22807 (Winter 2016-17) by JMU School of Media Arts and Design Magazine Production

Winter 2016-17

trivia night /// Vintage Talk /// nelson151 /// jmu secret spaces

Letter from the editors Dear readers, We are excited to share the 2016 issue of 22807 Magazine. As we began the journey of curating content and contemplating design ideas for this issue, we came to a realization: It’s become almost a common practice to distinguish between James Madison University and Harrisonburg, treating the two as separate entities forced to coexist. While the 22807 ZIP code only physically encompasses the JMU campus, JMU community members are often also Harrisonburg residents, occupying the surrounding city that has 22807 as its hub. Thus, students, faculty and residents develop an attachment to the city they’ve called home for any amount of time. Strictly Harrisonburg residents often feel a deep sense of pride for and dedication to the university.

About the Cover Photo by Maddy Williams This photo, showing a birds-eye view of the Quad, was taken from the top of the Wilson Hall cupola. A sliver of Harrisonburg and the backdrop of the Appalachain Mountains can be seen in the distance. ADVISER Brad Jenkins

With this in mind, we set out to find stories that simultaneously highlight the best aspects of JMU and Harrisonburg and intertwined them in a way never done before. All of our content seeks out connections between our university and city, illuminating offbeat stories that more conventional publications in the area sometimes overlook and ignore. We are thankful to the articles’ subjects for allowing us to tell their stories and so proud of our staff for the hard work they put into finding and telling these tales. From the famous puppy farm, to JMU’s hidden gems, a downtown love story, the intricacies of trivia nights and the beauty and crisp beverages on Route 151, this is 22807. It’s where you are.

Editorial EXECUTIVE EDITOR Maddy Williams EDITOR Brie Ellison MANAGING EDITOR Jessica Wilson ARTICLES EDITOR Emily Glisson COPY EDITOR Alyssa Miller

Photo /// Megan Toomy

Design

content

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Kaitlyn Beiswanger

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Kate Desmond

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Catherine Baldwin

SENIOR EDITORS Kate Desmond Ray Hauf Koo Hwangbo

PHOTOGRAPHERS Janelle Jackson Mark Owen Maddy Williams

WRITERS Lindsey Chiles Hayley Verdeyen

CONTENTS 6

Where Goldens Roam

reading the signs

Unlocking the hidden spaces of JMU

Gap View Ranch & Kennel has become a hub for JMU students and Harrisonburg residents alike

JMU ASL professor reflects on her years of protecting the Deaf community

A look at unseen university legends

Making music modifiable Engineering students adapt musical instruments for Harrisonburg residents

One marriage, Two Stores The downtown Ice House houses a two-business love story

Vintage Talk Ahead of album release, JMU student band sees international recognition

Questions & Answers Local restaurants see success with trivia nights

Winter Wears The Yellow Button and 22807 Magazine partner for a winter lookbook

Grapes & Grains Upperclassmen are drawn to Nelson County for its scenery and variety of beverages

Where goldens roam Words Kate Desmond /// Photos Mark Owen

When Dave Liskey bought the land for Gap View Ranch & Kennel in 1989, it didn’t have much penny value. But with some work it has gone from collapsed roofs to college students swarming the property playing with Golden Retrievers. After Liskey, a JMU alumnus (‘84), graduated from college, he got a male Golden Retriever from his college roommate who couldn’t care for the dog after getting a job. All of the sudden, Liskey had puppies roaming out of his barn. He kept getting females, and in 2000 he “went

in full force with the Goldens.” Liskey’s love for Goldens has continued to grow. He oversaw the building of the business from the ground up, as the kennel has become a staple in the JMU community. Sororities, fraternities and other campus organizations take their members to Gap View as a fun experience, to de-stress and bond with one another. Becca Pazzanese, a senior interdisciplinary liberal studies major, took her residents to Gap View for a program last fall when she was

an RA at Dingledine Hall. “The owner is really nice and the dogs are well taken care of,” Pazzanese, now a hall director for White Hall, says. Petting and cuddling the dogs allows them to be properly socialized from a young age. “I do appreciate that work because I’m one person and we have 41 dogs,” Trish MooreCuster, the kennel manager, says. With 30 of the 41 dogs at the kennel being used for breeding, it’s a full-time job. The wait list is vast, so the adopters usually get

