2018-19 Guide To Yellow Springs

229 Xenia Ave. YSO • 937.767.2091 www.Epic-Bookshop.com New & used books on most subjects Specializing in the Spiritual, the Mystical & the Meditative Open weekdays 12-6 Sat. 10-6 Sun. 12-6 est. 1974 67 Y e l l ow S p r i n g s N ews the Guide to YelLow Springs y 2018 - 1 9 By Tracy Perkins schmittler On a Friday night last spring, Peach’s Bar and Grill hosted its signature band for the first time in seven years. In fact, the band, Paul’s Apartment, which is remembered fondly by many villagers, was the first act ever to play at Peach’s, which had been a drive-thru liquor store. Because of this history, the bar made special arrangements for them to play that night, even on short notice. Paul’s Apartment has been credited with re-invigorating the Yellow Springs music scene, according to several local musicians, which is why they’ve been missed. “I’ve played with a lot of musicians,” said Donna Lynn Browne (née Moser), a food safety microbiologist and the lead vocalist. “But none are like the boys in Paul’s Apart- ment.” Back in the day — about 15 years ago — the band played three gigs a weekend in Ohio and Indiana. They even had two songs that made it onto radio playlist rotations at 19 different stations, including “Tasty Freeze,” their signature track, a reference to the ice cream shop that once occupied the Corner Cone location. The band was most active from 2001 to 2007, after which it tapered off with the illness of one member, and eventually broke up when two members moved out of state. Browne, who has been grieving the death of her son in 2016, stopped playing music for a while because it would bring up dif- ficult emotions. But when she visited Yellow Springs from her home state of California the month previous and listened to the music of Tim Callahan, a local psychologist and the lead guitarist, she realized she was ready. “It smoked!” she said of Callahan’s play- ing. Then she thought, “We’ve got to get everyone back together!” Returning to music has been healing. “Good for the soul,” she said. Callahan and Browne complement each other, they said, with his “dark psycho” side, which is a contrast to her “sexy romantic” side. “Gotta have the bitter with the sweet,” added Callahan. Brian Kelley, a construction worker who plays banjo for the band, came over from Colorado for a long weekend just to play. Then there’s Greg “Duke” Dewey, drum- mer of Woodstock fame, who has played in classic bands such as Country Joe & the Fish, Bodacious and Mad River, and Neil Thompson, an industrial engineer and the bassist. Thompson overcame a benign yet dangerous brain tumor in 2006 to narrowly beat the odds. Oliver Simons, who grew up in Yellow Springs, the son of Jeff Simons and the late musician Christina Hess, was the band’s mandolin player for a time and rejoined them for the reunion gig. As the origin story goes, in the early 2000s, Browne, a graduate of Berkeley Col- lege and California Polytechnic University, moved to Yellow Springs from Santa Cruz, Calif., when her employer, Dole, transferred her to its facility in Springfield. A musician and singer since she was 12, Browne was doing solo gigs around town. She attended jam sessions at the apartment of Paul Kadis above the Emporium, who the band considers to be their “patron saint and cult leader.” After jamming, Browne The popular local band Paul’s Apartment re-united in spring of 2018 at a performance at Peach’s Grill. Shown above are, from left, Brian Kelley, Neil Thompson, Donna Browne, Oliver Simons and Tim Callahan. Not shown is drummer “Duke” Dewey, at rear. y  Paul ' s Apartment, reunited y • photo by Tracy Perkins-Schmittler suggested they form a band. Needing a drummer, they reached out to Dewey, who they had seen perform, and the band was complete. One evening as they all walked into Canal Street Tavern in Dayton, Callahan’s