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JERREY ROBERTS

Mark H. Snow, center, owner of Snowzee's, with his sons Aaron Snow, left, and Mark A. Snow Wednesday in Sunderland. The club was formerly called Seven O's.

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JERREY ROBERTS

Mark H. Snow dances with his granddaughter, Seana Snow, 7, Wednesday on a stage where kareoke and jam sessions are held at his club, Snowzee's, formerly Seven O's, in Sunderland.

SUNDERLAND - "You want to jam?"

That is a question Mark Snow, owner of the new Snowzee's Music Shack in Sunderland, asks frequently these days. He asks it of the accountant who comes through the door, the musician who stops by to set up a practice session later and even a newspaper reporter.

Told that this particular reporter has no musical talent to speak of, he responded, "You should stop by and play the drums some time. It's a great stress reliever."

Simply put, Mark Snow is living the dream. A longtime Shutesbury resident, Snow retired from the University of Massachusetts this past June after working there for 37 years as a staff technician. Throughout those years, Snow played in several local bands and dreamed of owning his own bar with a vibrant music scene. Once he retired, he decided to make that dream a reality.

"Me and the boys always had this dream to own our own business," Snow said, referring to his two sons, Mark Jr. and Aaron, who will help him run the bar. "There's really nothing just for music."

On Dec. 22, Snow purchased the former Seven O's bar, located on Route 116 in Sunderland, from Agnes Ting and opened Snowzee's Music Shack a few days thereafter.

Snowzee's will remain a bar, but also will be a place where music is the focus, Snow said. Indeed, Snow reckons his new spot will be different from any other music venue around. From his seat behind the bar, Snow pointed to a small stage where a small collection of guitars, a bass, a drum kit, amplifiers and microphones are all assembled. The equipment, he noted, is plugged in and available for the public to play.

"The whole idea is different," Snow explained. "You just walk in, plug in and play. For 15 minutes or two hours it doesn't matter. If bands want to practice, they can, or people can just come in off the street and play."

That statement was put into practice a few moments later when Damon Reeves, an Amherst musician and friend of Snow, walked through the door and asked him if he could stop by and use the stage later in the day. Snow was only too happy to oblige, and Reeves was satisfied because he could try out a new drummer for his band.

"Just having a practice space without having to pay for it is a dream come true," Reeves said later. "This is a welcome place because Amherst, despite being a college town, doesn't have a good music scene."

Snow plans to change all that. He has shows booked every Friday and Saturday night at the bar for the next two months. That is in addition to the shows he has scheduled for weeknights, as well.

The new proprietor said his plans for the bar go far beyond music. Snowzee's is scheduled to have something of a physical face lift. The old sports paraphernalia lining the walls will be replaced with musical mementos, while the old Seven O's sign that still hangs above the entrance to the bar is scheduled to be removed.

"We want to change everything, the image, the direction, everything," Snow said. "It's going to be family run: bartending, cleaning, everything."

He would like Snowzee's to become an active member in the community as well. The large parking lot outside the bar could serve as a good location for a farmers market, he noted, and he also hopes that the bar will be able to host music lessons for kids on Saturday mornings before the establishment opens for the day.

"They don't seem to do much with music anymore in school," Snow said. He said he already has local musicians lined up to teach lessons for free.

"We want to be a community resource, not just a bar," he said.

Snowzee's is located at 330 Amherst Road in Sunderland and is open from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. daily.