on the list before the puppies are even born. Adopters can pay their deposit in July and wait until January to pick up their puppy. The work is especially great when the puppies are being born. While Liskey is the face associated with Gap View, he has people around to help him, like Moore-Custer. “We have to make sure mom gets them out appropriately, and then we just take over and make sure their airways are cleaned out, which is probably the most fun part and the most disgusting part,” Moore-Custer says. The workers put the puppies on a small heating pad and wait for their mother to finish nursing them, then match them back up to the mom again. When the mom is done nursing, Gap View workers begin an hourly rotation where

they split the litter in half. By doing so, each half of the litter receives equal attention from the mom. They do this for the first two weeks of the puppies’ lives before putting them on puppy chow. Once the puppies are four weeks old, they move to the fenced area of the kennel so they can socialize with other dogs and visitors. At this age, the puppies also begin to show their personalities. “Four weeks is usually when they start to develop their own thing,” Moore-Custer says. “You’ll start to see which ones are going to be calm, which ones are going to be more hyper.” When the dogs find their homes, Liskey wants to make sure their new owners can adequately provide the care and love the dogs need. “When my adults

leave their nest here, they’re going to a better home,” Liskey says. “I will take back every single dog, every puppy, every single animal that I will place in any homes. This is their home and you sign a contract and it will come back to me.” Liskey receives about 500 Christmas cards a year from previous buyers with pictures of their Golden. “They’re part of that family and they’re thanking me for the love, through the grace of God that I was able to put this love in their house,” Liskey says. Liskey says it’s all about chapters. Just as humans have stages in their life, so do Golden Retrievers. “I don’t sell you a car that you trade in,” Liskey says. “I sell you what I call the next chapter of your life, the next love of your life.” ///

reading the signs Words Koo Hwangbo /// Photos Janelle Jackson

Every week in the College of Health and Behavioral Studies building is a class full of students eager to learn. There are quizzes, lectures and homework, but in this classroom, students communicate with their professor and one another using their hands. Rachel Bavister is an American Sign Language professor who teaches at JMU and Blue Ridge Community College. She was born in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, and has spent her life communicating through British and American Sign Language. Though born with hereditary deafness, Bavister doesn’t see it as a hinderance and spends her life doing what she loves to do: education. “I love teaching,” Bavister says during a pen and paper interview. I “love to plan a lesson and include/ involve all my students and see them learn.” Bavister’s been the Sign II instructor for about 10 years. If she were to live her life again, Bavister would choose to remain Deaf, with one change.

“I would like to be reincarnated in the present where equal access is a right,” Bavister says. “When I was growing up, this was not so … Today, the Americans with Disabilities Act guarantees equal access. I would have 10 Ph.D.s.” The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a labor law that prohibits discrimination and gives people with disabilities equal opportunity to participate in mainstream American life. Growing up, Bavister and other deaf individuals were often treated by other people as if they didn’t know how to do things themselves. “I was at boarding school most of the time and school was different in that we were expected to be independent,” Bavister says. “I liked that; then when we came home the world treated us like we were incompetent.” Bavister attended Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., and then JMU and the Catholic University

of America before the ADA was passed, studying without interpreters. Despite the advancements made since the ADA was passed, and the fact that ASL is the No. 4 studied language on college campuses, many universities don’t accept language credits for ASL. Bavister believes placing limitations on ASL as a language is dangerous because ASL is a driving force that encourages interaction and change, and is a common bond for much of the Deaf community. The general public often misunderstands the difference between “Deaf” and “deaf.” Deaf with an uppercase “D” refers to someone active in the Deaf community and Deaf culture, while a lowercase “d” refers to the audiological condition of being unable to hear. When people unfamiliar with the Deaf community talk to Deaf people, Bavister recommends treating them as normally as possible. She says if oral communication

is a problem, written communication is acceptable. Bavister has made great efforts to involve herself in helping preserve the quality of life for members of the Deaf community. She’s a long-standing member of the Virginia Association of the Deaf, the National Association of the Deaf, and both the National and Virginia Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Bavister has also served two terms on the Advisory Board of the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and one term on the Viriginia School for the Deaf and Blind’s Board of Visitors. She’s also an adviser to LEAD-K VA, which works on getting legislation through the General Assembly to ensure all deaf children will be kindergarten ready. Bavister’s mission

