The ’60s had rock, the ’70s brought in disco, the ’80s head banged to hair metal, ’90s grunge gave the middle finger to society and punks invaded the new millennium — and through it all, the Athens music scene flourished.
The prevalence of the arts and music in the small town of Athens is a difficult phenomenon to pin down, but Athenians who have been drawn to the town and have grown up in the culture have some ideas.
“I think of Athens as this make-believe world in the sense that we are sitting at this crossroads of Appalachian Ohio where it meets the imported student population, which is ever changing,” said Troy Gregorino, booking agent for Donkey Coffee and Espresso. “So you’ve got these multiple influences going on at the same time, invented in the middle of a forest. It makes for a very interesting combination.”
Jonathan Holmberg, chairman of the Athens Clean and Safe Halloween Committee, traced the Athens music culture back to the ’60s, when political activism and protest music came together to bring students to College Green with guitars in hand.
“Even before I came to OU, it was nationally recognized as a political hotbed,” Holmberg said. “It was such a hippie haven that it spawned a lot of musical interest. One of the main reasons I came to OU was because of the music, and a degree came second to a lot of people.”
Today, the intersection of these crossroads is still visible from the locals who maintain the traditional Appalachian folk of the region to the progressive student population.
“Young people are on the cutting edge,” said Chris Pyle, owner of Donkey Coffee. “You can go see more traditional Appalachian stuff, but what makes it interesting is a bunch of college students running around with ideas in their head.”
The university also facilitated the music scene back in the ’60s and ’70s by bringing in huge musical acts, most of which now hold spots in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Names still famous today, like Bruce Springsteen, The Who and The Beach Boys, are just a few of the acts to come through the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium and The Convo. In 1969, Led Zeppelin even hit the bricks as an opening act for Jose Feliciano.
The university previously hosted different festivals with live music for each green on campus. They took place each weekend, leading up to the biggest bash, Spring Fest, where there were national acts taking the stage in the intramural fields.
One of the main reasons the university could bring in high-profile acts back then was that the legal drinking age was 18, Holmberg said. Contract fees could be paid for not only with ticket sales but also with alcohol sales to eager students looking to hear good music and have a good time.
Holmberg said the loss of alcohol sales to students had a lot to do with the decline of the music scene over the years.
“The music scene is still strong, it’s just not quite the same,” Holmberg said. “Since there was money in (the programing board) and they could sell beer and could actually pay for it through beer sales, there was no limit to the bands you could bring into town. I don’t think people really want to pay that much anymore for music.”
But Victor Rasgaitis, front man for The Ridges, said the diminishing number of national acts coming through the town isn’t hindering the local talent.
“When you have national acts coming through, it certainly doesn’t highlight the local music scene,” Rasgaitis said. “What you have going on now is that there is a lot of support for your local bands.”
Holmberg said the only other place in Ohio that experienced the same influx of music back in the ’60s was Kent, Ohio. But now, many bands in Kent find it hard to get noticed.
“People are definitely into the music scene here, but the problem with Kent is that there aren't enough venues,” said Jimmy Dykes, guitarist for the Kent-based band Hive Robbers. “So the Kent music scene is basically in Akron and Cleveland.”
He added that plenty of bands come out of Kent, even though they don’t play there. The main difference from Athens is that Akron is only a 20-minute drive from Kent, whereas Columbus is an hour-and-a-half drive from Athens.
Because of the distance to Columbus, many Athens-based bands stay in town, which makes for a strong, tight-knit community of local artists, Rasgaitis said.
“One of the things that works to the advantage of Athens music venues … is that the city and the campus are geographically intertwined,” Gregorino said. “You walk out of any door and you’re on campus and you’re very near any music venue.”
Along with the social, political and geographic advantages, Athens has always been inviting to local and regional acts looking for a place to stay.
“We came here to play, and no one had to sleep in the van, and you didn't have to worry about getting stabbed when you walked out of the club,” said Junebug, operator of Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery. “People take care of you and let you sleep on their floor here. … It’s not always so friendly everywhere you go, and it’s what made me want to come down here.”
In the end, though, it comes down to a lot of factors that simply can’t be explained.
“It’s an interesting town in that it attracts such high-caliber musicians that just hang around town,” Junebug said. “I always thought there was something a little special here. New Orleans has that something special, and Athens is one of those little hot spots that has some soul and just drags people here.”
Pyle agreed, adding that music just seems to be an integral part of Athens.
“It seems in Athens, music is just a part of everyday life,” Pyle said. “People like the arts here in general, and there is a respect for creativity. … There is a spirit of Athens that is more musically inclined.”
wh092010@ohiou.edu
