portrait by Soundry member Elizabeth Reid
Welcome, gentle reader, to The Amplifier, a new incarnation of the Soundry blog wherein you will find chronicled the oddity, spectacle and charm that make The Soundry so remarkable. Please, settle in, put your feet up, and let me tell you about a little place in old town Vienna.
Have you ever wondered where artists go to see art? Where poets go to hear poetry? Where musicians go to hear music, or where baristas go for coffee? Wonder no more; you’ll find them all here at The Soundry. An oasis for the parched artist and lover of art, The Soundry boasts a studio space, a gallery, a stage, screen printing facilities, a gourmet cafe, and a constant flow of shows, weekly and special events, classes, and three flavors of open mic.
What people notice first, and remember later, is the remarkable atmosphere of the place. Walking in is like entering another hidden world, as can only be expected of an arts incubator in a building that formerly functioned as an auto body shop. The strong sense of all-accepting community is renewed daily by the amazing and often bizarre people and strange spontaneous events. Still, visitors say, at the core the place is a spirit of easygoing fun.
After dropping by a few times, people will often say; some one should write a book about this place– a play, a movie!. Where is the record of this extraordinary and ever-changing place?
It starts here.
It is the mission of the Amplifier to capture the eccentric essence of day to day life at The Soundry– and we choose to accept it. If you have any ideas, want to submit an article, send them our way, or just come up to me and chat. I’m Allison, the newest member of the blogging team, and I’ll be leading the effort. Most evenings you can find me in the cafe typing away, snapping photos, working on mixed media art, or knitting. I look like this:
Come, take my hand and together we will embark on a magical journey through marvelous Art-i-corn stables, the grand temples of the mad monks of melody and counterpoint, and even unto the highest Soundry Staffers in the land, Thor, philosopher king of the Peaceful Mountain, and his beautiful Warrior Queen, Jen the Berserker.
I mean, Watch this space for features such as Character Sketches depicting the wide variety of Soundry folk, The Cafe Today for the latest on what we’re dishing up, Found Art for studio doodles and other oddments, Soundry challenges whereby you, yes YOU, can win a free coffee, and more interviews, quotes and pictures than you can shake a stick at.
Tune in next time for all these wonders and more, Right here at The Amplifier. Thanks for reading– see you at The Soundry.
“Thor, philosopher king of the Peaceful Mountain, and his beautiful Warrior Queen, Jen the Berserker.” Truer words never spoken. Well done Allison, I love it! Can’t wait for more!
I need to come back to that “damn hippie place” in the middle of Vienna. So glad to know that my hometown finally has a place that embraces my friends. Jen- Strange how Shepherdstown and Vienna are making friendly connections? Is it not? May be you should open a second location. There ironically is an old body shop for rent in town
Love the nlog and look forward to seeing/hearing some of these wonders next time I’m in VA. Keep up the good work, Soundry and Amp.
Love the blog and look forward to seeing/hearing some of these wonders next time I’m in VA. Keep up the good work, Soundry and Amp.