extends to preparing presentations for national conferences. In February, a friend at Shenandoah University saw a call for papers on ASL from the Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference. Bavister worked on a piece and submitted it. The paper was accepted, but no one showed up. “I don’t dwell on it,” Bavister says. “I’ll just try again in 2017.” Bavister’s students appreciate her passion for teaching and the experiences ASL has given them. “There are people who are deaf all over the country and anywhere that you go,” Kelsey Hineman, a senior modern foreign languages major and student of Bavister’s, says. “So it’s always helpful if you can say a couple words in ASL and let people know that they’re not alone with a gigantic

communication barrier.” Bavister enjoys introducing students to ASL and Deaf culture, but when class is over, she continues to be an important leader in the Deaf community. “I’ve done a lot of other stuff, but fighting for Deaf children I won’t give up on,” Bavister says. ///

Unlocking THe Hidden Spaces of

Words Alyssa Miller /// Photos Maddy Williams JMU’s history, like the Chicago Cubs’ now-broken curse, stretches back 108 years. It’s no wonder that in 2016, there’s still so much students don’t know about campus. From the tunnels on the Quad to the greenhouses on East Campus, hidden features continue to become the stuff of university legend. Here are a few features students might not be familiar with ...

Science on a Sphere Memorial Hall might seem like a different planet to students who’ve never set foot in the building. But for those interested in our own planet, there’s Science on a Sphere, a 5-foot-8-inch white scale model of Earth that works as a giant 3D projector. According to JMU’s website, Science on a Sphere was developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. JMU’s

model is the same one used in museums and science centers; the university is one of only 62 national and 51 other international institutions to have this technology. Science on a Sphere’s operator uses several calibrated projectors around a huge room to display simulations of Earth’s tides, heat patterns and other Earth system models on the giant globe. The projections can be manipulated to show past Earth systems

patterns, or to predict future ones based on a variety of scenarios. The operator can also zoom in on certain locations, focusing on specific parts of the world on land or at sea. Science on a Sphere is currently used in a number of courses, many of which are part of the geology or integrated science and technology programs. The university also uses it as part of outreach programs for local middle schools. ///

responsibility of the Office of Residence Life. The Lock Shop repairs doors and hinges, orders new locks to department specifications and makes copies of all keys on campus, which are hung inches-thick in stacks on pegboard walls surrounding tools and machines. And never fear: damaged doors, keys that won’t work and

all other lock-related scrap metal is collected by FM and recycled to make — you guessed it — more keys. They even “cannibalize” old buildings as they’re torn down, looking for any part that can be reused to help save money and the environment. ///

The Lock Shop

Enter the red brick University Services building behind the Warsaw parking deck, go down a flight of stairs and walk across a well-lit hallway, and students will find the JMU Lock Shop. A repository for nearly every key on campus, the Lock Shop is where students or faculty can go for access to or maintenance for doors in most campus buildings. It’s no small task; before the new College of Health and Behavioral Studies, Facilities Management employees estimate there were around 50,000 individual locks on campus. The Lock Shop doesn’t even handle dorm room keys; those are the

The Wilson hall Cupola The Wilson Hall cupola, more commonly known as the bell tower, is the subject of many rumors. A common legend around Halloween is that the ghost of a former student can be seen haunting the tower. Some insist there are real bells programmed to ring on the hour. Many students make it their goal to find their way inside before they graduate. In reality, the Wilson Hall cupola has a changeable audio recording that plays the bell chimes and customizable songs; the Alma Mater currently plays at noon, and the JMU Fight Song plays

at 5 p.m. The clock on the front of the tower is connected to the recording software, ensuring a smooth change during daylight saving time, and the chimes are turned off during commencement. The cupola changes with the seasons, too; professional stage lights are used to light the tower purple throughout the year, and during the holidays, the bulbs are changed to red and green. An outside company is hired to project snowflakes on Wilson Hall during the Unity Tree lighting ceremony. Accessing the cupola is no small — or safe — task. After entering a locked door on the

third floor of Wilson Hall, FM employees climb up a narrow metal ladder, across a wooden catwalk and up another, taller ladder with no support on either side, all while ducking under and clambering over beams and wooden posts. A handful of graffiti’d messages on the beams indicate some students have successfully made their way over the years, but FM doesn’t recommend breaking in. Not only is it trespassing, but the unfinished surfaces and dark room make it dangerous to enter, even for experienced workers. ///

