In the light of day they all make perfect sense: A three-eyed warrior straddling a lion. Captain America’s severed mechanical head. A zombie robot dog. The Richmond mural project is a splash of millennial creativity on the drab brick buildings of historic Shockoe Bottom. They are the colorful conformation of a rejuvenated neighborhood in a modern Read more about Night and Day[…]
The War of Art. by Tracee Carter “Street art is a vandalism deterrent and it brings excitement to the city.” -Hamilton Glass Grafitti. graf·fi·ti (grə-fē-tē) n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb) Drawings or inscriptions made on a wall or other surface, usually so as to be seen by the public. -American Heritage Dictionary Read more about The War of Art[…]
Everyone I talk to drops in a new historical fact about Church Hill. This time, it’s about a tree. “It was there before Lincoln,” says Lynn Weiss, William and Mary Professor. She sits with her dog in the rain, longingly staring past her neighbor’s house and out at the Richmond skyline. Church Hill is full Read more about Church Hill Remembers[…]
A Day in the Life of Hamilton Glass. by Tracee Carter “God gives you gifts to survive by.” -Cynthia Vaughan There is no typical day for an artist. The life of Maurice Hamilton Glass is no exception. From being outside painting on a wall, or staying in the studio working on canvases, to going to Read more about A Day in the Life of Hamilton Glass[…]
What do you get when you cross The Killers, Tron and the 80s? You get Heartracer, a born and raised Richmond electronic trio, made up of brothers Chip and Chris Cosby and Bryan Reyes. “We are the antithesis of Richmond music,” Chris Cosby said. This trio of passionate electronic musicians has found themselves in a Read more about Heartracer[…]
Street musicians are something we come across all the time when walking through a city. Whether ragged and homeless looking or polished and professional, or anything in between, Richmond has its own slew of street musicians, or buskers. But playing music on the street with a bucket or guitar case open doesn’t guarantee success. What Read more about Busking 101: How to Be a (Successful) Street Musician[…]
Ask anyone under 30: Record stores are obsolete. Walking into a record store and scanning the racks of vinyl records is a vintage pastime that is now mostly practiced by modern-day hippies and hipsters wearing horn-rimmed glasses and skinny jeans. However, some stores across the country have been able to keep their doors open, and Read more about Vintage Sounds[…]
2012: End of the World or End of an Era? Remember 2012? The year the world was supposed to end. A time where Gangnam Style was still a top radio hit. Obama was re-elected as US President and Red Bull sponsored Felix Baumgartner in his 127,00 foot free fall from the sky. 2012 was nothing Read more about 2012: End of the World or End of an Era?[…]
I TAKE A SEAT ON A BENCH at the corner of Admiral Gravely Boulevard and Government Road in the Fulton community of downtown Richmond. I’m waiting for the bus at Stop 191. It’s early evening—4:42 pm, to be exact. Behind me, the echo of a basketball smacking asphalt can be heard as two children practice Read more about BUS STOP 191[…]
In thinking about the unique sounds of Richmond, VA, we have explored the local and on-the-street sounds of the city. But how does Richmond compare in the music we listen to at home? Does Richmond prefer chart-topping hits, or do we listen to underground, eclectic sounds? How is our local preference scaled up to and Read more about RICHMOND’S PLAYLIST[…]