Striking a chord with bowlers

Rock n’ Bowl Mondays

Mondays, 9 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Arsenal Lanes…

Rock n’ Bowl Mondays

Mondays, 9 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Arsenal Lanes

Lawrenceville

$8 cover-all you can eat (412) 683-5992

The smell of shoe cleaner and the sight of purple crushed velvet surround you. You hear shouted quotes from “The Big Lebowski” at your left and right. Someone is leaping jubilantly at the clatter of a perfect strike. And somewhere in the background a band is tuning up. Anything seem out of place here?

Not to the owners of Lawrenceville’s Arsenal Lanes. The match of bowling and live music seems to be one made in heaven. This is Rock n’ Bowl Mondays, a blending of two popular outings that has struck a chord with many Pittsburghers.

Arsenal has attracted a good deal of business and press by cementing a reputation as a place where local acts can come and play for bowlers and music fans alike.

The brain behind the innovative event is Paul Mock. A jack-of-all-trades here in Pittsburgh, Mock is a radio announcer and host for WRCT. He also owns his own promotion company, which manages and scouts talent for clubs and bars in the area. His relationship with Arsenal Lanes has brought two new titles to his resume: DJ and talent coordinator.

Mock began his work with Arsenal three and a half years ago when he came to the owners with an idea. “They were looking for a way to get kids to come out during the week.” Mock had observed bowling alleys in other cities, namely New Orleans and Chicago, where bowling alleys had tried putting cover bands on stage or getting a house band to play. “No one was doing this in Pittsburgh. And I thought, ‘why not?'”

Anyone who has been in Pittsburgh for the past five years has been frustrated by the disappearance of live music venues all over the region. Metropol has become The World, and neither one was successful. And many a Pitt student had a tear in her eye when Club Laga, the University’s favorite on-campus venue, became apartments overlooking Forbes Avenue. With an underground music scene bursting with fresh talent, a public ready and waiting to be rocked and a shortage of venues in which to do the rocking, Pittsburgh club promoters have sought new and inventive ways of getting the grooves to the people.

Mock asserts that the bowling is still the main attraction. “I try to impress on all the bands that they are essentially a living jukebox. This can become off-putting for bands if they are not prepared for it. All too often, a band will finish a song to thunderous applause only to look to the lanes and find someone has just thrown a big strike.”

But even though the bands are in principle an afterthought to the games being played, Mock is not interested in cover bands. “We want original music. We mostly look for indie or alt rock bands because while a lot of people come to bowl, a lot of the crowds seem split down the middle. There have even been a few bands that have simply packed the place.”

Glenn Bell has been the manager of Arsenal Lanes for the last three years. “The bands love the idea of playing in a bowling alley because it is something different and an experience they are not likely to get most other places,” he said.

Mock agrees that bands have been very receptive, sending demos and press kits in huge numbers. And you can’t argue with the results. Bell says that Rock n’ Bowl Mondays have done wonders for his business. “This event has made Mondays one of our most popular nights.”

Many alleys have incorporated music into their bowling experience with late-night DJ events on weekend nights. But Arsenal is different in that they experimented with live music first. “Arsenal had no music at all. But when this live music idea started to take off, the owners called me after about six months saying, ‘what else can we do?'” Mock now DJs for Arsenal twice a week and selects all the talent for the Monday shows.

Where will promoters display new talent next? Brave New World Records in Oakland now has free concerts on Friday nights for local punk and metal bands to show their stuff. Many coffee houses and clubs now run open stage performances during the week.

One thing is for sure – the scene in Pittsburgh is only getting stronger. If there is no conventional place for musicians to perform and for fans to come and see them, promoters will continue to find new and inventive ways to get the music out. Your favorite local band could be playing in your local supermarket, church or park someday soon, so keep your eyes and ears open.