Some months ago, as the cloud of smoke and dust began to settle, a wounded but breathing Radio Rubber Room brushed itself off, packed up its shit, and moved onward, the Republic in its wake. That is a bit overdramatic, but there is a nice tale of perseverance surrounding this benevolent entity, and the people that struggle to keep its gears turning.
Some months ago, as the cloud of smoke and dust began to settle, a wounded but breathing Radio Rubber Room brushed itself off, packed up its shit, and moved onward, the Republic in its wake. That is a bit overdramatic, but there is a nice tale of perseverance surrounding this benevolent entity, and the people that struggle to keep its gears turning. Perhaps I should relate what happened to Radio Rubber Room’s weekly show and events. Each broadcasted radio show was mostly paid for by the weekly event at The Republic. When The Republic shut down, the funds ran dry, leaving no way to afford a broadcast, or to pay bands what they deserve. So, in the aftermath of The Republic disappearance, Chanelle Vigue and Derrick Vara have taken it upon themselves to keep Radio Rubber Room alive–but in a more refined state than before.
Every other Wednesday, Radio Rubber Room holds events at Emilio’s Downtown. They also do an event one Sunday per month at The Camel. It dawned on me one day, a few weeks after these regular gigs were established, that I should probably start reviewing the Radio Rubber Room shows again. All of a sudden my beloved wild and crazy Wednesday nights are back, and that is just great. I don’t think I could have chosen a better show to start on, because last Wednesday’s RVA All Stars Jam at Emilio’s was freaking incredible. A vast tonnage of Richmond talent amassed in the same small bar, and as Chanelle Vigue had hoped when she booked the event, most of these veterans got a chance to jam with each other.
“There are all of these amazing musicians in this town, and they’re all so busy all the time,” said Vigue. “Tonight they get an easy opportunity to play with their fellow musicians.” Every time the door swung open, another RVA badass walked through the door. If some evil douchebag wanted to kill the Richmond music community, he would only have had to make one stop that night. I began the night by writing down all the different combinations of musicians that came together, but I soon realized how pointless this was. Nevertheless, there was certainly a climactic moment near the end of the evening with George Gilliam (The Northerners) and Tim Pietrovito on separate drum sets, Todd Herrington (Mekong Xpress) on bass, Kelli Strawbridge (The Big Payback) on the mic, Brandon Payne (The Brotherhood) and Taylor Laub (The Northerners) on guitars, Mark Ingraham (Beast Wellington) on his trumpet and tambo, Phil Walker (Proverbial) on keys… and yeesh, a whole line of others. Once the big group picture is up on facebook, I suppose people can start tagging all the pretty faces.
Vigue intends to recreate nights like this in the future – on top of being incredibly fun shows, they generate a good amount of support for future shows. Speaking of future shows, it’s already Wednesday. And though it’s supposed to dump snow on us, surely some faithful patrons will come out to Emilio’s and warm their hands by the punk rock of DC’s A6. It all starts tonight at 9 pm, at Emilio’s Downtown, located at 1847 W. Broad St! For more info, click here: https://www.facebook.com/events/294341550714418/
