Java Barn

Last updated

The Java Barn is a student-run music venue and former coffeehouse, established in 1993 and located at St. Lawrence University (SLU).

Contents

The Payson Coffeehouse

In the early-mid 1980s, there was a popular folk music scene, especially in northern New York state, known as the "North Country." At SLU, groups of students, interested in having live music at the school, petitioned and established a coffeehouse in Payson Hall, one of the school's buildings. A theme house was set up at 3 University Avenue. While shows typically took place on Friday and Saturday nights, and the tenants routinely made the 10-minute "trek" between their residence and Payson to facilitate the shows.

The Java Barn

View of the Coffee House and Java Barn, shortly before they closed Java-barn&house.jpg
View of the Coffee House and Java Barn, shortly before they closed

In 1992, Payson Hall was renovated into SLU's admissions building. A new venue had to be established, and student Jamie Schapiro ('94) spearheaded the search and co-founded the new coffee house. The chosen candidate was an old barn located behind 5 University Avenue. The new residence and venue was one house up from where the current students were living. The house was named the Coffee House, and the barn was christened as the Java House and later named Java Barn. Operating between the fall 1993 and the spring of 2006, the Barn's location was popular due to its proximity of being on the border of the SLU campus, near the town center. This brought about some interaction with the community, and students enjoyed the distance from the main campus and their studies.

The Winning Health Center

Towards the end of the 90s, the nature of shows at Java began to change: louder, amplified rock gigs replaced the quieter acoustic folk concerts. Because of Java's proximity to the Elm St. neighborhood, a petition was delivered to President Sullivan, protesting the loudness of the Barn. After much deliberation between the members and the administration, it was decided that Java would have to be moved. This new location would be the Winning Health Center, about 50 feet from the Payson Coffeehouse. To commemorate its closing, Java's annual festival, "Java Jam", would be the Barn's last show. On May 6, 2006, the Ryan Montbleau Band was the final artist to play in the venue, and the Barn was closed forever.

The vacant Winning Health Center was selected for the relocation. The Health Center's location in the center of campus put Java far away from the possibility of neighbors complaining about noise, and it would be easy to reconfigure the building to suit Java's needs. In an interesting return to the days of the Payson Coffeehouse, students would continue to live at 5 University Ave., and would make "the trek" to the Health Center for shows.

This was originally proposed to be a temporary location, since the demolition of the Health Center & Artery buildings have been in the University's master plans for years. This demolition would ultimately create green space that was lost due to the construction of the Student Center. The University decided to tear down the Health Center Venue in 2010, and that year the Health Center venue housed its final concert.

Current Java venue

After the closing of the Health Center venue, the university relocated Java to an old biology lab on the south side of campus, next to Brown Hall. The Java house of 2010 painted the characteristic inside of the venue in bright, psychedelic colors and patterns. Currently, shows happen on either Thursdays or Saturday nights. There are 12 members who live in the house and they put on every aspect of the shows. For current information, visit the Java Barn Instagram page.

Current Java members

Notable bands which have played at Java

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLoud, Oklahoma</span> City in Oklahoma, United States

McLoud is a city in northwestern Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States, and is part of the Oklahoma City Consolidated Metropolitan Area. The population was 4,044 at the 2010 census, a 14.0 percent increase from the figure of 3,548 in 2000. The city was founded in 1895 and named for John W. McLoud, attorney for the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LeTourneau University</span> Private university in Longview, Texas, United States

LeTourneau University (LETU) is a private, interdenominational evangelical Christian university in Longview, Texas. Founded as LeTourneau Technical Institute in February 1946 by R. G. LeTourneau with his wife, Evelyn, the school initially educated veterans returning from World War II. Total annual enrollment is nearly 3,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Lawrence University</span> Private college in Canton, New York

St. Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college in the village of Canton in St. Lawrence County, New York. It has roughly 2,100 undergraduate and 100 graduate students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Louis University</span> Private university in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.

Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River and the second-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin Pierce University</span> Private university in Rindge, New Hampshire, US

Franklin Pierce University is a private university in Rindge, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded as Franklin Pierce College in 1962, combining a liberal arts foundation with coursework for professional preparation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Vernon Nazarene University</span> Christian university in Mount Vernon, Ohio, U.S.

Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU) is a private Christian university in Mount Vernon, Ohio, with satellite locations in the surrounding area. It was founded in 1968 by the Church of the Nazarene and offers a variety of Bachelor's and Master's degrees to both traditional and non-traditional students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Community Church</span> Assemblies of God church

National Community Church (NCC) is a Pentecostal multi-site megachurch based in Washington, D.C., pastored by Mark Batterson. It is affiliated with the Assemblies of God USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College Avenue Gymnasium</span> Athletic facility in New Brunswick, New Jersey, US

College Avenue Gymnasium is an athletic facility on the College Avenue Campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Payson High School (Arizona)</span> Public school in Payson, Gila County, Arizona

