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[Experience the Dotmatrix Project with these videos]

Every city has its underground music scene. In the past, all you had to do was go to the local record store, and you would find a slew of fliers posted on every open space promoting local shows.

Yes, those were the old days.

Now, you'll still find a few local music stores, though they are becoming rare. And occasionally you'll come across some show fliers stapled to a telephone pole. But with ever-growing Internet and social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, technology has changed the face of the music scene and has given bands a new outlet to promote their talent. Indie and local music now flourishes on the Web. But, one thing that has been lacking with those elements is a way to tie the community together.

That's where the Dotmatrix Project comes in.

A collaborative project created by Sean Coon of Greensboro, the Dotmatrix Project brings together local bands, recording engineers, photographers and filmmakers and leads them on a journey of documenting and spreading Greensboro music.

This is how it works: Coon and crew will set a date and a venue, book the bands, record the live audio, photograph the event and film the event. Afterward, all of that comes together in many packages.

The photos go onto the Dotmatrix Project's Flickr site (www.flickr.com/groups/the-dotmatrix-project); films are uploaded to YouTube (www.youtube.com/user/thedotmatrixproject); music is mixed and uploaded to last.fm (www.last.fm) and iTunes; and CDs of the live performances are made. Coon updates the project's blog (www.dotmatrixproject.com) as the work comes in so viewers can see it, remember it and hear it as soon as it's available.

All for free.

Through a vast network of friend requests and Evites, Coon has created a buzz around the monthly gatherings -- now every first Friday--- showcasing some good, old Greensboro music. Once a date is set for a performance, Coon creates a Facebook event page where users can comment and announce whether they'll be attending. On some occasions, attendance on event pages has risen in minutes from three to 60 people. People are excited about the project; it's a way of connecting, but in real life.

On March 5, I walked into The Green Bean in downtown Greensboro where the Dotmatrix Project presented bands Israel Darling and A Brand New Life. The Green Bean was packed, actually refusing patrons because of fire code limitations, but people waited in line for their chance to get in.

The bands rocked out as the Dotmatrix crew recorded sound, shot photos and filmed -- I was one of five dotmatrix videographers for that evening's show. As I looked around that night, I saw many familiar faces from the old days of Gate City Noise shows, local photographers, filmmakers, co-workers and, yes, even Facebook friends. And that's where I saw it, a community based around local music.

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