Making Music Modifiable Words Ray Hauf /// Photo Grace Carter

The look on their client’s face was one of gratitude. This is the goal for everyone involved in the Adaptable Musical Instrument Engineering program, a semesterlong project assigned to freshman students in ENGR 112: Introduction to Engineering. Students construct adaptable musical instruments for local clients with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities. “It’s just the idea of making the impossible possible,” Alex Gellios, a sophomore engineering major, says. Last spring, students in the class were split into groups and chose a traditional instrument to alter for their client. The goal is “not to be the best in the world, it’s to be the best for the world,” Kyle Gipson, an engineering professor, says. Gipson oversees the project along with engineering professor Brent Cunningham and music professor

Paul Ackerman. To help with the musical aspect of the project, each team had at least one student majoring in music education in their group. Clients were music students from Smithland and Stone Spring elementary schools who had limited instrument options because of their disabilities. Other groups were assigned clients from The Arc of Harrisonburg, an organization supporting the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. “They wanted something physical delivered to them that they could use by the end of the semester,” Grace Carter, a sophomore engineering major, says. “I was like, ‘There’s no way. How are we possibly going to do this?’” Carter and Gellios’ group was assigned clients from The Arc who had limited range

of motion and trouble grasping certain instruments. “We got to interact and ask them questions,” Carter says. “It was a great experience and then I got to come back to my group and tell them we’re working with real people.” According to Gipson, after the students met with their clients faceto-face, their outlook on the project changed. “When you see that other person and you’re going, ‘Oh wow, I really am designing for someone else. It’s not about what I want. It’s about what they need,’” Gipson says. Carter’s group decided to construct a string bass instrument. Their clients could already work with handbells and play them facing downward, so they wanted to make a string bass that could be played in a similar motion. Gellios says there were multiple stages throughout the project. The beginning stage

was research, where students found out more about their clients and how the instruments work. Next, students drew potential sketches of what they wanted their creation to look like. Finally, they built an alpha prototype, which was the basis for their final product. Once they worked around initial problems, they built their beta prototype, which is the final product. One group of students designed a bass drum for a client who uses a wheelchair. The drum sat on the side bars of the wheelchair, allowing it to be removed easily. The client didn’t have the capability to grasp a mallet, so the students devised an electronic push button that allowed their client to press the button, triggering the mallet to hit the drum. There were some check-in dates with the professors to show the students’ progress, but throughout the design process, it was the students’ responsibility to take the project head-on. “It was nice to see them take ownership and take full agency of

the product,” Gipson says. According to Carter, her group had tremendous chemistry from the beginning. “Everybody’s strengths balanced out everybody’s weaknesses,” Carter says.

engineering is to me,” Carter says the project has made a lasting impact on her. “I’m going to be talking about this project for a long time,” Carter says. “I loved the group I was working with and the impact we were able to make.”

The group visited The Arc and presented their clients with the finished product. “As soon as we walked in there, we just set it down and our clients walked up to it,” Gellios says. “We didn’t show them how to play it, they just started playing it.” Gellios says engineering is more than just math and science, and this project proves it. “Part of engineering is just being able to help society and doing what is right,” Gellios says. ”And being able to see The Arc’s reaction and being able to better their lives is what

According to Cunningham, the students accomplished their goal: bridging the gaps between music, technology, design and engineering for the purpose of inclusion. “I think it really exemplifies what the department’s goal is, which is to have the students go through the design process in order to design for others,” Cunningham says. “Engineering is not just science and math, it’s something more. It’s about being grounded and understanding your values and putting yourself in the best position where you can help others.” ///

