Tucked away in the cozy town of Rock Island in northwest Illinois is the base of operations for Daytrotter.

The startup has become its own little rock island in comparison to other music Web sites – specifically when it comes to indie rock. That’s because Daytrotter has reinvented the concept of how to cover the modern band scene.

Launched in 2006 as the home site for the recording studio Futureappletree Studio One, Daytrotter was founded by journalist Sean Moeller and engineer Pat Stolley as a vehicle to showcase live music in an alternate setting. Daytrotter invites bands that are touring through the Quad Cities region to enter their studio and lay down four songs. Overdubs aren’t allowed, so the live takes become pure, one-of-a-kind documents of that moment.

Since the studio is fully equipped, artists can just walk in the doors without the necessity to burn time setting up their own gear. Usually they leave with a recording in hand after about an hour.

Daytrotter is like a Lenscrafters for the ironic T-shirt and white belt crowd.

The site showcases five featured artists (and 20 songs) each week. Because of this prolific clip, Daytrotter has amassed quite a collection of regional and national acts, including Deathcab for Cutie, Ha Ha Tonka, Presidents of the United States of America, Tilly and the Wall, Mates of State and Spoon.

Since Rock Island is only 300 miles away, five Lawrence bands have already received the Daytrotter treatment. A June session with Dri marks the latest. Other past participants include Drakkar Sauna, Conner, Fourth of July and Koufax.

The minimalist recordings aren’t the only unique aspect to the procedure. Alongside an accompanying article/interview, Daytrotter also incorporates an original illustration of each artist to document the session. No recycled promo pics of bands standing in front of a brick wall or walking on train tracks will be found here.

Daytrotter enlists a whopping 13 different staff artists to create the signature look of the pictures that accompany each act. (See my column mug this week for an idea of what this looks like.)

While the site is starting to accept advertising (mostly related to album releases), virtually everything else about the process is free for both participants and consumers. Bands aren’t paid for their appearance – and conversely the studio donates its time. The artists retain rights to these low-maintenance recordings, each of which is available at no cost in MP3 format on the site. Neither the writers nor illustrators who contribute to Daytrotter are paid.

The site is gaining national attention beyond just the college-radio crowd. Last year it won the Nielsen Online and Billboard.com “Music Blog of the Year” award.

It’s an undeniably rare occasion when a band, a studio, a Web site and an audience can all mutually enjoy a free collaboration.

Just ask the financially floundering record industry how rare that is.