It’s hard—or almost impossible—to make a living as a local musician, but as Athens’ newest live-music venue and restaurant, The Over Hang is looking to give more respect to artists.
“You don’t make much money playing music around here, or anywhere I guess, but I like to feel like the management of the venue has respect for the musician,” said John Wetzel, who recently performed at the bar. “They made me feel like they appreciate what I was doing.”
The Over Hang, 63 N. Court St., opened in August with a number of country and Americana acts from throughout the state and locally—including Wetzel’s group The Blues Cowboys, a local blues band.
Many might remember the location as the former home of The Blue Gator, which hosted acts for a number of years with great success as a music venue.
Now, Eric Moss, owner of The Over Hang and W.g. Grinders, wants to revitalize the space for musicians.
“We made it really industrial looking,” Moss said. “We’re working a little bit with the echo. We have such hard surfaces with the wood and bricks, so we’re working on the acoustics to soften it up.”
Moss said he and his co-workers are also working on upgrading the soundboard to give the musicians the best experience possible. Bill Ivan works the sound most nights and is testing the sound system.
“There are only about four or five (shows) a month,” Ivan said. “We’re so new … and the bar is still trying to establish itself and get an identity. And there are a lot of challenges there.”
Moss said they have been hosting earlier shows that end at midnight for the older crowd that comes out to The Over Hang. He is also looking to bring in bands from the local scene to attract a larger college crowd in addition to branching out via social media.
“That’s what kids are doing now; it’s all about Twitter, Facebook and being able to connect,” Moss said. “You don’t just build up a thousand people on Twitter overnight, it takes a while to build that up.”
Still, Moss believes adequately compensating and respecting the musicians will help build a reputation.
“They’re making a sincere effort to make it a good, comfortable place for musicians and make it sound good,” Wetzel said.
wh092010@ohiou.edu
@Wilbur_Hoffman
This article appeared in print under the headline "Over Hang aims to be live-music destination"
