- where it really is about the music, and where that music is really great stuff.”

Be sure to come to Clawfoot House (1042 F Street) to experience Maine-based Alternative Folk Duo Arborea TONIGHT at 8 p.m. Local Americana artist Manny Coon and folk artist Ember Schrag will open the show. Cover is $5. For more information about Arborea, click here.

For more information about any of the events, fundraisers or workshops listed in this article, visit the Clawfoot House website or contact Ember Schrag at ember.schrag@gmail.com.