On Government street, in an old tattoo parlor, an new venue is changing the face of the Baton Rouge music scene.
The Red Dragon is a music listening room that returns 100 percent of its profits to the artists that perform there, and offers something unique to patrons — an intimate, house-party feel that is absent from the Baton Rouge bar scene.
“You don’t ever see anywhere where you can actually listen to music [in the bars],” Chris Maxwell, the owner of the Red Dragon, said. “Here, people actually come to hear the music.”
Maxwell started the club about a year and a half ago, after being involved with the Baton Rouge music scene as the owner of Squirrel and Binky Records. The record labels Maxwell runs have put out 51 albums in the last 10 years.
Maxwell said the Red Dragon, on the advice of their attorney, is not classified as a business. Instead, they treat it like a house party, that way the only clearance they have to have is from the fire marshall.
And, since it is like a house party, guests pay to get in — usually between 10 and fifteen dollars — and all the refreshments are free. There are chairs to relax and listen to the music without having to worry about smoke and loud noise like a typical bar.
Nick Harris, a biology senior, said the Red Dragon is more laid back than other bars and clubs.
“It’s a good place to go if you’re someone who likes a lot of crowd interaction,” Harris said.
Maxwell said since the club is not profit-driven, it frees them up to have music and artists they like and want to hear without worrying about making money.
Maxwell and his wife, who helps run the shows, pay for all the refreshments and all of the money made from the cover at the door goes to the artists who perform.
“For so many people who loved music … once they turned it into a business, it became more about dollars and cents and less about the music itself,” Maxwell said. “Once they started chasing the dollar it became more about the business.”
Maxwell also started the Red Dragon to convince more well-known artists to stop in Baton Rouge.
Maxwell said that the 100 percent of the profits offered convinces a lot of acts to perform at the Red Dragon.
“In a lot of cases, Baton Rouge is the perfect stopping point between Houston and Atlanta,” Maxwell said. “So, a lot of artists pass through but never stop to play.”
Maxwell said he hopes he can change that with the Red Dragon.
Maxwell said the artists that play at the club almost always enjoy themselves. He said a lot of artists have the best night on their whole tour in Baton Rouge at the Red Dragon.
“We’ve had a couple of people come that should never play a room this small,” Maxwell said. Artists such as Matt the Electrician and Spencer Bohren are both big-name artists who have played at the club. Also a group called the Malvinas and Spencer Bohren both played at Jazz Fest in New Orleans this year.
Local artist Emily Branton has played at the Red Dragon as an opening act, after Maxwell heard her play at the Caterie.
Branton said the atmosphere at the club is different than any other club. She said it has more of a “storyteller’s feel.”
“I’ve been in a lot of clubs around here, and the Red Dragon is not typical at all,” Branton said. “The people there genuinely care and appreciate the originality of the music.”
Branton said the way the Red Dragon is set up allows an artist to really connect with the audience, which draws both patrons and artists in.
“I think an artist can never be more true to themselves than by playing in a place like [the Red Dragon],” Branton said.
Maxwell said the buzz from patrons and artists is what keeps his club popular. He said there are over 500 people on his e-mail list and it is growing by about 50 per month.
Maxwell said artists also talk to one another and recommend the club as a great place to perform.
“Word-of-mouth in music circles is greater than in customer circles,” Maxwell said. “One happy musician tells 100.”
Branton said the club is one that offers musicians a chance to play original music and have the crowd appreciate it, something that is hard to find in Baton Rouge.
“I think Baton Rouge is starting to come around a little bit,” Branton said. “With places like the Red Dragon, I think the doors are really starting to open.”