John Seymour Talks About "The Music Farm"
When The Fire Apes started selling out Myskin’s (now ACME on Faber street) in Charleston, I got a call from guitarist Kevin Wadley of The Arcytypes. He said he was opening a venue on East Bay Street where the bands and music were going to be the primary focus. Since things were going very well for us elsewhere, I was hesitant to book a show in another venue in Charleston. However, Kevin assured me that it would be a great experience since he himself was a musician and knew what would be important to us. We agreed to play one show to see how it went. After a few shows out of town, we came back to play the new club, “The Music Farm”. I can remember how skeptical the band was about the show.
When we came to soundcheck, I saw that Kevin had gone above and beyond to promote the show. His car had a Fire Apes bumper sticker, the radio ads were playing, and we heard that everyone was talking about this new club. It was set back from East Bay Street in a one story; flat building that was very non-distinct. However, the marquee was bright with the names of the bands playing that weekend. Even from the outside, the atmosphere felt “underground”.
When we went inside, the ceiling and walls were black and one was immediately struck by the feeling that you were somewhere different, somewhere other than Charleston. The stage was large but low to the floor – initially only a few feet high. The band room was up a short and very steep ladder from which band members could look out to see the crowd before going on stage to perform.
After a few months, and several fantastic weekend shows, we booked a Thursday and a Friday night at the “Farm”. At the time, Thursday nights in Charleston’s music venues were infamous for being poorly attended shows; no matter what band was playing. When we saw the lines forming that Thursday night, we knew we had found a new home in Charleston. As well as that Thursday night show went, we couldn’t have imagined how well things would be the next night.
As we approached The Music Farm that Friday night, we saw a line of at least a hundred people outside the door. Once we got inside, we found that it was so crowded that it was almost impossible to maneuver our way to the band room. Luckily, all of our equipment was already set up. As the stage was darkened, an unknown opening band began to play their original songs, which were enthusiastically received by the audience.
As we emerged from the bandroom onto the dark, smoky, hot, and surreal atmosphere, all we could see were people. We couldn’t even see the walls, as people were standing on tables and chairs along the sides and in the back on the club. The crowd paid attention to the band. It was more than a meeting place for a social event. Just as Kevin had promised months before, this venue was a place for music and music lovers.
It wasn’t until we were asked to play a reunion show at the “new” Music Farm at it’s present location that Kevin informed us that the aforementioned night described above was the largest attended show ever at the Music Farm’s previous location on East Bay Street. Although the “new” Music Farm enjoys success and bands are very successful there, we do miss the old days with Kevin and his partner Carter running the Music Farm that started as a grassroots campaign for a “hip” music venue for various genres of music. As they say, a church is not the building, but it’s the congregation, such was the Music Farm on East Bay. The location, and structure and décor played a part, but the Farm on East Bay was the “Farm” because of the community of music lovers that made it the venue with the mystique that will be remembered with fond memories by all that were there and aware.
When we came to soundcheck, I saw that Kevin had gone above and beyond to promote the show. His car had a Fire Apes bumper sticker, the radio ads were playing, and we heard that everyone was talking about this new club. It was set back from East Bay Street in a one story; flat building that was very non-distinct. However, the marquee was bright with the names of the bands playing that weekend. Even from the outside, the atmosphere felt “underground”.
When we went inside, the ceiling and walls were black and one was immediately struck by the feeling that you were somewhere different, somewhere other than Charleston. The stage was large but low to the floor – initially only a few feet high. The band room was up a short and very steep ladder from which band members could look out to see the crowd before going on stage to perform.
After a few months, and several fantastic weekend shows, we booked a Thursday and a Friday night at the “Farm”. At the time, Thursday nights in Charleston’s music venues were infamous for being poorly attended shows; no matter what band was playing. When we saw the lines forming that Thursday night, we knew we had found a new home in Charleston. As well as that Thursday night show went, we couldn’t have imagined how well things would be the next night.
As we approached The Music Farm that Friday night, we saw a line of at least a hundred people outside the door. Once we got inside, we found that it was so crowded that it was almost impossible to maneuver our way to the band room. Luckily, all of our equipment was already set up. As the stage was darkened, an unknown opening band began to play their original songs, which were enthusiastically received by the audience.
As we emerged from the bandroom onto the dark, smoky, hot, and surreal atmosphere, all we could see were people. We couldn’t even see the walls, as people were standing on tables and chairs along the sides and in the back on the club. The crowd paid attention to the band. It was more than a meeting place for a social event. Just as Kevin had promised months before, this venue was a place for music and music lovers.
It wasn’t until we were asked to play a reunion show at the “new” Music Farm at it’s present location that Kevin informed us that the aforementioned night described above was the largest attended show ever at the Music Farm’s previous location on East Bay Street. Although the “new” Music Farm enjoys success and bands are very successful there, we do miss the old days with Kevin and his partner Carter running the Music Farm that started as a grassroots campaign for a “hip” music venue for various genres of music. As they say, a church is not the building, but it’s the congregation, such was the Music Farm on East Bay. The location, and structure and décor played a part, but the Farm on East Bay was the “Farm” because of the community of music lovers that made it the venue with the mystique that will be remembered with fond memories by all that were there and aware.
Labels: The Music Farm
