A popular local music message board, "The Noise Board," needs a way to fund its own success. So this St. Patrick's Day the Middle East Upstairs has booked six bands that share two things in common: They've never played the room and their members post on the Noise Board. Partial proceeds will go to help keep the board afloat.

The Noise Board started in the late nineties as an outgrowth of "The Noise," a free local music magazine. The child outpaced its parent. According to volunteer webmaster/moderator Nancy (known as "AChick"), the board gets 2500-3000 posts per day. Activity quintupled in the last year and shows no sign of slackening. "I'm up at four o'clock in the morning much of the time and every time I look there are people on there," she says.

The majority of users are musicians, the rest mainly music businesspeople, photographers, club bookers, and promoters, with a smattering of fans. Other local message boards, such as WAAF's Bay State Rock, Honeypump, and Just Another Scene, don't generate this amount of activity.

Given this traffic, the board needs its own dedicated Web server, which costs several hundred dollars a month. The magazine doesn't have the funding. In February, the hosting service sent an eviction notice. The Noise Board was in danger of being shut down.

The Noise Board is a quirky place. "I think everybody generally comes together for the love of local music," says Anngelle Wood, a DJ at alternative station WFNX. Recent hot topics include the musicians Brett Rosenberg and the Halogens, the WBCN Rumble competition, and the Abbey Lounge venue.

Board users also cite professional benefits. "It's definitely expanded my audience," says Elio DeLuca, a (small-N) noise artist who has gained a BU magazine feature and a radio slot. Says Nancy, "Bands promote their shows on there, they get gigs on there... they get advice from other users on every aspect of being in a band." Photographer Sid Sowder finds that "any time I post up images, I can guarantee that I'll get 300 views within the hour."

But the draw goes beyond publicity. Lionel Brown, who runs Onslaught Entertainment, calls it "almost like family." He recently put together a show to send a community member off to the military. People invent gag personalities such as brash country-rocker Ryan Adams and tart advice-giver Ms. Lonelyhearts. The board also has sex talk and insults, the latter of which causes occasional lawsuit threats (all defused so far). In the past year and a half, people have started to socialize at parties and summer softball games. Wood enjoys the discussions about new bands and Boston music history, but she also says, "I just find it fun."

This camaraderie and networking power may rescue the board. On March 11, Nancy posted an emergency email asking for donations. Contributors raised $1000 before the end of the first day. "The response was overwhelming," she said, from "a community of struggling musicians who live in run-down houses in Allston with five roommates and eat ramen every day." Bands are also donating merchandise sales and the like.

Additionally, in late February Middle East Upstairs booker Chris Jackson set up a show of six Noise Board bands, with a portion of the club's share going to support the board. "[He] just decided on his own and it was something he wanted to do," says Nancy, who says it was "completely out of the blue." His colleague Steve Sell notes that Jackson pays attention to board feedback on the club.

Long-term, Nancy wants to pursue a multi-pronged approach. The site would be a natural target for advertising, though it's hard to find volunteers to sell ads. Community support, however, will suffice for the time being. "I think it's important to have something like this," says Wood. Board users clearly agree. As one posting had it, "I would really miss it if it went away."

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