Topeka, he bypassed the local, all-ages venues and went to Lawrence or Manhattan for entertainment.
"I remember a few aborted attempts at having an all-ages place," says Pound, Lawrence resident.
Many short-lived, all-ages venues, such as the Generation Gap, Buddy's Place and the Hanger, remained open less than a year due to subpar entertainment, Cutler says.
Stephanie Foster, Topeka senior, recalls going to the Hanger, a less than satisfying experience. "I went to one at Forbes Field and I laughed my ass off," Foster says. "It was just a bunch of 14-year-old bumping and grinding on each other."
14- year-olds bumping and grinding on the playing in rock shows is something that Cutler is no stranger to. He performed in the punk rock band Dead On Arrival and toured in the U.S. and Europe for seven years. He also helped run the Outhouse where "before-they-were-big" acts like Rancid played the same stage as local punkers like the Sex Offenders and Sister Mary Rotten Crotch.
From his travels on the rock club circuit, Culter has seen many all-ages venues come and go. "When you go back to the same city and it's a year later and you see what venues are open and which ones are closed down, you get a picture for works and what doesn't," Cutler says.
He adds that it is important for an all-ages venue to have a source of revenue other than door charges. His strategy is to open a diner that serves breakfast and lunch, and has shows in the evening.
Groundworks Coffeehouse in Leavenworth took a different avenue for staying alive as an all-ages venue. It relied on an allvolunteer staff to keep the place running.
Since its opening July 19, Groundworks has attracted big name acts such as Salt the Earth and the Primetime Heroes despite the coffee house's out-of-the-way location.
"We attract bands pretty much by word of mouth," says Andrew Crawford, owner and production manager. "We attract a pretty good audience and bands tell other bands to play here."
With Lawrence, Kansas City and Wichita sucking in all of the big name acts, an all-ages venue in Topeka will have to rely on the local talent pool.
"I'm not going to try to compete with the Bottleneck or
ABOVE: Cutler says he simmers his hot dogs in Pabst Blue Ribbon to give them a distinct flavor.
RIGHT: Graduate student Leslie Glassteeter,
Oran, Mo., buys a frank off Cutler around midnight on Saturday. "It's great they actually have food at a bar," she said.
"Cause you drink, you get home, you get the munchies. But here you got everything."
14 jayplay
"It's a lot better than sitting out and begging for change."
BOB CUTLER, HOT DOG VENDOR
Kansas City venues," Cutler says. He plans to rely on more local and regional acts. "Obviously, all of the Lawrence and Kansas City bands would love to have a gig that's 30 minutes away," he says. "Drive down, play and be in bed in one night."
POLICE LOOKING FOR UNDERAGE patrons with drugs and alcohol constitute a major hassle that plagues all-ages venues. Trying to keep out illegal substances without looking uncool is easier said than done." One thing we found at the Outhouse is that people, even young kids, when given the opportunity can be responsible for themselves," Cutler says
Groundworks has strict rules on keeping outside containers from coming in. "We have a full, volunteer security team," Crawford says. "We have wristbands we put on people and we keep the bringing in of purses to a minimum.
Cutler needs at least $50,000 to even begin working on opening this venue, which is a lot of hot dogs. He has tried doing benefit shows, most notably last year's Jello Biafra's spoken word.
Some Replay customers who know of Cutler's cause, also support the idea. "I think it's a positive thing," says Matt Overstreet, Augusta graduate law student. "It'll give kids something to do other than sit around in convenience stores."
"Benefit shows are good for raising awareness but not good for raising cash," Cutler says. "That's part of a catch-22; if I had a place to put on benefit shows, I wouldn't be selling hot dogs."
Monica Wille, St. Louis senior, also enjoys Cutler's wiener stand.
"I think it's a good idea," Wille says. "I would be sad if he wasn't there. It's definitely a unique thing at the Replay."
—Neil Mulka, designer and Special to the Kansan writer, can be reached at nmulka@kansan.com.