The Enchanted Forest gives teens a place to rock out, no drugs, no alcohol

The bass player for the indie band Fists of Phoenix sits in front of me, wearing a denim miniskirt and a flipped hairdo. There are no girls in the band, however.

"My name's Jerrica tonight, sweetheart," lisps Jarred Harris, whose Halloween costume is strikingly realistic. Many of the teens and adults at the Enchanted Forest, the all-ages venue on Broadway, are in costume tonight. It's the first annual Halloween show, but Harris has been here before.

"It's our singer's house," he says, acknowledging a catcall from the other side of the room. "So we play here quite a bit. It's a great facility for young kids to come and have a good time."

But the time to be had will be clean, assures the facility's promoter, Timexx Nasty of local band Drivin' Rain. "There's no alcohol or smoking in the building. We have marked security to keep the riffraff out. It's strictly about music and fun."

Timexx said he started the Enchanted Forest about a year ago out of frustration that there were no venues in the area where kids under 18 could go that weren't affiliated with a church. The venue holds about a show a month, which Timexx hopes to increase to every weekend.

"Our shows are all rock n' roll," he said, "but we've occasionally had unplugged shows. It's a place where younger high school bands can come play, because they don't get much opportunity around here either. It's good experience -- teaches them about getting to gigs on time, setting up -- it's a good place to start out."

Lucas Collier of the melodic hard rock band This, is a Virtue agrees. "The Enchanted Forest offers younger kids a chance to get involved in the local music scene which has been dominated in the past by 'bar' bands. It inspires them to pursue a career in music, and try to start a revolution of new fresh music in the area."

This, is a Virtue has played at the venue before, and will be back again for the Christmas show.

The Halloween show featured five local bands, playing from 7 to 12 p.m. The group on everyone's lips that evening was Fists of Phoenix, who dominated the show that evening with pure sound and an energetic performance.

Christina Poole came for Fists of Phoenix. The 21-year-old, dressed as a dominatrix, called the Enchanted Forest a "good environment, a place where you don't have to worry about drama."

"Bars aren't really my scene," Poole said, which may explain why many of those attending the show were above the legal drinking age.

Ben Young and Emma Rieffer, 22 and 23, came for the music. "It's not too bad for an all-ages venue," said Rieffer.

Indeed, the Enchanted Forest seems like a teen's dream hangout. A common room, complete with a T.V. inexplicably set to VH1 and a pool table, is separate from the actual playing area. Here, kids sit and hang out with their friends, or enjoy a huge table of free refreshments. Follow the music into the next room to kids clustered around a stageless band. It's dark but you can still spot at least five red-shirted security guys roaming around. Occasionally some light-hearted moshing breaks out, but mostly the crowd is well-behaved.

That's the main vibe I got out of the Enchanted Forest. Timexx boasted that the place has never had a fight, but with the caliber of cool hanging out there, why should they? Every one of the over hundred people there was so relaxed. Even security, which you'd expect to be uptight at a place like this, didn't harp on the kids making out or dancing.

It's the kind of atmosphere kids like Kristina Kennedy, 15, and Samantha Jaquin, 14, are looking for. "With all the stress of school," said Jaquin, "it's nice to just come here and not have to worry about anything."

"You can get away from everything," agreed Kennedy. "And just listen to great music and hang out with friends."

Most of the younger kids cleared out of the show after Fists of Phoenix played, but whether it was due to their favorite band finishing or their curfew, I couldn't tell. Daniel Seabaugh, lead singer of the band and resident of the Enchanted Forest when it's not in use, loves the kids who come to the shows.

"They make it the best venue, in my opinion," he said. "Everyone comes up front and participates. Older people tend to see Fists of Phoenix as kids, they don't take us seriously. Here the crowd really gets into it." The fact that Seabaugh actually lives here solidifies the establishment's "living-room" feel.

When someone's mom shows up, we know the party's over. The kids'll be back for the Christmas and New Year's shows, however, in this area, where else can they go and rock out for only $5 a head?