Meet the Crew: Daniel Bonner and Sissy Broadwater

This week the blog will be introducing everyone to the wonderful people that make up the Main Street Cafe's staff.

Today we're introducing the dynamic duo of managers, Daniel Bonner and Sissy Broadwater. Daniel and Sissy are more than a team of managers, they're also fiances. The two took over managing duties at the Main Street Cafe earlier this year, and have since been fervently working to turn it into a fully functional cafe, music venue and community center. They are not only passionate about the Main Street Cafe, but they are kind and down to Earth people. If you are ever in the cafe and you see these faces, do yourself a favor and talk to them.

Daniel Bonner, management and booking at the Main Street Cafe.

Sissy Broadwater, management and booking at the Main Street Cafe.

 What is your name and position at the Main Street Cafe?
D: Daniel Bonner, and I am a manager and work with booking.

S: I am Sissy Broadwater. I am a manager and also help with booking.

When and why did you get involved with the Main Street Cafe?
D: The second week of January I met with Tim (Gentilozzi, owner) about the idea of opening the café and doing the venue and we kind of discussed some ideas of what we wanted to do and he really liked our ideas. I’ve always wanted to have my own music venue and having the opportunity to run my own music venue just kind of fell in my lap. I’ve done music for years. It’s always been one of my dreams, to have a studio and music venue, and I get to fulfill one of those dreams with having a venue.

S: I met Tim over a year ago when he was wanting to pass the café on to somebody, and I wasn’t able to do that at that point in time. He (Daniel) was with his band and I was working full time and it’s just something that I couldn’t do, even though I wanted to. And then a year later, when Daniel wasn’t doing anything, I was not working anymore and we were just like, let’s do it. So we got ahold of Tim and it just happened. I’ve always loved music, especially because I’m not good at making music, so I just appreciate the hell out of art and just music in general. And it’s just a way that I can help other people with it.

D: Especially with Clarksburg. The music scene around here is slowly dying, and to give bands and artists a place where they can play and showcase their art, it helps to build the community and the artists, they don’t have any place to go to be themselves.

S: When I lived in Pennsylvania there was an amazing hardcore scene, and I would just go out all the time and go to all these local shows and then I moved to West Virginia and stayed in my house for the first year. I didn’t know anybody I didn’t socialize, cause there’s nothing to do around here. So now we will be the influence. I’ll be running the hardcore shows (laughs).

Favorite musician/band?
D: Tom Delonge. Angels and Airwaves is definitely my favorite band. I love Blink-182, but Angels and Airwaves, musically, is so much better, and lyrically. They’re like a serious Blink-182. Their music is uplifting and spiritual and can help you get through (anything). It’s helped me through a lot of emotional stuff. It’s really heartfelt and every time I listen to it I feel the same thing. It’s just really uplifting music and that’s why I like them so much.

S: My favorite musician as a person, like as a singular source of music is Marilyn Manson. Because his music is unlike anything else. It just embodies his weirdness and he’s so intelligent. I’m not just like a huge Marilyn Manson fan, but he’s amazing. My favorite band is My Chemical Romance. I always just was like, “Oh they’re just an emo band. I’m not going to listen to them,” and then I listened to them, and they’re so theatrical and I love movies and stuff. I’m like, this should be a movie. Just, like, all their music, it should be a musical. And then I made a musical with their music and I just fell in love with them.

Favorite movie?
D: The Matrix.

S: Harry Potter.

Any particular Harry Potter?
S: I can't, they're all so different. That or Lord of the Rings.

Favorite drink? 
D: Jack Daniels. Jack Daniels sauce.

Favorite non-alcoholic drink?
D: Chai tea lattes are pretty damn good...and cream soda.

S: Those were all mine! Except for the Jack Daniels. My favorite is cream soda. I really, really like hazelnut iced coffee, though.

What are you most excited about with the Main Street Cafe?
D: Leaving my current job (laughs). No, building the music scene and meeting all the bands. That’s what I’m excited about the most. Just Giving them a place to come to. I’m really excited to build the scene in Clarksburg back up.

S: Yeah, mine is basically the same. I don’t want it to be our venue. I want it to be shared. I want it to be the band's place. I want it to be community driven, and I’m excited to share all of our experiences with them.

What has been your favorite memory of the Cafe so far?
D: Watching it come together. Watching it come from pretty much an empty building into what it is now with the bar and the partition that we built. And just the clean up, seeing the transformation into what it always had the potential to be.

S: It’s more of like a personal thing for me, my favorite memory. It’s been about a month. I’ve always wanted things to happen in my life and I’ve never followed through with it and this, we just decided to do it, and it just got done and it’s just really gratifying.

D: Tim is excellent. He’s not one of these kind of owners that’s like, "It’s my business. I’m going to do it how I want it." He’s really open to everybody’s opinion and will get it done if it’s within his power to do. It’s really nice to see somebody that’s the owner that’s willing to make that happen and not try and take the easy way and, “No let’s not do this,” or, “Not do that.” It’s really cool to see somebody that is as passionate about it as we are.

What is your dream for the cafe? 
D: I would love to get emails from bigger bands, signed bands that hear about it that, on an off day, want to come by and do a show.

S: Yeah, that’s exactly what I want

D: I think it would be really cool just to get the word out there. And any band that’s coming through West Virginia be like, yeah it’s not a big venue but, you know, on an off day to come through and pack the place with a couple hundred kids.

S: The venue matters. It’s not just, oh we don’t want to play this hole in the wall, you know, dump. It’s like, this is the Main Street Cafe. That’d be awesome to play at.

You're stranded on a deserted island. What are your three essentials?
D: A smiley face button in case I get sad. A pistol just in case I get really sad. And Jack Daniels.

S: You are the typical Man.

S: I would bring a water purifier. I would bring my puppies, and I wouldn’t bring Daniel

D: (Laughs) I wouldn't want to be stranded on an island.

S: But I would bring a pen and paper.

D: That’s two things.

S: Okay, a package that contains a pen and paper.

Leave everyone with your best bit of life advice.
D: Do what you like to do. Don’t let anybody dictate how you want to live your life. If you don’t want to go to college, and you want to do something with music like I’m doing, do it. It took nine years for me to get to this point. It’s a long process, but I don’t have debt. I don’t have college loans or anything going towards something that I probably wouldn’t have used. I just worked for what I wanted. Don’t think that you have to go to college and get a good job to be happy. Money’s not everything. Life isn’t all about money. Yes, it’s nice to have but don’t let money rule your life because you’ll end up 60 and wondering why you didn’t go for your dreams. My biggest fear is to wake up when I’m 60 and be like, “Why didn’t I fulfill any of my dreams?” You only get one life. Why not live it?

S: Mine’s basically the same. I know I’m only 20, but I don’t feel like I’ve ever done anything substantial and this is just something that happens. So you need to just open yourself and your mind up to any possibility because the world is anything you want to make of it. So just find your motivation of the most important thing and just let it take you. It will take you good places.

Check back Wednesday for the second installment of Meet the Crew and keep an eye out for upcoming events at the Main Street Cafe.