Internet Entertainment Big Dipper Encourages Patrons To Eat, Drink And Surf The Internet

Sunday nights, you’ll hear only the blues.

Other nights, the bands play reggae, punk or rock.

But twice a week, the tapping of a computer keyboard takes center stage at the Big Dipper in Spokane.

“Surfing the Internet is so cool,” owner Steve Spickard said.

The club at 171 S. Washington is one of a few bars in town where live bands from across the country play.

Now, there’s a radical new attraction: It’s the Internet on Monday and Saturday.

Spickard is joining forces with some of his computer whiz buddies to make the club a hangout for on-line junkies as well as for music fans.

During the Cafe Internet on Monday evenings and the Internet Clinique on Saturday afternoons, people who are, or want to be, on-line can get free help from CompuTech systems analysts.

Since starting them last month, the Internet gatherings are drawing small crowds of people, most of whom already are hooked on the Internet. “It’s fun for us,” said Spickard, who brews a pot of coffee and makes popcorn for the occasions. “People just hang out and drink coffee and see the Internet.”

Last Monday, about 10 people showed up, including Donavon Garner.

“I have access but I’ve never bothered to find out exactly what I have,” he said.

Brian Coburn, a Spokane engineer who uses the Internet for his job at ASC Machine Tools, came because he was having problems with his laptop computer.

“I’m not a net fanatic,” he said. “I’d be more likely to come down here for the music.”

Kay Jackson, a 26-year-old Gonzaga University student who is a deejay at some Big Dipper events and for the campus station, wanted to learn more about what she could do on the Internet.

“All the students have Internet at school,” she said. “I guess I’m just into the whole connection thing. You have to be. … The world is getting to be so computer-everything.”

Spickard and his friend, Jeff Albrecht, the owner of CompuTech, got the idea of bringing computers into the bar after going to a Seattle coffee shop that held an Internet night.

“I like that, too, except that I got a little wired on the espresso,” Albrecht said.

So far, the Internet events at The Big Dipper are advertised only on a local computer bulletin board and the monthly Big Dipper event calendars.

By starting the computer events, Spickard hopes to get more use out of the club while spreading his love of the Internet.

“I’m tired of just serving beer,” he said. “I think my plan is to not serve alcohol and put in some terminals for people to use.”

It’s also a favor to his friends at CompuTech, who don’t have a showroom.

“I believe in what they’re doing,” Spickard said.

In addition, Spickard sees the computer events as a way to draw on the crowds that go to the nearby Laser Quest.

Beginning tonight, the club will host its first-ever “Word Slam,” following the Internet Cafe.

Several writers have been invited to the club to read their work.

“Normally, they’re going to be thematic: sex, death, love, Newt, various themes,” said Terry Trueman, who’s organizing the event.

This event also has an Internet angle. Original material will be downloaded onto the Internet, Trueman said.

For more information, The Big Dipper’s Internet mail address is irr@iea.com.