In 2000, photography school graduate Dan Collins never imagined that a trip to Vermont, taking snapshots for a family friend’s book on guitar-making, would provide the inspiration to one day start his own guitar workshop, teach classes, and own and manage a live music and event venue with his life partner, Ariel Rose Bodman.

Shortly after graduation, Collins traveled to Vermont to shoot some images of George Morris, who had been building guitars since the late ’70s/early ’80s and wanted to capture his process in a book. “I got there and totally fell in love with the process and with woodworking in general,” says Collins. “I’ve always been a very hands-on hobbyist sort of person, and woodworking was an awakening for me.” Morris offered Collins the opportunity to barter his photography work in exchange for learning how to build guitars, and he jumped at the chance. When he came back to Rhode Island with his new knowledge, he immediately got a job at a woodworking supply store and saved up money to start his own guitar making shop. Shady Lea Guitars was born.

Collins’ approach to guitar making at Shady Lea Guitars is as organic and fluid as the initial encounter that unexpectedly led him to the craft. “Every guitar maker approaches their craft differently; my process and techniques have changed with each guitar I’ve made,” Collins says. “This is because I’ve never made the same model twice. I’m always experimenting with new designs. That’s what keeps it fun!”

“There are just so many parts of an instrument that can be customized,” Collins continues. “Most start as a blank canvas and evolve throughout the building process.”

Collins also runs a guitar school at Shady Lea. “The students really feed off of each other’s creativity, too. Ideas are shared and encouraged here, and because of that, there is no telling what the next guitar will be. It’s always an adventure.”

Dan Collins, Shady Lea Guitars. Photo by Bob Kidd

To help create a space for students and local musicians to perform, Collins recently opened up his workshop to create a performance space. The main structure of the old converted pump house in Wakefield was erected in 1888, with a 1960s addition attached that houses the workshop and a small bar with coffee and other refreshments. Together, the two rooms make up Pump House Music Works. which for just over a year has hosted many of the area’s finest musical acts and the occasional out-of-towner.

Two to three shows take place each weekend, soon to become five, and the Pump House recently hosted a wedding for the first time. Acts such as Julie Rhodes, Ian Fitzgerald, and Arc Iris have recently played the venue. “But we really like giving opportunities to blossoming new music, too,” Bodman says. About 75 percent of the acts are local musicians performing almost entirely original music or jazz. The nonprofit’s biggest and best-attended event, however, is its open mic potluck, a concert-style community gathering with music all night and seemingly endless dishes to share on the last Saturday of every month.

Dan Collins–luthier, Shady Lea Guitars
Wakefield, Rhode Island
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Top image: Ariel sings with Kevin Vidmar of The Occasional String Band. Photo by Bob Kidd.

The post Pumped in Rhode Island appeared first on Take Magazine.

Usually, the Oasis Pub in New London, Connecticut, is about as southern as a snowball. But on the second Thursday of every month, it transforms into the kind of honky tonk rarely seen north of the Mason-Dixon Line. This happens courtesy of James Maple and Daphne Lee Martin’s Hard Luck Horseshoe Revue, an old-school Southern bingo night and concert series that offers a new way to connect musicians and audiences in New London.

Maple, a Mystic-based singer-songwriter, developed the event last year as a way to combat falling attendance at local concerts. “I don’t know what happened,” he says, “but now it’s hard to get people to pay five dollars for a band they haven’t heard of.”

James Maple, Hard Luck Horseshoe Revue creator, photo courtesy of James Maple

He took the idea to Sean Murray, the Oasis’ manager, who suggested involving Martin, a multi-faceted musician with deep links to New London’s arts communities. Maple and Martin bonded over their shared family ties to Appalachia and the South. As children, both attended community bingo nights, and they retained a fondness for the close-knit gatherings of friends and neighbors who attended those events—people who took life at a “slower, gentler” pace than most New Englanders. “We wanted to re-create that situation here,” Martin says, “where complete strangers could sit at the same table and participate in an evening together.”

Daphne Lee Martin, Hard Luck Horseshoe Revue co-host, photo courtesy of Daphne Lee Martin

To evoke an authentic feel at their own bingo night, Maple bought vintage bingo cards off of eBay, and players mark squares with old pennies. To further set the tone, the co-hosts sometimes perform classic country duets, even though both artists are formidable songwriters in their own right.

More frequently, though, the Revue showcases the region’s best Americana acts. This was a priority for both Maple and Martin, because “[New London] is so small but so jam-packed with artistic talent,” Martin says.

During the evening, the featured band or artist plays the equivalent of a full set in between rounds of bingo. This balance between music and games keeps all members of the audience engaged. Regular patrons have formed teams, made custom t-shirts, and banter back and forth with the hosts.

The format has also proved popular with musicians. Performers at the Revue have included veterans like Ian Fitzgerald, but newer artists have also used the event to break into the New London scene. Julie Rhodes, a Providence-based soul singer, made her New London debut at the Revue, where, according to Martin, “she just [took] over the room with her tremendous stage presence.” Rhodes played the Oasis again this month in a concert format, which drew in many people who had first discovered her at the Revue.

The event’s success is a testament to the charisma of the hosts and performers, but it’s also due in part to the DIY ethic of New London’s artists. For Martin, this spirit is exactly what makes small scenes like New London so attractive—artists have an outsize ability to shape their futures. Or, in her words, the chance to “build their own empire.” Bingo.

James Maple and Daphne Lee Martin–Musicians
founders of Hardluck Horseshoe Revue
Oasis Pub
New London, Connecticut
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James Maple
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Daphne Lee Martin
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The post Hard Luck, Good Times appeared first on Take Magazine.