Live from the Hook

After 20 years, I finally understand the Charlottesville music scene.  Live from the Hook explained it all.  I know it is hard to believe that I actually attended and graduated from UVA, isn’t it? 

As we approached the band party, one of my classmates commented in a sarcastic way, I know we are at UVA again.”  I just didn’t realize the truth in her statement.  We were back in C’Ville–the Hook.  I went to Rugby Road once or twice to hear a band.  Since I wasn’t a drinker (Yes – I realize that I am a Wahoo, but I managed to graduate without fully participating in the activities that gave UVA that special nick-name), I generally stayed away from the bars and fraternity houses.  At the reunions, it is harder to do.  We pay one fee.  So for the last 20 years since graduation, I watched my classmates and other Wahoos relive a large segment of the UVA experience that was foreign to me.

Since Dave Matthews Band has put out a new Album, the group has been on the news quite a bit lately.  Its rise to stardom was after my time at UVA, but the connection to Charlottesville intrigued me.  Low and behold, a screening of  “Live from the Hook” was one of the featured events at the summer reunion. To attend, I had to miss the dorm reunion.  I thought that my love for music documentaries was more important than reliving my days in the dorm.

The filmmakers, who are graduates of the class of 1984, wanted to document the bands that grew out of Charlottesville.  They not only featured the bands, but the venues that nurtured the music.  The fraternities and some of  the bars were a breeding ground for music that was cutting edge at the time.  It was a fusion of blues, rock, reggae. 

The music scene began in the late ’60’s as an underground movement.  Some of the original bands began to play, “Race Music” which was taboo.   I was thinking about the fact that UVA Professor Julian Bond had just lectured on a similar topic earlier that morning.  You can check out his podcast entitled, Crossing the Color Line:  From Rhythm and Blues to Rock n Roll. 

All of my friends know that I am an ’80’s buff.  I can dance to just about anything, but the live C’ville sound just wasn’t my thing.  However, it grew out of a genre that was new, risque and a manifestation of the changing climate in the country at that time.

The movie features Easters, which was a week long drinking party at UVA.  I remember one of my cousins, who attended Davidson, was excited that he wouldn’t have to live on the street during Easters.  He was happy that I was enrolling at UVA for reasons very different than my dad.  Easters was eliminated, but students found other places to get rid of the stress and rigors of UVA.  The music lived on for 40 years and even bred the likes of Dave Matthews Band.

As a result of the film, I will no longer think, “Why in the world does the reunion committee keep booking these bands?”  When they  advertise Skip Castro and similar bands I will understand the choice in context.  My musical taste hasn’t changed, but I understand and respect the choice.

Check out Live from the Hook.

Skip Castro Band