one marria

age, two stores Words Kate Desmond /// Photos JMU Alumna (‘08) Katie Stoops Chance and Miranda Ebersold are the embodiment of the saying “like two peas in a pod”: they’re married and own sideby-side businesses in downtown Harrisonburg. Chance owns Black Sheep Coffee and Miranda owns The Yellow Button, a clothing store. When Miranda’s store took its space in The Ice House, the space next door was up for grabs as well. Chance was working as a general manager for Buffalo Wild Wings when he met Miranda, then a bartender, in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Over the next six months, Chance returned to the area a few times and the pair eventually had their first date. Within a few months of their first date, Miranda was living in Harrisonburg. Miranda thought, “‘This is silly, I should just get a bartending job here’ and I got the job at The Dodger ... I was actually working at BCBG ... which was a two-hour drive from

here and I did that for a while.” Miranda worked both jobs for a time before deciding that “I was gonna be all in and move here for real and actually move my things here and only work in Harrisonburg and that was that.” It took Miranda a while to recognize how much she really liked Chance. “It’s funny because I didn’t realize that I kept talking about him until my mom brought it up,” Miranda says. Her interest in Chance was obvious to her coworkers at the bar, too. “He said, ‘I could practically see heart bubbles floating above your head while you were talking to him,’” Miranda says, laughing. The Ebersolds joke about this now because Miranda would lean over the bar and talk to Chance with a lovestruck gaze. Chance went to the bar that night because he wanted to “have a beer in peace” after getting off work. “She asked me what I was doing there and

it was a bar I didn’t normally go to ’cause it was between where I was working and my home and I went there so that I wouldn’t run into anybody that I knew, so that I wouldn’t have to talk to anybody and have a beer in peace after getting off of work before going home,” Chance says. “She just sat there and kept talking to me and talking to me. She wouldn’t let me just sit there in peace.” Miranda’s knack for conversation has become a joke among the Ebersolds. Chance even incorporated it into his wedding vows by joking “I remember when I met you and I thought: ‘Man, she talks a lot.’” “I think that having differences definitely has drawn us to each other and why we’ve continued to be together for so long,” Miranda says. They now have two kids: Graham, 3, and Poppy, 9 months. Graham and Poppy are well known to the regular customers of the shops and can

occasionally be spotted adorning Black Sheep Coffee T-shirts. Graham can also be seen running around Black Sheep playing his kazoo going, “Daddy! Daddy!” One of Graham’s favorite activities is to grab some milk and a cookie from Black Sheep Coffee and sit on the loading dock with one of his parents.

“He thinks he’s really cool ’cause he goes out the back door,” Miranda says with a teasing tone. “And he can look at the trains,” Chance adds. Poppy was in The Yellow Button almost every day with Miranda until she started daycare at around four months old. When Black Sheep Coffee first opened in 2015 Graham had

been walking for about a month or two, so Chance’s customers have seen him grow up. “Graham loved coming down here when this was all being built,” Miranda says. “Because he, like, is such a boy in that he loves trains, construction equipment and he, like, had a blast.” Miranda says juggling two businesses and two kids is difficult, but it has

its perks. “There’s a lot of benefits to kind of being our own bosses and not having to be both of us at work at 9 a.m. If one of the kids are sick, it’s pretty easy for one of us. Graham had the stomach flu the other week and Chance was able to [help],” Miranda says. On the flip side, it’s difficult for the Ebersolds to truly get away from their jobs, whether it be at home or on vacation. Miranda yearns for at least an hour every night where she can be unplugged from her cellphone. She contrasts her job to a 9-to-5 job, where one can “come home and you’re just with your kids and that’s that.” Employees might text her questions regarding merchandise and tags. The Ebersolds work during the week so they can enjoy time with their kids on the weekends. “We try to be here and get everything that we need to do done during the week, so that we can go to birthday parties and go to the children’s museum and go do fun stuff with them on the weekends,” Miranda says. Graham typically accompanies Chance on walks to the bank

on the weekends, to get change for the cash drawers and take out deposits. Luckily, Miranda doesn’t have to be at The Yellow Button until it opens at 11 a.m., but having two children under four can be taxing. “Him owning a coffee shop is definitely really good, like, because if I didn’t have him to feed me and keep me in caffeine I would be probably a zombie,” Miranda says with a chuckle. Miranda worked at a boutique called La De Da after moving to Harrisonburg to be with Chance. After La De Da closed down, the owner — knowing Miranda wanted to pursue a career in fashion — encouraged her to take over the space, thus The Yellow Button was born. “I was only 25 when The Yellow Button opened and I was really, really nervous, you know, about taking on owning a whole business and I don’t think that I would have done it unless I was with Chance because he really encouraged me and I mean, was like … ‘You can do this and like, I’ll help you and we’ll figure it out together.’ I think that that definitely gave me