wife, Kelly, shouted, “Hey, look! There’s Paul’s Apartment!” and thence they were dubbed. On that Friday evening at Peach’s, all that chemistry came back as if it had never left. Band members played as if they had never broken up, not missing a beat. “I had forgotten how fun and easy it was to play with these guys,” said Callahan. “The chemistry was as intimate and as fresh as ever.” Though Browne is mainly the lead singer, she and Callahan took turns singing lead on some of the songs — she with her sultry timbre and he with his intense wail - ing. Each instrumentalist also took turns on solos. Most are familiar with the term “folk rock,” but this group takes that genre and turns it on its head to perform something that would better be described as “rock folk,” playing bluesy rock tinged with rocka - billy and country, but uncharacteristically using acoustic folk instruments not usually employed for such a musical fusion, giving them their own unique sound. The crowd, which was more than modest, had lots of positive energy. It gave one the feeling of being right at home. The group has released two albums, the first one self-titled “Paul’s Apartment” and the second one titled “Utilities Included.” For more information, you can find them on the web at www.paulsapartment.com. “There is no place like Yellow Springs and the wonderful people who live here,” said Browne after the gig. “I’ll be back.” 1 TAPROOM BREWERY ART GALLERY 305 N. Walnut Street • Yellow Springs www.yellowspringsbrewery.com 937 • 767 • 0222 DAYTON ST YELLOW SPRINGS FAIRFIELD RD PLEASANT ST CLIFF ST U.S. ROUTE 68 BICYCLE PATH WALNUT ST Mon–Fri 3–10 pm Sat 1–10 pm Sun 1–8 pm TAPROOM HOURS Offering fresh beer brewed on-site, local art, relaxing patio adjacent to The Little Miami Scenic Trail, locally-produced snacks and daily food truck fair. 6-pack cans and growler fills available for take-out. T GALLERY 305 . l t tr t ll ri www.yell ri r r . DAYTON ST YELLOW SPRINGS FAIRFIELD RD PLEASANT ST CLIFF ST U.S. ROUTE 68 BICYCLE PATH WALNUT ST Mon–Fri 3–10 pm Sat 1–10 pm Sun 1–8 pm T O ering fresh beer brewed on-site, local art, relaxing patio adjacent to The Little Miami Scenic Trail, locally-produced snacks and daily food truck fair. 6-pack cans and gro ler lls available for take-out. TAPROOM BREWERY T L 305 N. Walnut Street • Yellow Springs www.yellowspringsbrewery.com 937 • 767 • 0222 DAYTON ST YELLOW SPRINGS FAIRFIELD RD PLEASANT ST CLIFF ST U.S. ROUTE 68 BICYCLE PATH WALNUT ST Mon–Fri 3–10 pm Sat 1–10 pm Sun 1–8 pm TAPROOM HOURS Offering fresh beer brewed on-site, local art, relaxing patio adjacent to The Little Miami Scenic Trail, locally-produced snacks and daily food truck fair. 6-pack cans and growler fills available for take-out. RT GALL R l ll i DAYTON ST YE LO SPRINGS FAIRFIELD RD PLEASANT ST CLI F ST U.S. ROUTE 68 BICYCLE PATH ALNUT ST ri 1 t 1 1 1 ff ri g fr r r ed o site, lo l rt, relaxi patio jac t to The Littl i mi i Tr il, l ll rod c nd ail f tr f ir. 6- ack a a gr l r l il l f r t t. T . The Yellow Springs Community Foundation (YSCF) is focused on two key activities for our commu- nity; we manage gifts and we direct grants and scholarships for Yellow Springs and Miami Township. Last year the YSCF managed approximately $14 million in endowments and funds, received $760,000 in gifts and made dis- tributions and grants of $527,000 to our community, with 80% of our expenses staying local. Our focus areas of giving: Education, Seniors, Environment and the Arts, supporting many of our local nonprofit organizations through YSGivingTuesday, endow- ments, agency funds, grants and awards. Apply for a grant today or make a tax deductible donation at www.YSCF.org Yellow Springs Community Foundation 108 Dayton St. • P.O. Box 55 • Yellow Springs, OH 45387 • 937-767-2655 Focused on the causes you care about for our Community since 1974 JOINUS!