Under the Table and Screaming, Volume 5: Magnolia House, The Southern, and The Bridge
In volume five, local journalist and radio DJ Erin O'Hare tells the story of Magnolia House, The Southern Café and Music Hall, and The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative. For years, all three venues-especially Magnolia and The Bridge-welcomed the genres and crowds that otherwise had little space in Charlottesville, from punk to hip-hop to goth to out-there experimental. And The Southern, though linked to the commercial music business, has often used its resources and bigger platform to boost the profile of local acts and support ongoing community traditions. Recommended for those who like multi-band shows on Halloween with costumes encouraged, learning about the most wholesome and hard-core DIY punk crowd around, or eating grilled cheeses made by rubber pigeons while computer music plays.
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: 979-8-9880587-5-5
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