If all goes well, by the end of 2007 the Oregon Liquor Control
Commission will amend its rules to allow music venues to both admit
people under 21 and sell alcohol, provided they can keep the one out of
the hands of the other. By greatly increasing local teenagers’ and
college students’ access to live music, this small regulatory change
would have an enormously positive impact on everyone involved in
Portland music, from fans to bands to venue owners. Helping to ensure
that the OLCC adopts it is arguably the single most important thing
that we can do to ensure the continued vibrancy, diversity, and
prosperity of our city’s music community. Portland needs more all-ages
music options, and if we speak up, we just might get them.

The OLCC statutes governing underage access and exposure to alcohol
are called Minor Postings rules, referring to the signs posted at
alcohol-serving establishments indicating if and when people under 21
are allowed on the premises. By the deficient logic of the outdated,
overly specific criteria set forth in the OLCC rules, most of the
places that we know to be music venues first and foremost, but that
also secondarily serve alcohol, are considered unfit for minors because
they have dance floors, don’t have fixed seating, or consist of only
one room. The proposed changes to the OLCC code include the
introduction of a new type of minor posting for businesses like music
venues, theaters, and art spaces that serve alcohol, but have a
non-liquor-related primary function and, as such, are clearly not just
bars. This new minor posting class would permit such multi-function
spaces to serve alcohol and still admit minors, as long as they submit,
get approval for, and enforce a control plan that keeps drinks out of
minors’ hands. Music venues applying for this new status would tailor a
plan to meet their own unique needs, but, for the first time, the OLCC
would formally recognize wristbands—the primary means for keeping
minors away from alcohol at shows almost everywhere else in the
country—as a legitimate control method. After all, why do we need
age-segregating barriers at concerts, while Blazers fans at the Rose
Garden can move freely in spite of beer sales?

Emails sent to OLCC Rules Coordinator Jennifer Huntsman (Jennifer.Huntsman@state.or.us)
in support of these changes before November 13 will be duly noted. A
sample email has been posted at pdxpopnow.com. If you would like to testify
in person, a public hearing will take place on Tuesday, October 30, 10
am-noon, at OLCC headquarters (9079 SE McLoughlin). If you need a ride,
meet at the Musicians Union (325 NE 20th) at 8:45 am. Lastly, join me,
an OLCC representative, and others for a lively Mercury Debate
Club event about these issues at rontoms (600 E Burnside, 21+) at 8 pm
later that evening.