Payson High School (PHS) is a public high school located in the rural town of Payson, Arizona, United States. It is one of two high schools within Payson Unified School District. PHS enrolls approximately 750 students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Louis University (Philippines)</span> Private university in Baguio, Philippines

Saint Louis University also referred to by its acronym SLU, is a private Catholic research basic and higher education institution run by the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Baguio, Philippines. It was founded on December 1, 1911, by the CICM Missionaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Under the Couch</span>

Under the Couch (UTC) is a currently displaced live music venue, recording studio, and lounge formerly located in the Student Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology, in Atlanta, Georgia. Under the Couch is run by the Musician's Network (MN), a Tier II Georgia Tech student organization. Musician's Network meetings are held at 7pm every Monday night during regular school semesters in Under the Couch and are open to all Georgia Tech students and alumni.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nazareth University</span> Private university in Pittsford, New York, U.S.

Nazareth University is a private university in Pittsford, New York. It offers over 60 undergraduate majors and more than two dozen graduate programs. The college was previously Nazareth College of Rochester, or Nazareth College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Reese Hospital</span> Hospital in Chicago

Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center was an American hospital located in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1881, Michael Reese Hospital was a major research and teaching hospital and one of the oldest and largest hospitals in Chicago, Illinois. It was located at 2929 S. Ellis Avenue on the near south side of Chicago, next to Lake Shore Drive which lies along Lake Michigan. The hospital closed its Internal Medicine Residency at the end of the 2007–2008 academic year and finished transferring patients to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center before the end of 2008. The 48-acre campus was then vacated by January 2009. From 2007 to its closing, Michael Reese had been owned by Envision Hospital Corporation of Scottsdale, Arizona. The hospital officially closed August 31, 2009. At one time, the hospital had a large health plan which included 300,000 patients; at the time of the hospital's closure the health plan was terminated and it only had 2,900 clients. The streets through the campus were closed and demolition began in October 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coffee culture</span> Traditions and social behaviors associated with the consumption of coffee

Coffee culture is the set of traditions and social behaviors that surround the consumption of coffee, particularly as a social lubricant. The term also refers to the cultural diffusion and adoption of coffee as a widely consumed stimulant. In the late 20th century, espresso became an increasingly dominant drink contributing to coffee culture, particularly in the Western world and other urbanized centers around the globe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Calhoun Baker University Center</span> Ohio University building

The John Calhoun Baker University Center, located near the center of Ohio University's main campus in Athens, Ohio, is a building that serves the Ohio University student body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postcrypt Coffeehouse</span>

Postcrypt Coffeehouse is an all-acoustic music venue in the basement of St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University in New York City, run completely by students. Founded in 1964, Postcrypt has hosted many up-and-coming folk musicians, including Jeff Buckley, Dar Williams, Shawn Colvin, David Bromberg, and Ani DiFranco. Additionally, Suzanne Vega, a graduate of Barnard College, returns to Postcrypt each Spring to play one secret concert. The young folk singer Anthony da Costa performs there regularly, and Mary Lee Kortes, of the band Mary Lee's Corvette, has played there along with her husband, the guitarist and producer Eric Ambel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Last Exit on Brooklyn</span> Former coffeehouse in Seattle, United States

The Last Exit on Brooklyn was a Seattle University District coffeehouse established in 1967 by Irv Cisski. It is known for its part in the history of Seattle's counterculture, for its pioneering role in establishing Seattle's coffee culture, and as a former chess venue frequented by several master players.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwestern University Lakefill</span>

The Northwestern University Lakefill is a large area of Northwestern University land that was reclaimed from Lake Michigan in 1962–1964 by creating a seawall of limestone blocks quarried in Illinois and Indiana and using landfill materials from the construction of the Port of Indiana. The lakefill resulted from the university's need to expand the campus's physical footprint; Northwestern President J. Roscoe Miller received permission from the town of Evanston and the Illinois legislature to reclaim 74 acres of underwater land. This almost doubled the size of the previously 85 acres campus. In 1968, the lakefill was expanded by an additional 10 acres on the southern end of the campus.

Jammin' Java is a music club and coffee bar in Vienna, Virginia, which focuses on local and independent musical acts. The 200-seat venue has hosted eminent artists such as Nick Jonas, Paramore, Bon Iver, Owl City, Meiko and Ingrid Michaelson. It was founded in 1999, and in 2001 was bought and revamped by the Brindley brothers who currently own and run it. According to Pollstar, it has become a top-100 club in ticket sales in the world since its Brindley ownership. It was also named one of the top 40 music clubs in America by Paste magazine.

Amazingrace Coffeehouse was an influential counterculture music and performance venue in Evanston, Illinois, during the 1970s. Run by a collective called the Amazingrace Family, it was known for its welcoming atmosphere, eclectic menu, excellent sound system, and respectful audiences. Amazingrace was the top music club in the Chicago Reader poll 1973-1975, plus Number 3 in the 1975 wrap-up of "Who's Who in Chicago's Alternative Culture". Performers from a wide variety of genres played at Amazingrace from its beginning on the campus of Northwestern University until its final incarnation at The Main on Chicago Avenue in Evanston.