A Simple Vision

Once upon a time, in a sleepy Appalachian town called Huntington, West Virginia, a music venue located at 1318 4th Avenue was ground zero for a cultural revolution the likes of which the city had ever seen.

For the ten years that spanned 1989 - 1998, the building located at that address played host to hundreds of national and local bands, and provided an outlet to countless disaffected youth that weren't content to spend their college years engaging in traditional activities such as pledging fraternities and going to football games.

In this city on the Ohio River's edge existed a growing number of alienated twenty-something artists and musicians who would collectively fashion a reputable music scene that championed substance over style, and would influence countless generations to come.

Although 1318 4th Avenue would be known by two different names during this period - first, as Gumby's and, later, Drop Shop - the shared vision of its benefactors ensured that nothing was lost in transition, and that original vision of creating a legitimate music venue in this unassuming town remained firmly intact.

This blog is intended to pay tribute to those risk-takers and artists that not only helped shape Huntington into what it is today, but was also instrumental in making me the man that I have become.