It's not just all pop, you know

A live bar called School is among the most popular places for indie music bands and music fans.

School, tucked in a narrow hutong in downtown Beijing, was co-founded by Liu Fei, a former band agent and music festival organizer, about nine years ago.

"We wanted to have a place to enjoy music and drink together so we decided to launch School," says Liu, 36, a Beijing native. "The place connects like-minded people."

As Liu sat in the two-floor venue he was accompanied by a black dog that he adopted last year. He spotted the stray sitting outside the live bar and decided to take it in. It was the Year of the Dog, so Liu considers her as an omen of good things and named her School, after the club.

"Like us, she really enjoys crowds and loves to listen to music," Liu says.

Among the young bands that started to give performances at School and gained a fan base is Penicillin, an indie rock group whose members were all born after 1990.

"They started with performing in front of fewer than 10 people and now they have a stable fan base with about 100,000 followers on their Sina Weibo account," says Liu, adding that the lead vocalist and guitarist, nicked-named Xiaole, has the natural charisma of a rock star with his solid technique, songwriting talent and onstage composure.

Music fans are more diverse in their tastes than they were 10 years ago, he says, enjoying a wide range of styles, young bands and musical influences.

"I'm keen on putting together a group of good-looking young singer-songwriters, guitarists, bassists and drummers to form a rock band," Liu says. "They could compete with the pop idols not only with their looks but also by winning a large following with their great songs and technique. I've been dreaming of this for 10 years, and now with the many ways you can help new talent stand out, such as reality shows, that dream can finally be realized."