the confidence to be able to go for it,” Miranda says. Chance actually helped Miranda name The Yellow Button because of her love for the color yellow and her knack for collecting buttons. In turn, Miranda came up with the name Black Sheep Coffee. “It’s only fair that I name the coffee shop if you name my store,” Miranda remembers joking. When The Yellow Button opened, Miranda didn’t have any ties to Harrisonburg, so she considered applying to Free People, a bohemian clothing company. However, she took the opportunity to open The Yellow Button in 2009. “It was sort of funny; I actually came home one night and asked how [Chance] would feel about moving to Philadelphia if I got a job at Free People there and he said, ‘That would be cool, I would go’ and the following day I said, ‘How would you feel about staying in Harrisonburg forever?’ and he was like, ‘Um, I thought we were moving?’” Miranda says. The store has grown in the last seven and a half years, relocating from South Main Street to The Ice House after

closing down due to the restoration of the Thomas Harrison House. Miranda also expanded The Yellow Button to Charlottesville at The Shops at Stonefield in 2014. All of her employees are either JMU or Bridgewater students, since her one full-time employee — who had been with the shop since the beginning — left after having a baby. Black Sheep is still growing and receiving recognition nearly one and a half years after its opening. “We’re getting a pretty good reputation considering we [were] one of the best in Virginia this last year in the Shenandoah Valley region coffee shop and ... there’s voting going on with Blue Ridge Outdoors for the best coffee shop,” Chance says. “We’re one of five.” Chance had an extensive background in food service and was always a coffee drinker. He knew Harrisonburg was in need of a coffee shop, so he jumped at the opportunity. However, it wasn’t always in their plan to own businesses side by side. “We were looking at the space over here for her to move, when we noticed the spot next door would be perfect

for a coffee shop,” Chance says. He wanted a wholesome place that would be welcoming for a family. It definitely helps The Yellow Button having the “best coffee shop in Harrisonburg next door.” Both the shops complement each other well, as The Ebersolds intended. People have meetings there and school groups assemble for a drink, which benefits the Yellow Button. “I do see quite a few women come over with bags and get drinks,” Chance says. “I think they definitely complement each other because they’re definitely for people that appreciate good things.” They see each other whenever Miranda texts Chance wanting something to eat or drink. The couple also shares a mailbox and are prone to running errands for each other, like going to the bank. They help each other in other ways too, as Miranda calls Chance more tech-minded. He chose the point-ofsale system she uses on her cash registers, files her sales tax for her and also aids her with accounting, among other things. On the other hand, Miranda

helps Chance with creativity, design and recipe ideas. “A lot of her style is definitely apparent when it came to decorating and picking stuff for the coffee shop,” Chance says. Besides his knack for coffee, Chance is also a handyman. He built all the tables and the counter for Black Sheep Coffee, as well as pretty much everything that’s wood in the coffee shop. He also constructed all the racks in The Yellow Button in both the Harrisonburg and Charlottesville stores, as well as all of the mirrors in the Charlottesville store. “I’ve always enjoyed [woodworking] and I was at a crossroads where I was debating whether to try to make it more than a hobby, ’cause I had actually made, like, tables for our wedding … and I had done some other side projects like that … I was either going to pursue that a little bit more or open a coffee shop,” Chance says. The Ebersolds hope their shops will continue to grow and gain more customers. Chance plans to begin in-house roasting at the beginning of 2017 in conjunction with the other roasters that the

shop already carries. As for gaining customers, the Ebersolds want potential customers in the community to know where they’re located, since The Ice House, located on South LIberty Street, can be difficult to navigate to. Chance hopes to expand Black Sheep Coffee to Hotel

Madison, the new hotel at the intersection of Grace and South Main streets, which is estimated to be completed in March 2018. “That’s my goal; I’ve talked with the developers a little bit, but obviously they haven’t really broken ground yet,” Chance

says. The Ebersolds say they’ve found their calling. “I can’t imagine doing anything else. It would be very weird,” Miranda says. “I hope that I get to do this forever ... or, you know, at least until one day when I want to sell the business and retire.”///

