Nonprofit Venue For Local Bands Opens In Toms River

TOMS RIVER, N.J. - About a month after opening, The Clubhouse has started quite the buzz in downtown Toms River, with a steady flow of traffic and a calendar that is quickly filling up with bands. The nonprofit is a new local venue for local and traveling bands, as well as a spot for local artists to showcase their work.

The Clubhouse hosts all genres of music, but leans towards punk rock, indie rock and hardcore bands, Jimmy Mura, director of The Clubhouse said. The store also sells art, gifts, clothing, jewelry all created by New Jersey Artists.

“There’s a couple people here from [Philadelphia], but most are from New Jersey with a lot of people coming from Ocean County and a few from Monmouth County,” Mura said. “They make all the stuff that’s in the store.”

The idea for the store is that it can be a hangout as well as a local concert venue, he said. As you walk into the shop, your greeted with a television hooked up to a Super Nintendo Entertainment System and a couch with two controllers.

“Usually when people come through, they are very excited about it,” Mura said. “And they may or may not buy something while they are here.”

The items in the store may not provide a constant cash flow, but Mura said a bulk of his revenue come from the bands that play at The Clubhouse. An average size audience for the shows at the venue range between 20-50 people.

“While people are here for the shows, they will come in here and they may buy pins or a small item,” Mura said. “For the most part, most of the people who come through the shop wind up being from the shows.”

Along with local artists, Mura also offers to sell band merchandise. The store is lined with band items, from CD’s to tee shirts. He encourages them to leave items that he can sell for a percentage of the profits.

“All those CD’s are from bands that have played here in the past,” Mura said, as he pointed to the CD rack on the wall. “A lot of the tee shirts are also from bands that have played here, with some from clothing designers mixed in there as well. The store builds basically every time we have a show.”

While The Clubhouse has a storefront for merchandise, Mura utilizes a shared space between all the shops for bands performances. The space isn’t a large venue but Mura said bands appreciate the size of the intimate space. Where 30 people may seem small in a large venue, at The Clubhouse it seems like a good turnout for bands who want to engage more with their fans.

“15 people in here looks like a good turnout for a show. 30 it feels full and 50 it feels packed,” Mura said.

For the local bands who have already played at The Clubhouse, he said he hopes that they can make the venue their home spot where they won’t have to pay a fee to play.

The Clubhouse doesn’t charge bands, rather, they do a door split and work with bands to get them on the stage to play.

Mura said he has plans for future growth, but right now his focus is establishing community support in the local area, as well as securing grants for the nonprofit.

Building The Clubhouse

Mura comes from a music background in the punk rock scene. He initially started booking his own shows in 2014. A lot of the bands he says he met at the Asbury Punk Flea Market and the Trenton Punk Flea Market.

He says he came up with the name The Clubhouse because he used to book shows at the Silver Bay Harbor Association where he would run shows in the community clubhouse.

“Within that little community that was actually called ‘the clubhouse.’ I used to rent that and put punk shows on there.” “Back then everyone in the community had moved out because of Hurricane Sandy, but once they started to move back in, they didn’t want punk shows right near their house.”

After leaving Silver Bay, Mura was looking for a new spot to host bands when he was approached by Alizar N. Zorojew, Executive Director for the Downtown Toms River Business Improvement District, who offered him a space to get started.”

“We got a call from Nick from the Toms River BID and he said ‘Hey, why don’t you start up here? Get your feet wet and see where it goes,’” Mura said.

The Clubhouse hosed it’s first show on May 12th, with the storefront opening a month later.

For a list of upcoming events, go to The Clubhouse or visit their Facebook page for more information.