The shuttered Radio Bar in Union Square may soon be reborn as a new live music venue called Thunder Road.

Promoter Dan Millen of Rock on Concerts and his partner, Charles Abel, who together form Chuckmaster Entertainment, made their case for a liquor license for the property at 379 Somerville Ave. at a Licensing Commission meeting Aug. 18.

Commission members held off on granting the license until Millen and Abel hold a neighborhood meeting, but continued the hearing to their next meeting Sept. 15, expressing interest in the proposal.

"The overarching theme is fun. We want people to dance and listen to live music and potentially meet the boy or girl of their dreams," Millen said.

Thunder Road will be a venue for local artists and will not play "loud" or "dangerous" music that might attract the wrong kind of clientele, Millen said. They will also offer local brews by Aeronaut and the Somerville Brewing Company, he said.

Thunder Road will provide exposure not just for local artists and brewing companies, but for the neighborhood as it anticipates the arrival of the Green Line, Millen said.

"We�ll bring in crowds from across the city and across Boston, and give them the opportunity to experience Union Square," Millen said.

Entertainment plans include karaoke, air guitar and lip-synching contests, Abel said.

In response to the commission�s questions about seating capacity and maintaining a safe venue, Abel said the seating capacity is 200 according to their license, and Millen pointed to his long track record of catering to clientele who aren�t interested in making trouble, employing good floor staff, and generally setting up and running safe, fun shows.

Member John McKenna asked how they would keep the noise down, citing the Radio owners� promise to soundproof the place, only to prove they knew nothing about soundproofing. Licensing Commission member Vito Vaccaro shared his concern.

"We did have problems with that particular location before," Vaccaro said. "The question is how to keep a happy balance between the community and the business."

McKenna and Vaccaro pressed Millen and Abel on whether they have held a neighborhood meeting. Millen said they have not, but they have already spoken to a number of neighbors, all of whom are glad they are communicating more than the Radio owners did.

Radio�s troubled past also includes a fire, a sprinkler flood, an unauthorized change of manager in violation of city ordinances, severe money problems, and a disagreement between the owners, leading them to close the establishment in November.

The same thing will not happen at Thunder Road, Millen and Abel said. Millen said the goal was to revitalize this location, and Abel agreed.

"Our plan is to transform this place, and we are well-capitalized to do so," Abel said.

Manager Dick Tate of the Middle East in Cambridge spoke in favor of Thunder Road, saying Millen�s shows at the Middle East have been smoothly run and full of young urban professionals � a low security concern overall.

Somerville Economic Development Director Ed O�Donnell said the application is intriguing and his office would like to hear more, although he recommended deferring the application one month so Millen and Abel can meet with neighbors.

"We understand whenever you put live music in a neighborhood, people should have the opportunity to make their feelings known," O�Donnell said.