photo of Benjamin Shafer by Molly Misek
On most days, when the heater is doing its job, Benjamin Shafer takes a flight of stairs to his workplace overlooking Benson.
This staircase is one of two sets of steeply angled steps that lead to two sets of second-floor studios, five of them in total. Here, in the afternoons, on the corner of 60th Avenue and Maple Street, a group of 10 instructors gives weekly lessons to students of guitar, strings, music theory, piano, percussion, harmonica and voice.
In one corner of an upstairs area, there’s a tracking room with high-end, donated gear where students can record their work. In another corner of the building, Shafer and his nonprofit’s leadership staff meet; plans-in-progress develop across a whiteboard. And down the other side’s hall, tenants such as City Dance, offering ballet classes catered to 3- to 5-year-olds, Fruitful Design and developer Chris Kollars occupy other second-floor suites, rooms that used to be “old, crusty apartments,” in Shafer’s words.
Taking the stairs back down to the sidewalk, just past the remnants of a painted Cavalier Barber Shop sign, another door leads to a sixth studio for group lessons and rehearsals. Along with a drum set, it’s outfitted with sinks and supplies for visual art. North of this room is the building’s 2,000-square-foot receiving area shared with Aromas Coffeehouse, which leases the space on a monthly basis.
courtesy photo of 6051 Maple St. from the early 20th century
Exposed brick, black and steely-gray paint, hand-drawn coffee-making methods and a string of burlap-sack flags define the interior identity: a sort of aged, industrial feel with wood floors and whitewashed moldings that pay homage to the building’s history. Anchoring the middle of this space is a large stage for regular concerts hosting local and touring musicians, Monday open mics and performances by students of Shafer’s nonprofit: the 402 Arts Collective.
In November 2011, thanks to generous donations, grants and a fundraising campaign, Shafer and company bought this 114-year-old building at 6051 Maple St. and began renovations, though the crew sought to keep some turn-of-the-century character.
“We love the old, gnarly floors. They’re slanted, and the building cracks and creaks and leaks,” says Shafer, the collective’s executive director. “We love that, man.”
Before the nonprofit had a home, the 402 comprised private lessons and the first iteration of Rock Academy — wherein bands of young musicians learn and rehearse over a 10-week semester that ends with a showcase at Omaha venues such as The Waiting Room and Slowdown. This early version of the 402 also included mobile percussion instruction, made possible thanks to a 24-foot truck that transported equipment.
After the renovated building opened its doors in early October, five arms of the nonprofit’s mission have formed to “create and cultivate a vibrant network of artists who are committed to impacting the culture and serving the community.” Those five arms include the 402 venue, lesson studios, rock academy, arts education connection and a recording studio, which is available for a suggested “donation” of $200 per track and engineer fees.
If the sheer depth of the 402 undertaking is difficult to distill into an elevator pitch, Shafer imbues the nonprofit’s character with a steady sense of oneness. He developed part of his work ethic and purpose by learning from his father, who worked as a mechanic and as a pastor of a church of 35 people in Cozad, Neb.
“I grew up working on cars and thought that’s what I was going to do for the rest of my life,” Shafer says. “Then music came along and messed everything up (laughs).”
Shafer says he spent 15 years hoping fans would climb stairs like the collective’s to the top of a music arena for him, for his own Christian band that goes by his last name.
“I got married, I sold my house, I bought a tour bus, bought $30,000 worth of equipment and a trailer,” he says with a matter-of-fact tone. “Threw those 15 years down the tube with my own pursuit of fame, glory and riches, and it’s proven to be pretty much in vain. It was driven by a constant desire to be on a bigger stage, but then I figured out, man, you need to stop pursuing those types of things, turn around on the ladder of life and see the young people coming up the staircase and help them up the stairs and be that patriarch.”
photos by Molly Misek
Shafer credits the kernel of that need to give back to a teacher, Tom Wilde, who started to give him voice lessons as a seventh grader. He says Wilde stopped him in the middle of a lesson, looked him dead in the eye and told him he had a gift, something special, something profound.
“That’s what led me to this. I don’t know what I’m doing. I have no idea what I’m doing, man. Every time I start thinking, ‘Yeah, I got this,’ something crumbles in front of me,” he says with a laugh.
Built upon 30 core values, “generic, being-human core fundamentals that we adopt,” the 402 Arts Collective is far from crumbling. It’s growing. And when asked how his faith undergirds the 402 — Shafer lists three jobs as “worship pastor” on his resume — he says he thinks it’s “ridiculous” that Christian organizations need to call themselves as such.
“But here at the 402, we do give quite a bit of freedom for instructors to talk about their faith, talk about what they believe, and what made them the musician that they are,” Shafer says. “And that could be anything, could be the ups and downs of life. But it is a big part of why I do music.”
Just last October, Shafer released his most-recent album, Sons and Daughters, recorded in his home studio. He filmed a music video for the record’s title track on the 402 stage.
With the band, Shafer says he toured around the country and lived in various other cities, though he says he never wanted to stay anywhere other than Omaha.
“When communities create together, they generate economic growth,” Shafer says. “It’s a proven statistic. Innovation creates a more beautiful city. I see Omaha as a city that’s redeveloping, redesigning and reinventing, going through a resurgence. You sense that in Benson, and that’s why we like being here, part of that growth.”
Omaha, he says, is “like walking in the front door of your house.” At the top that house’s staircase, and on its main floor, the 402 Arts Collective is hoping to support the artist so that she or he can give back. “Being a river versus being a lake” is Shafer’s analogy, meaning he doesn’t want the 402 to turn into something meaningless. And in 10 years, if students become teachers themselves, one of the 402’s main goals will be fulfilled.
“You can make a living, but you don’t dare build an education, mentoring organization centered around the arts about finding a job or creating a career or generating income. It’s not designed for that. Beautifying the city is a phrase we use.”
“That’s what we long for: to be part of a community and part of something great.”
Upcoming concerts at the 402
Kait Berreckman, Edem, All Young Girls Are Machine Guns and CJ Mills
Friday, January 31 at 7 p.m.
Todd Campbell Band & Kaitlyn Hova
Saturday, February 1 at 7 p.m.
Bathtub Gin, Leigh Jones and Nick Dahlquist
Friday, February 7 at 7 p.m.
SHAFER and Danny Sabra
Saturday, February 8 at 7 p.m.
Come Together (A Beatles Tribute)
Sunday, February 9 at 7 p.m.
Unscene Patrol, Zach Short and Andre Vander Velde
Saturday, February 15 at 7 p.m.
Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Disciple
Friday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Michael Todd is Hear Nebraska’s managing editor. His phone number might live in the 308, but he supports the 402 mission 100 percent. Reach him at michaeltodd@hearnebraska.org.