the loud countercultural music genre.

Since opening its doors in 1980, the 9:30 Club has been a staple of this scene.

That same year, a young man named Seth Hurwitz started a concert booking company called It's My Party, or I.M.P.

for short.

Hurwitz went on to book for the 9:30 Club and eventually bought the place in 1986.

Since then, Hurwitz has presented more than 20,000 events and amassed a small empire of concert venues.

I visited Seth Hurwitz at the 9:30 Club to learn about this historic spot.

Hi, Seth.

Hey.

So good to see you.

Thanks for coming.

Welcome to "WETA Arts."

Shirley Manson: ♪ I'm only happy when it rains ♪ ♪ I feel good when things are going wrong ♪ Curry: Tell us a little bit about where we're standing right now.

Well, I still call this the new 9:30... Yeah.

'cause we started on F Street... and that was small and smelly and not comfortable, so we moved it.

This is a place that used to be the WUST Radio Music Hall.

Shirley: ♪ Oh, oh, oh... Hurwitz: From the moment we opened, it was just...bananas.

♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh [Song ends, crowd cheering] Curry: What do you say to someone who's never been to the 9:30 Club?

There's nothing like seeing a band in a small place.

We opened the Anthem.

We wanted to make it like the 9:30.

It's obviously bigger, but to get that feel, that vibe.

The new one next door, which is the Atlantis, is a re-creation of the old club.

So these are postcards with all the shows... Wow.

from the old club... Wow.

all these bands you can look at and go, "Whoa," you know, that became big.

So this was the backbar at the old club.

Why was this the thing that you wanted to bring?

I'll tell you why this.

'Cause people took everything else.

They were carrying out toilets, everything.

In a club, in a bar, I think this is...

I don't know what else you bring.

the perfect thing to bring with you.

You hope to bring the vibes.

And this has got to bring back a lot of memories from how you got started with the club.

Well, I actually did not start the 9:30 Club.

A woman named Dody Bowers at the time-- she's now Dody DiSanto-- created the 9:30 Club.

So I am merely a custodian of what she created, and Dody just encouraged and nurtured this true alternative society.

You can be whoever you are here, and you are welcome.

And I love that, and she taught me that.

And we've amassed a real family.

Some people have been working for me 20, 30 years, and that's the way I like it, and I think that's what bands like most.

The thing I hear best is "Your people were so nice."

Mm.

"Second we got there, they took care of us."

You hear that from the audience, too.

That's what I want to hear.

I remember I went to shows.

I'd get my dad to go get me tickets and waiting in line, going to the show, getting close to the stage, and then, when the band goes on, just how exciting that was.

So that's the experience I want to create for people.

Grace Potter: ♪ We are, we are, we are ♪ Alive tonight ♪ Whoa, yeah ♪ Ow!

Hurwitz: I want both the band and the audience to feel like "This is the best show I've ever seen," or, in the band's case, "This is the best show on the tour."

["Alive Tonight" continues] How do you preserve the history and the legacy of the 9:30 Club?

You know, um, we got the Hall of Records, of course.

Mm-hmm.

[Rock music playing] For every show, we have a record, literally.

Where's the first one?

Well, the first one, then, would be at the beginning.

At the beginning.

Tiny Desk Unit.

The guy who was in that band is Bob Boilen, who does that show "Tiny Desk Concert"... Mm-hmm.

because his band was called Tiny Desk Unit.

And they were the first band to actually set foot on stage in the old 9:30, so when we opened the new one, we had his band open that, and when we opened the Anthem, we had him open that.

Curry: What's the one you go up to and say, "Oh, man, that show, I remember it"?

Iggy Pop, for example.

Whoa.

He destroyed the place.

I mean, I couldn't leave.

[Sings indistinctly] Hurwitz: And I think about creating history... Hmm.

more than celebrating history.

Curry: What are the things that make this venue so special?

I mean, I'm looking at lights, I'm looking at signs.

Well, the parquet floor, clearly.

Ha ha ha!

We had an acoustician come in, and he had us redo the air-conditioning ducts with acoustic inside.

I've heard about a rolling stage.

Ah, yes.

So, when we moved, we didn't want to stop getting the little bands, 'cause this place is 1,200, and you certainly don't want the bands to feel like they're playing too big a place.

Right.

And a guy who used to work for us named Chad, he said, "Well, why don't you just move the stage up?"

[Chuckles] So, for me, when we opened, the first show was exciting and all that, but I couldn't wait till we did a small show, to see how it looked.

And unless you really took note of where this is now, you would not know the difference.

[Reggae music playing, indistinct singing echoes] How do you decide which bands come here?

So you have to figure out what kind of business they're going to do.

Mm-hmm.

What's the right ticket price, what's the right venue, and then if they belong here.

We want the really cool bands.

[Rock music playing] Hurwitz: If you want to get the Modern Englishes or the Red Hot Chili Peppers, then you better be the cool place, where the cool kids hang out.

We sell at all general admission, and I could get a lot of money for selling the--right there.

I don't believe in it.

I think everyone should get a fair shot, and everyone's in the same room together.

[Crowd cheering] So... Look at this space.

Yeah, this is my spot.

Wow.

What an incredible vantage point.

I don't get to see the light show head-on... Mm-hmm.

but I get to look at the drummer, and I play drums, so I love watching the drummer.

Curry: What's a crazy thing you've seen from this vantage point?

Hurwitz: So, at the time, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston were a rumor.

Hmm.

This was unconfirmed, but they were here together on that balcony, and I came out to have a look just to see if it was true.

I came out, and they were there.

Of course.

I didn't take the picture, but that became the picture that broke that story open.

Right here at the 9:30 Club.

On all the newsstands, my balcony, this railing.

Ha!

Hurwitz: Occasionally, if I badger someone long enough, I get to play drums with them... Curry: Heh!

very occasionally, but it's the thrill of a lifetime when I do 'cause I actually sit in that seat and I'm like, "Wow!"

Trouble Funk: ♪ Play that funky music, white boy ♪ ♪ Lay down the boogie ♪ And play that funky music ♪ Till we die [Crowd cheering] Big Tony Fisher: ♪ Whoo [Shouts indistinctly] Curry: Tell me about the legacy that you want to leave through the 9:30 Club.

The thing about me is I'm not so much interested in yesterday.

Hmm.

I want to create tomorrow.

By the time people get here, they're already pretty famous, but they were all tiny bands at one time.

[Rock music playing, crowd cheering] When you know a band and they're nice, and you've seen them every step of the way, you know, it feels like family.

It's a great feeling.

Seth, thank you so much for joining us on "WETA Arts," and thank you for taking us on a tour of the 9:30 Club.

Well, it's exciting for me to have you guys here.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Curry: The 9:30 Club is located on the corner of 9th and V Streets Northwest.

Check out who's playing at 9:30 Club and other I.M.P.

venues by visiting impconcerts.com.