Once upon a time in the early nineties, the city of Lancaster laid claim to a thriving music scene that was beginning to garner national attention from media and music reps alike. No less than four "local" bands had signed major label deals and they all had one thing in common: The Ocean Blue, Innocence Mission, Live, and Suddenly, Tammy had all earned their stripes and honed their performance skills at Lancaster’s Chameleon club. All four bands enjoyed early success and the Chameleon itself was considered a hotbed for new live music by both fans and industry types. The club, with three floors located at 223 N. Water Street, not only showcased local music, but also brought in national acts as diverse as Matthew Sweet and Marilyn Manson. There was even a monthly program on the cable channel Prism, out of Philadelphia, that focused on and filmed whatever was happening at the Chameleon that month, hoping to catch on to the next successful band to come out of Lancaster.

So what happened? Of the four aforementioned bands, only Live is still considered successful (albeit very successful), the others having been dropped or having to switch labels due to poor record sales, and the hallowed Chameleon itself is up for sale to the highest bidder. Did Lancaster’s music scene run out of gas, with nothing new to offer the national audience? Or was it the other way around, with good music still very much alive here, but the ever-fickle music scene changing quickly and phasing out what was happening locally.

"It’s a cyclical thing," says Rich Ruoff, owner of the Chameleon. "When alternative music was hitting it big, we [in Central PA] were on the forefront of that scene, but as that died out, no one could really tell what was going to be next. Hip-hop is the only thing that’s been consistently popular in the nineties, but this just isn’t a hip-hop market." Ruoff also points out that record companies, with the Internet and other musical formats emerging, simply began signing fewer bands in the traditional fashion as well.

This and a myriad of other reasons contributed to Ruoff’s decision to sell the club.

"I figured that 15 years is a good number to go out on," he jokes. In addition to the 15 years of going above and beyond the call of duty for live music in Lancaster, Rich is also tying the knot in May, and all of those nights spent taking care of business until 4 a.m. aren’t as easy to pull off as they once were.

So where else can you go to hear live music in Lancaster? The Village, on North Christian Street, consistently books live bands on Saturdays, focusing mostly on party and tribute bands, with the occasional aging national hair-metal band coming through town on their final farewell tour. There is excellent jazz to be heard on Fridays and Saturdays at the Belvedere and Ellington’s, and Sunday jazz nights at Strawberry Hill have become a Lancaster tradition. You can also catch live acts on a regular basis at downtown locations like McFly’s, The Lancaster Dispensing Company, the 914 Café, and The Lancaster Malt Brewing Company. But is there anyone to fill in the gap being left by the Chameleon, any establishment that is willing to sink or swim on live music and present a forum for up and coming local and out-of-town bands?

"Absolutely," says Angela Skiadas, manager of the Blue Star at 602 West King Street. "We’ve been having live bands at least 3 nights a week for quite a while now." Skiadas’ brother purchased the Blue Star nearly two years ago and has been very successful at pulling in the live music crowd ever since. Three nights a week means a lot of bands loading in and out of the back door, so is it difficult to continually book quality bands on a regular basis?

"No, just the opposite," says Skiadas, "bands from all over the country have heard of us and are trying to get a show here. We get up to 10 press kits a week from as far away as California and New England." The new ownership has also enhanced the kitchen and game room, and has added a warm-weather deck that they hope to expand sometime soon. With live shows being pared back at the Chameleon, many people seem to be checking out the Blue Star to get a taste of Lancaster’s live music scene. "We’ve been dedicated to live music since we opened, and we have definitely seen out audience grow because of that."

With the national music scene constantly changing gears, it’s entirely possible that Lancaster could once again step up and get a piece of the action again. In fact, Skiadas reports that a few of the local acts that play at the Blue Star have already been offered record deals, they are just waiting for the right one. And Ruoff is planning to release a compilation disc of area bands, to be completed in his state-of-the-art studio on the bottom floor of Chameleon, and then distributed on his Lizard Records label.

While trying to decide on a name for their band, The Ocean Blue almost called themselves The Next Big Thing. Is the next big thing playing this weekend at one of the venues in beautiful, historic downtown Lancaster? Who knows, only time will tell.