University of Virginia Library

Good Strong Music Brewed At The Prism

By CHARLES VANDERSEE

Ed.)

Rugby Road's Thriving Musical Institution: The Prism Coffee House

The Prism Coffeehouse at 214
Rugby Road is one of Virginia's, if
not the nation's, more incredible
musical institutions.

Founded in 1966, when the
short-lived coffeehouse movement
was sweeping the country, the
Prism has not only survived but
thrived under the same name, same
management, and same general
policies for almost seven years.

It is now regarded by
performers from Baltimore to
Virginia Beach and beyond as the
best place to find a large and
appreciative audience for music
that may range from traditional
ballads to Delta blues to modern
folk songs composed by Judy
Collins, Joni Mitchell, James
Taylor, and Arlo Guthrie.

Occasionally groups bring in
electric guitar to resurrect Chuck
Berry hits, while banjo, dulcimer,
violin, concertina, and even sitar are
also heard on the Prism stage.

The Prism's loyal audiences,
perhaps unaware of their status in
the eyes of Virginia musicians, will
be welcomed back this fall with an
entirely redesigned sound system
for better listening.

Responsible for assembling
some new equipment this summer,
testing acoustics, and repositioning
the four speakers in the big main
room were longtime manager Steve
Bliley and his crew of Greg Gimbut,
Flash Gordon, and Claude Setzer.

Something else new at the
Prism, less welcome but long
overdue and crucial to the
continuation of the coffeehouse is a
raise in cover charge, hopefully
temporary, from a preposterous 50
cents to an almost equally absurd
75 cents. A debt incurred on the
sound system and rising costs of
utilities, insurance, and upkeep
forced the unwanted increase on a
reluctant Prism steering committee.

By comparison, Prism
researchers have found out that
Charlottesville movie theaters were
already charging $1 in 1966 when
the Prism opened, while now the
regular admission has jumped to
$1.50 at the University and
Barracks Road theaters and $2.00
at the Cinema and Paramount
downtown.

Late Hours

Open on Friday and Saturday
evenings at 8 p.m., with music
starting at about 9:30, the Prism
normally stays open with live music
until 1 or 2 p.m., thus offering as
much as four hours of
entertainment for half the price of
a local flick.

Another new feature of the
Prism this fall is a co-op shop in the
back room, successor to a series of
shops run by various individuals
with diverse tastes in decor and
merchandise over the years.

Two of the Prism's regular
performers, Phyllis Knight and
Dawn Thompson, have organized
the current enterprise, named the
Tom Doran Co-op. Already
stocking pictures and handmade
items of various kinds, the shop
welcomes any and all artists,
artisans, and craftsmen local
residents as well as students who
wish to bring in their creations and
price them for sale.

The shop is nonprofit and will
be open during Prism regular hours
and at other times to be set.

Another shop in the front room
of the Prism is the Solidarity
Bookstore, with paperbacks, and
other publications pertaining to
racism, sexism, schools, and
workers.

Both of the shops are
authorized by the Steering
Committee to occupy space in the
building, since they fill needs not
met elsewhere in Charlottesville,
but the Prism management does not
necessarily endorse any views and
policies they may espouse.

The Prism's main concern is
providing good music to the
University community, with paid
performers on Friday and Saturday,
who split the take at the door with
the house. Wednesday nights are
open jam sessions for new and old
performers to meet and play.

New Talent

New performers are also
welcome for guest sets on
weekends, subject to a brief
audition with either of the two
entertainment managers. Booking
performers this year are Dee Kysor
Smith, formerly from Sweet Briar,
and Chris Crum, second-year
medical student, both of whom
write and perform their own
material.

Their predecessor. Bob
Crawford, graduated in June and
has gone out to New Mexico to join
a group of former Charlottesville
musicians there. But almost all the
other "regulars" are back this fall,
with new material and old, to carry
on the hospitable, low-keyed Prism
tradition.

For variety and vitality, new
performers are always in demand,
however. The Steering Committee
extends a standing invitation to
new students and to returning
students who have been working up
material over the summer.
Non-performers who want to
participate in the ambiance as staff
workers are also sought, and are
urged to speak to anyone who
happens to be managing the house
or the concession stand.

The Prism occupies a large
two-story white house just past
Beta Bridge and Westminster
Presbyterian Church on Rugby
Road, a few hundred steps north of
the Rotunda traffic light. The
Steering Committee is a
self-perpetuating board presently
consisting of students, faculty,
clergy and Charlottesville residents.