Words Hayley Verdeyen // / Photos Maddy Williams

They may look like any other twentysomethings, but their voices could very well be singing that song that’s been playing on repeat. With three strong singers and a host of instrumental abilities, Vintage Talk works. They’re a casually cool band and their music can’t be pigeonholed into one genre. “We literally just said a

couple days ago, ‘I don’t think we have a sound,’” Ellen Atwood, the band’s keyboard player and a junior music education major, says. The band consists of Atwood; Will Hardgrove, a junior computer science major; and Ryan Spitzel, a senior media arts and design major. It’s still new — it was formed last February. Their formation wasn’t

unconventional. The three met due to a mutual membership in The Overtones, a coed a cappella group on campus. It was less of a whirlwind and more of an organic meshing of three people and their love of music. Hardgrove was born into music. Peter Gabriel and The Beatles filled his house and

eventually he got his hands on the strings

of a guitar. After moving back to the United States from England, Atwood’s mom got her piano lessons to silence her child’s banging of the keys. Spitzel couldn’t decide “what geek [he] wanted to be” in middle school but picked up the saxophone, and eventually the guitar. “I distinctly remember jamming with them, like a trial sort of thing, and a week or so in they were like, ‘Hey do you want to be in a band?’” Atwood says. Since then, they’ve released their self-titled

EP on Spotify, which has gained thousands of listens from fans across the globe in countries such as France, Austria, Argentina and Brazil. Their most popular song on Spotify, “Habits,” is a threeminute track with strong, yet subtle, instrumentals that play up Spitzel’s raspy voice before they segue into the trio’s smooth harmonies. Hardgrove said “Katie’s Song,” a tune that Spitzel wrote for his fiancée, — Katie McVicar, a senior communication studies

major — is his favorite to play. “The first jam session that I ever had at his house was with ‘Katie’s Song,’” Hardgrove says. “I just remember being speechless.” For Atwood, “Old Self” is “almost therapeutic to play” with harmonies that “fit like puzzle pieces.” With strong instrumentals, it’s a sobering adventure juxtaposing perfection and flaws. While playing a show in downtown Harrisonburg at Ruby’s, Vintage Talk experienced something that isn’t always

accessible in large venues: show intimacy. “There were people dancing and we were right there with them, and we could almost talk with them without even a mic,” Spitzel says. “I don’t know if I would ever give that up.” That doesn’t mean the group doesn’t have aspirations for

greater audiences and exposure. They’re already headed for more international coverage with a recent interview by an Australian music blog started by a vlogger by the name of Alex Rainbird. Even close to home, Vintage Talk is making waves. While dining at a restaurant in

Bridgewater, they encountered a fan who had no qualms about showing love for the group. “We all walked in and she immediately [went], ‘Oh my god, it’s Vintage Talk!’” Atwood says. A growing fan base fuels their progression. Summer 2017 is the planned release date for the band’s full-length

album, which will consist of around 10 songs, as well as a few single track releases in the upcoming months. “We really just hope to write a single that clicks with everyone so that they’ll venture in and listen to the rest of our music,” Spitzel says. The musicians in Vintage Talk have also been hard at work, balancing performing with their busy class schedules. Between their demanding majors and performing in The Overtones, an a capella group, it can be hard to find time for rehearsal. How do they balance

it all? According to Spitzel, they don’t. It’s a tightrope that the band has to walk regularly. “It’s hard to prioritize your major when your heart is more so in your extracurriculars,” Atwood says. It’s equally as difficult for Hardgrove, but, like the rest of the band, he doesn’t have plans to slow down. “I’ve been focusing more on everything music because music is obviously our passion,” Hardgrove says. “Ideally it’s what I want to do with the rest of my life.” For Vintage Talk, it’s

about the music and how they can evolve their sound to reflect their growing selves. “The moment that we plateau,” Spitzel says, “then we’re old news.” // /

d n a s n o i t s Que s r e w Ans

Words Koo Hwangbo // / Photos Maddy Williams What do you call a group of lions? What MLB team has gone the longest without winning a World Series? What was the first name given to JMU when it was founded in 1908? Grab your friends, put down your phone and wrack your brain for information that will never be useful again, because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trivia night!

