|
|
Venue of the Month
Edited by David Saslavsky
Brandy House
by David Saslavsky
Everything comes full circle. When Colonel Bruce Hampton was a teenager, he worked in a grocery store cooler in a Winn Dixie in Atlanta's Buckhead neighborhood. Today, the Colonel plays a regular weekend show with guest musicians called Colonel Bruce and Friends in the same spot he worked as a teenager. In fact the cooler is now the green room for Atlanta's hottest club, The Brandy House.
When Brad Sharp graduated Anderson College four years ago, he took over one of the two remaining restaurants of the W.D. Crowley's Brandy House chain. With a location in a shopping center a few miles from the center of Buckhead, the restaurant was dead by 9pm. Brad, being a music fan in college, thought bands would be fun, so he bought a $60 P.A. system and built a drum riser. He booked small local bands which drew small cowds. Still determined, he ripped out the back wall, built a real stage, and installed lights and an updated sound system. The remaining space became a pool room. As the reputation of the Brandy House grew, so did three of the regular bands, Sector 9, Bluegrass Underground, and Ancient Harmony. Sellout shows were now commonplace.
One night, Baron Ruth, booking agent for Colonel Bruce asked Brad if the Colonel could be the house band with two weekend shows for 3 months. Now every weekend, The Brandy House hosts Colonel Bruce and Friends with special guests like John Popper, Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, Rob Wasserman, Mike Gordon, and Jon Fishman. The Colonel sure has some friends!
From the outside, The Brandy House resembles its humble roots, a restaurant in a shopping center with a patio overlooking the parking lot. (Brad's first attempt at drawing a late night crowd) Inside is an old time saloon. A big horshoe bar inhabits the entire center surounded by tables and boothes. Behind the bar to the left is the stage and sound system. The walls are covered in old photos and signs. An old rowing team boat hangs upside down from the ceiling. "Road Trip of the Month" editor Rob Turner and I on assignment checked out Brandy House early Friday evening before the Atlanta Phish shows. We were greeted by Jerry, the bartender, who knew all the customers by name. When one started to tell a story, Jerry held up large paddle with a picture of himself on it and said "OK, pretend, I'm listening!" In our interview, Brad praised his crew saying "without them, this would not be possible."
Brad also enjoys working with bands and helping when he can. "I love to help bands that have a good attitude and help promote the show." He encourages bands to send posters, hand out flyers, and just "show some effort". "It really goes a long way if we are both working together", says Brad.
We spent two nights at The Brandy House seeing both Ancient Harmony and Colonel Bruce and Friends first night. (local rock station Z93 broadcasted the second night and we opted for the taping route) Check out Road Trip of The Month for show details. The sound in The Brandy House is incredible. The extra investment for a good sound system really shows, and the wood walls soak it all up avoiding the echoes and distortion usually found with low ceilings. Better ventilation though would be an improvement, as I found it a bit smoky (I'm not usually all that sensitive).
The Brandy House is located at 4365 Roswell Rd. at the corner of Wieuca. The phone number is (404) 252.7784 or check out http://www.brandyhouse.net
Editor's note: At the Colonel Bruce show we had a minor incident with a photographer who rudely pushed in front of my friend Jennifer. (who's about 5' 2") We let him take a few shots and then politley asked him to move. He kept saying "I'm with the band", and then got annoyed that we were dancing! He even threatened to get security, which of course Rob invited him to do. Eventually, he left.
My point in this though is to remember that without paying music fans there is no money to support photographers. The same goes for venues. Many treat us (their customers) like "the enemy" with harsh security, rude bar and wait staff, and little care for the sound. It is my mission here to feature venues ( be it a bar, theater, or even an arena) that both value music and music fans. So as always, if you have a favorite, let me know!
July Issue: Home | Editors | Features | Columns | Photos | Regional | New Groove
Road Trip | Tour Journal | Venue | Levels | Ghosts | Homegrown | Inaudible | CDs | Charts
JamBands.Com is published on the 15th of every month. Submissions are due ten days earlier on the fifth of each month. Please contact the specific editor for the section you are interested in contributing to. For general content comments, please e-mail jambands@jambands.com. For all technical web site related issues, please contact Sarah Bruner or David Steinberg