Under the Table and Screaming, Volume 1: Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
In this first teaser volume, local journalist and radio DJ Erin O'Hare focuses on Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, an eclectic venue with an equally eclectic history and cast of characters. As a longstanding non-corporate, open-minded pillar of the Charlottesville music community, Tea Bazaar has for more than twenty years held shows ranging from the strange to the sublime. Full of the personal charm that characterizes Tea Bazaar itself (and a liberal dosage of f-bombs) O'Hare's writing perfectly emulates the ethos of this wonderfully weird, welcoming place.
Under the Table and Screaming is a multi-volume series exploring the history and legacy of the local music scene in Charlottesville, VA. From literally underground shows in DIY basements to the racially suppressed hip-hop scene to thriving roots music on woodsy back porches to elegant recitals in restored theaters, Under the Table and Screaming presents a full and diverse picture of this incredibly musical city, still largely known nationally only as the home of Dave Matthews. While some folks cherish the local ties to DMB, others are constantly trying to get out of the shadow the band casts in American popular music history. Still others couldn't care less about the band and rarely think about it. Regardless, there's a perception that Charlottesville music is all white dudes playing indie rock and jam bands for college kids. This series celebrates the spaces and faces that prove that the Charlottesville music scene, while featuring a jam band or two, is home to so much more.
The Charlottesville area has a rich, varied music scene, but discovering it takes some intentional effort. Keeping it going takes even more effort, and more importantly, a ton of heart.
The variety isn’t necessarily what’s touted by the venues that are part of the capital-M capital-B Music Business, which, in Charlottesville, mostly takes the form of Red Light Management, founded and owned by former DMB manager Coran Capshaw. The variety is in restaurant-bars, in tea houses serving vegetarian food, in a house behind a massive magnolia tree. It’s in the auditorium of an African American heritage center. It’s in bedrooms and basements and backyards. Some genres and artists have to struggle for space more than others. Sometimes they find the space, and other times, they make their own. Because of their efforts, no matter what kind of music you listen to, you’ll be able to hear it here.
This series is about the places that champion music that sounds like and is made by the people who live here. It’s just as much about the jazz legend who taught John Coltrane and Yusef Lateef and lived, rather quietly, in Charlottesville, as it is about the female hardcore punk vocalist singing about feminism and identity in both English and Spanish. It’s as much about the teenager writing raps in his bedroom as it is about the folk guitarist who’s traveled the world. It's about the many ways to keep music alive where you live: start a band, bring your friend's band to town, set up a show, make posters, write about local acts, pay for a ticket, buy some merch. Go to a show and maybe dance around a little.
"Under the Table and Screaming" is about a local music scene. Every place has one, and this one is ours.
Please note that this is a physical product and shipping charges may apply.
Dimensions: 5.50" x 8.50"
ISBN: 979-8-9880587-0-0
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