The Java Barn is a student-run
coffeehouse
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other no ...
established in 1993 and located at
St. Lawrence University
St. Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college in the village of Canton in St. Lawrence County, New York. It has roughly 2,400 undergraduate and 100 graduate students.
Though St. Lawrence today is non-denominational, it was found ...
(SLU).
The Payson Coffeehouse
In the early-mid 1980s, there was a popular
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...
scene, especially in northern
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
state, known as the "
North Country
North Country may refer to:
Places
* North Country, Cornwall, England
* North Country, the northern third of New Hampshire, U.S.
** Great North Woods Region (New Hampshire)
* North Country (New York), a region of Upstate New York
** North Country ...
." At SLU, groups of students, interested in having live music at the school, petitioned and established a coffeehouse in Payson Hall, one of the school's buildings. A dormitory 3 University Avenue, and thus the Theme House was created. While shows typically took place on Friday and Saturday nights, and the tenants routinely made the 10-minute "trek" between their residence and Payson to facilitate the shows.
The Java Barn
In 1992, Payson Hall was renovated into SLU's admissions building. A new venue had to be established, and student Jamie Schapiro ('94) spearheaded the search and co-founded the new coffee house. The chosen candidate was an old barn located behind 5 University Avenue. The new residence and venue was one house up from where the current students were living. The house was named the Coffee House, and the barn was christened as the Java House and later named Java Barn. Operating between Fall 1993 to Spring 2006, the Barn's location was popular due to its proximity of being on the border of the SLU campus, near the town center. This brought about some interaction with the community, and students enjoyed the distance from the main campus and their studies.
The Winning Health Center
Towards the end of the 90s, the nature of shows at Java began to change: louder, amplified rock gigs replaced the quieter acoustic folk concerts. Because of Java's proximity to the Elm St. neighborhood, a petition was delivered to President Sullivan, protesting the loudness of the Barn. After much deliberation between the members and the administration, it was decided that Java would have to be moved. This new location would be the Winning Health Center, about 50 feet from the Payson Coffeehouse. To commemorate its closing, Java's annual festival, "Java Jam" would be the Barn's last show. On May 6, 2006, the Ryan Montbleau Band was the final artist to play in the venue, and the Barn was closed forever.
The vacant Winning Health Center was selected for the relocation. The Health Center's location in the center of campus put Java far away from the possibility of neighbors complaining about noise, and it would be easy to reconfigure the building to suit Java's needs. In an interesting return to the days of the Payson Coffeehouse, students would continue to live at 5 University Ave., and would make "the trek" to the Health Center for shows.
This location was originally proposed to be a temporary location, since the demolition of the Health Center & Artery buildings have been in the University's master plans for years. This demolition would ultimately create green space that was lost due to the construction of the Student Center. The University decided to tear down the Health Center Venue in 2010, and that year the Health Center venue housed its final concert.
Current Java Venue
After the closing of the Health Center venue, the University relocated Java to an old biology lab on the south side of campus, next to Brown Hall. The Java house of 2010 painted the characteristic inside of the venue in bright, psychedelic colors and patterns. Currently, shows happen on either Thursdays or Saturday nights. There are 12 members who live in the house and they put on every aspect of the shows.
For current information, visit the Java Barn Facebook page.
Current Java Members
*
Drew Racioppa
*Henry Piedra
*Maddie Olaynack
*Brynn Kent
*Max Sabo
*Zach Effman
*Liv Erwich
*Erin Reynolds
*Rosie Johns
*Liya Yussubalyeva
*Taylor Beidler
*
Groove
Groove or Grooves may refer to:
Music
* Groove (music)
* Groove (drumming)
* The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s
* The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station
* Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station
* ...
Notable Bands which have played at Java
*
Dave Matthews
*
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are an American rock band from Vermont, formed in 2002 in Waitsfield by drummer Matt Burr, guitarist Scott Tournet, and singer Grace Potter. They began their career as an indie band, self-producing their albums an ...
*Aqueous
*Guster
*
Derek Trucks
Derek Trucks (born June 8, 1979) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and founder of The Derek Trucks Band. He became an official member of The Allman Brothers Band in 1999. In 2010, he formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band with his wife, blues s ...
*
Twiddle
*Kung-Fu
*Bella’s Bartok
*Vertical Horizon
*Pete Francis (of Dispatch)
*Ani DiFranco
*Kenny Neal
*The Holmes Brothers
*Martin Sexton
*Rubblebucket
*EOTO
*Aztec Two-Step
*Townhall
*Hypnotic Clambake
*South Catherine Street Jug Band
*Electrik Blue and the Cosmik Truth
*
Ryan Montbleau
Ryan Michael Montbleau (born June 18, 1977, in Peabody, Massachusetts, United States) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He annually tours across the U.S. with the Ryan Montbleau Band.
Background
Although he received his first gui ...
, later The Ryan Montbleau Band
*Addison Groove Project
*Dexter Grove
*The Zen Tricksters
*John Browns Body
*Garaj Mahal
*Mr. Charlie and the Blues for Breakfast
*Jesus and His 12 Apostles
*The Assembly of Dust
*Tea Leaf Green
*U-Melt
*
Zach Deputy
Zach Deputy is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter based in Savannah, Georgia and best known for his live looping shows. He describes his style as "island-infused drum n' bass gospel ninja soul."
Biography
Deputy has a diverse ethnic backgro ...
*
Gym Class Heroes
Gym Class Heroes was an American rap rock band from Geneva, New York. The group formed in 1997 when Travie McCoy met drummer Matt McGinley during their high school gym class. The band's music displays a wide variety of influences, including ...
*RAQ
*DJ Logic
*Pnuma Trio
*Eliot Lipp
*The Macpodz
*Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad
*98 degrees
*
A$AP Rocky
Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, music producer and record executive. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a membe ...
*Thunder Body Band
* The Congress
*Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band
*Lucid
*Turkuaz
*Spiritual Rez
*
Moon Hooch
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
*
Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds
Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds is a Brooklyn, New York-based seven-piece soul/rock band. The band is led by singer Arleigh Kincheloe, with Jackson Kincheloe on harmonica, Josh Myers on bass, Dan Boyden on drums, Phil Rodriguez on trumpet, and ...
*Congo and the Witch Doctors
External links
Article from SLU about current Java situation Coffeehouses and cafés in the United States
Restaurants in New York (state)
Music venues in New York (state)