Moving to Richmond, VA.

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Good idea? Know anyone down there? (Aside from our very own BROCK KAPPAHZ)

― Ian John50n (orion), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 13:55 (twenty years ago)

Ask n/a.

― Lion-O (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 13:56 (twenty years ago)

come down soonish!

― brock (brock), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 13:57 (twenty years ago)

isn't that the town where good shows happen at the bowling alley?
m.

― msp (mspa), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 14:00 (twenty years ago)

wrong
chicago!

― brock (brock), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 14:01 (twenty years ago)

I lived there for two years. Ask me any questions you want.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 14:05 (twenty years ago)

Actually, I'm thinking of moving to India or Bulgaria, I don't suppose anyone can help?

― Lion-O (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 14:07 (twenty years ago)

when did you move out n/a? i've been here for about a month and im really enjoying it so far.
probably gonna be bartending at helens and avalon. both are on main.

― brock (brock), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 14:12 (twenty years ago)

I was there from May '01 to Dec '03. I think we talked about this before because you lived in Charlottesville, right?

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 14:17 (twenty years ago)

I've driven through Virginia and somehow always managed to get lost and miss the interesting parts.

― Lion-O (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 14:18 (twenty years ago)

wrong side of the road

― Ian John50n (orion), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 14:23 (twenty years ago)

harrisonburg, VA...totally forgot that conversation n/a.

― brock (brock), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 14:28 (twenty years ago)

http://static.flickr.com/6/8301538_a0d8860bf9.jpg

?, jackson ward, dakar?, johannesburg, dimona (the other centre for the Black Hebrews)

we didn't eat here, in the end, but it looked good

Richmond in general i liked, really. seemed VERY good for thrift stores, though we didnt really have the time, as we didnt have long there.

i'd say it might be alright

chinatown bus goes there now!

― terry lennox. (gareth), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 14:34 (twenty years ago)

i dont know what the name of the town under the first clock is. i used to know, but i forgot

― terry lennox. (gareth), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 14:49 (twenty years ago)

croakers apparently has the best catfish platter in richmond!

― brock (brock), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 14:53 (twenty years ago)

General rundown on Richmond:
PROS:
* Cheap nice housing. You probably want to live in the Fan, or maybe the Museum District, that's generally where the artsy types live, and it's near Plan 9. We had a good-sized 2 bedroom apt. that cost $650 a month.
* Plan 9, which is genuinely a great record store.
* A couple of fantastic vegetarian Chinese places, Panda Garden and China Panda. One of them had an awesome vegetarian buffet on the weekend.
* Video Fan: a surprisingly good independant video place.
* Byrd Theater: cool old-timey movie theater with organist.
* Generally a nice laid-back (sometimes too much so) artsy vibe.

CONS:
* Generally very socially conservative, lots of barely repressed racism. I lived within blocks of a monument to the Confederate soldiers and a monument to Stonewall Jackson. It's very much a Southern city.
* No music scene. Despite the existence of VCU, a heavily arts-based college, there were hardly any interersting bands while I was there. Everyone still obsessed with hardcore (ie local heros AVAIL). There's probably a noise scene that I wasn't aware of at the time though. There are NO good venues, especially for smaller bands. The ones that exist have idiot bookers who would book like 8 bands for the same night with no eye for consistency or time or anything.
* It can be VERY slow. I think this is why we eventually ended up moving.

Things might have changed in the last couple of years, but this is how it was when I was there.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 15:18 (twenty years ago)

We had a good-sized 2 bedroom apt. that cost $650 a month.
I pay twice this!!!

*weeps*

― Lion-O (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 15:21 (twenty years ago)

oh shit yea, it looked cheap there! NC even more so, but i really couldnt imagine living in NC

― terry lennox. (gareth), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 15:23 (twenty years ago)

for the most part you hit the nail on the head as far as my experience of this town goes so far...

* No music scene. Despite the existence of VCU, a heavily arts-based college, there were hardly any interersting bands while I was there. Everyone still obsessed with hardcore (ie local heros AVAIL). There's probably a noise scene that I wasn't aware of at the time though. There are NO good venues, especially for smaller bands. The ones that exist have idiot bookers who would book like 8 bands for the same night with no eye for consistency or time or anything.

i truely think that this is gonna change or is making a move in the direction of change. september had a random scattering of three great shows that this neck of the woods hasn't seen in awhile (wolf eyes/hive mind/ sunburned&markers).

n/a are you talking about the raygun with the horrible sense for booking?

― brock (brock), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 15:28 (twenty years ago)

as far as venue space goes, there are a few promising places opening up. been talking with a guy in oregon hill that is gonna be opening a bar with show space

and the ADA gallery has been used for show space for the past couple months. patchworkcollective.org has been doing OK shows. (brought in owl sounds).

― brock (brock), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 15:30 (twenty years ago)

Nanci Raygun: YES. What a hellhole. Huge fucking space but no one who could draw ever played there so it would always be empty and vast. My band, a kind of no-wave/pop band, was booked there with like 5 hardcore and nu-metal bands. Sarah's band was cancelled from there at least THREE TIMES because of overbooking. Gah.

I always hoped that the Richmond scene would get better, but it never seemed to. I think there really needs to be an underground house/basement show thing for this to happen, because the clubs there suck.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 15:33 (twenty years ago)

yea man. shitastic hardcore goes down there ALLLLLL of the time. i've pretty much given up hope on that being a solid venue.

apparently the slum of a house i live in now used to be a big basement venue. although it think it was bands like WHITE CROSS that came in.

― brock (brock), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 15:37 (twenty years ago)

my frenz are all into a bunch of hardcorin stuff from VA...

http://www.theperpetualmotionmachine.com/

?
m.

― msp (mspa), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 15:44 (twenty years ago)

Don't do it. You'll be so sick of it after 9 months, unless you plan to settle down and raise a family. Also you will need a car. Most of my friends have been spending all their time trying to get out of Richmond.

― Mendoza Lineman (Carey), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 21:31 (twenty years ago)

nine years pass...

omg this has changed SO MUCH. the music scene in RVA, esp the metal scene, is completely insane

― jello my future biafriend (roxymuzak), Thursday, 6 November 2014 20:29 (eleven years ago)

It's pretty amazing how dramatically this shifted.

― One bad call from barely losing to (Alex in SF), Thursday, 6 November 2014 20:39 (eleven years ago)

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