The kids will be all right at Coffee Talk again Saturday.

Punk rock kids. Ska kids. Hardcore rock kids. Kids either in or in love with the young up-and-coming Honolulu indie bands that got their start playing Unity Crayons-promoted shows once hosted regularly at the Kaimuki coffee house.

Until early last year, the local nonprofit dedicated to hosting drug- and alcohol-free all-ages live music and art shows for Honolulu youths was on a roll. Coffee Talk owner Liz Schwartz had been offering her cafe to Unity Crayons for its "safe environment" shows several evenings a month for a couple of years.

At its peak, it was often a cool little Saturday night scene. Walk in and you'd find the normally bright cafe darkened, its chairs cleared to create a makeshift "stage" and audience area. SUVs or Volvos queued on the street outside as moms dropped off teens and dads helped unload instruments and equipment. Kids in simple concert tees and jeans, leather wear, bowling shirts and even prom gowns chatted on the sidewalk out front.

By evening's end, dozens of teens crowded around established bands like Black Square or The Hell Caminos, or freshman bands playing their first, last or sometimes both first and last show ever.

The good times ended abruptly last April, when a window of a neighboring business was broken and blame fell incorrectly on Unity Crayons' events. The real culprits were found, but more blame was falsely heaped on Unity Crayons' generally mellow crowd for an increase in graffiti and vandalism in the area. Schwartz's landlord instructed her to stop the events at Coffee Talk.

The accusations still sting Unity Crayons co-founder and president Josh Hancock. He says graffiti and vandalism continued in the area after the shows ended.

"We were an easy scapegoat and target," Hancock said. "You drive by and see 50 punk-rock-looking kids outside and then you see graffiti a week later, you automatically assume it's because of that.

"For us, losing the venue was a little bit of a loss of community. We had created this little network (and) family of young people. A lot of them were volunteering their time to help. We taught them how to set up the equipment, run the sound (board). We'd teach all these bands how to promote themselves so people would come out ... instilling in them the D.I.Y. sense that we're responsible for this."

Unity Crayons ended up "compromising a lot of its goals," Hancock said of survival post-Coffee Talk, doing all-ages or 18-and-older shows in bars "which was a compromise of what we were about: providing safe zones for young musicians and artists in all-ages environments. ... It was taking a step back. But it was better than nothing."

Schwartz also refused to give up on Unity Crayons, figuring that with time, her landlord might change his mind. She waited a year before bringing up the subject with him again.

"The one thing that I could offer was a safe place for kids. And that's what it was all about," Schwartz said. "I don't make any money off of this. It's not about the money because they pay their cover and they don't buy anything. But that's OK. They're here.

"(My landlord) knew that I believed in this so I wasn't going to give up. I think he was sort of expecting that I would ask him again."

The result? Unity Crayons returns to Coffee Talk this weekend for once-a-month live shows. Like before, shows will start at 8 p.m. and end by 11 p.m., entry is just $5 and caffeine will be the only drug powering the gathered.

Hancock and Schwartz expect to see new and old faces at Coffee Talk on Saturday.

"There's got to be someplace for these young musicians to put down roots. And this has totally been the root of so many bands that have now branched out into the local community," said Hancock, including now established bands like At Sea, Upstanding Youth and his own 86 List in the tally.

"Knowing that we've had a little bit of a hand in that and the group of people volunteering their time and energy to make this happen makes me really happy."

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.