BY JEREMY OHMES
No Fiddlin’ Around
A happy anniversary in Cottage Grove
O
ne year ago, when Bart Caridio took over a vacant space in downtown Cottage Grove
and converted it into the Axe and Fiddle, he must have had some sense of déjà vu. Eleven
years earlier, he and a business partner took over an aban-
doned barn in the heart of the Whiteaker neighborhood and trans-
formed it into Sam Bond’s Garage. Back then, in the mid-’90s, they
saw a burgeoning artist community minus a friendly local bar and a
decent live music venue. The same scenario presented itself in 2006
when Caridio looked around his own neighborhood in Cottage
Grove. He says, “There was a lack of a good pub and a good music
venue in town, and we [he and part-owner Brad van Appel] wanted
a spot where people could be comfortable and enjoy good live
music.” Taking a sip from his freshly poured Guinness and talking
over the strains of a slide guitar drifting from the stage, Caridio con-
tinues, “I mean look at all the young, single women at the bar.
They’re comfortable, and a lot of bars don’t offer that.”
It’s this comfort that has kept Caridio’s bars in business. Sam Bond’s, recently named one of
America’s best bars by Esquire and voted the best bar in Eugene by EW readers two years run-
ning, offers a laid back, nonsmoking environment where you can take in a local or touring band,
dance to a bluegrass jam, play bingo and drink reasonably priced
local brews all in the same week. Axe and Fiddle is cut from the
same welcoming, something-for-everyone cloth with Monday night
DJs, Tuesday night open mics, an occasional bingo night and local
and regional bands most other nights. So far, Cottage Grovers have
slowly but surely taken notice. Stacy Dehart, the bar’s website man-
ager and part-time booker, says, “As
the year’s gone by, the audiences
have gotten bigger and more consis-
tent, and more and more touring
bands are stopping here on their way
down the West Coast. It’s a nice tour
stop.” She adds, “Oh, and we re-
cently added our 1,000th MySpace
friend.”
So, it’s been a good, if gradual,
year for the Axe and Fiddle, and with
goals to make the venue a stop on the
Hot Club Sandwich
Oregon Book Awards Author Tour
and eventually to organize and sponsor a Cottage Grove Bluegrass
and String Festival, the bar’s future is looking fit as
a fiddle.
ew
Axe &
Fiddle
Anniverary
Events
F r i d ay , No v. 2 3:
J ac k st r a w,
8:30 pm, $5
S at u rd a y , N o v .
24 : H al H a rt z e ll
re ad i ng , 4 pm
Mi ch ae l
C u nn i n g ha m,
piano, 5 pm
T o n y W il e y,
comedy, 6 pm
S o u nd e r an d
Gu i t ar R ec ov er i ng
P ro j e ct , 7 pm
H ot C l ub
S a nd w i ch ,
9pm ($5)
+
+
+
8 TH & LINCOLN + 687-2746 + TICKETS: CD WORLD, HOUSE OF RECORDS, UO TICKET OFFICE, TICKETWEB.COM, WOW HALL BOX OFFICE + WOWHALL.ORG + ALL AGES
28 NOVEMBER 21, 2007