Buffalo Wild Wings Buffalo Wild Wings hosts trivia every Wednesday at 9 p.m. the restaurant draws in one of the largest crowds; roughly 30 teams show up each week. David Jordan, emcee of BWW’s trivia night, has worked as a bartender there for five years and a trivia host for three. He recently celebrated his 150th week of hosting. “It started out as a small, ‘We’ll see how it goes,’ kind of situation,” Jordan says. “And we saw steady growth. This was about three years

ago at the old B-Dubs and since then it’s just become the animal that it is.” Jordan attributes this success to diverse categories and assorted questions, all of which he’s written. “What I really get a kick out of is when I write a good question and throw it up there, and I hear people groan because everyone knows it, but they can’t think of the answer,” Jordan says. With 70 questions, BWW’s trivia night is one of Harrisonburg’s longest. Jordan hopes the wide variety of questions encourages

teams to bring more friends for a better chance of winning. While he’s proud of what trivia night has become, Jordan never anticipated its success. “It was designed so people could come in and watch a game, but also be able to do something besides watching sports, in a sports bar situation,” Jordan says. “It’s something I never expected to do as well as it has, but it’s become something great.”

Dave’s Taverna On the other side of Harrisonburg, Dave’s

Taverna hosts trivia night every Tuesday at 7 p.m. Adam Coolbaugh is a senior sports and recreation management major and the Dave’s Taverna trivia promoter. “I really like being an emcee and interacting with the people who show up out here,” Coolbaugh says. “I like talking to the teams [and] making jokes and it’s kind of a nice calmdown at the end of the day.” Coolbaugh credits the atmosphere of Dave’s for trivia night’s success. Approximately five teams show up every week to enjoy the music, great view and challenging trivia questions. “It’s a beautiful view, weather’s great right here and you’re out enjoying the balcony,” Coolbaugh says. “A lot of teams that participate in trivia come here not knowing trivia is happening, and then stay here socializing anyways because Dave’s is such a good environment to do that.”

Clementine Clementine Cafe also holds trivia night on

Tuesdays at 9 p.m., hosting around 25 teams each week. Clementine’s trivia night includes a shots round, which is done for a free round of shots for the best-performing team. Alejandro Alegre and Ken Finke are Harrisonburg residents and host Clementine’s trivia night; they come every week despite not being employed by Clementine or its sponsors. “I was out there for about three years and when the old hosts left they were like, ‘You come here all the time, do you want to take the reins?’” Finke says. “When we were here, we were the team that dominated every week.” Alegre and Finke credit the people who participate every week for creating Clementine’s lively ambience. “One thing I like about Clementine’s trivia is that it’s competitive without taking itself too seriously,” Patrick Schneeberger, a Blue Ridge Community College student, says. There are weekly drink specials, theme nights and engaging hosts who create relationships

with many of the teams. Alegre and Finke award extra points and prizes for funny team names and answers. The hosts are also used to seeing perennially dominant teams. “‘Hubert Cumberdale’ is a team that places well almost every week,” Finke says. “They are very much loved and hated by everyone at this bar.” Hubert Cumberdale’s longest winning streak was six weeks in a row. At one point, it also won seven out of nine weeks. What makes these feats most impressive is the team’s lack of practice. “I don’t know that we do any preparation but I do like ‘Jeopardy!,’ I watch it while folding laundry,” Hillary Strubell, a member of Hubert Cumberdale, says. Whether you’re perennial contenders or casual competitors, trivia night’s entertaining for everyone who goes. “For me, it’s not about winning prizes but having a good time with friends,” Schneeberger says. ///

Winter Wears Words Brie Ellison & Maddy Williams /// Photos Maddy Williams With the holiday season upon us and the new year creeping ever closer, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to bring out your winter clothes. From cold weather to holiday parties, this season can be difficult to dress for in a way that differentiates yourself from the crowd. Miranda Ebersold, owner of The Yellow Button in downtown Harrisonburg, styled our models in outfits thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be sure to pop at any holiday function.

1. Kayla Rasmussen, a senior marketing major, wears a blue sequin Free People dress ($88) that’s perfect for the holidays.

2. The sparkly Free People top ($78), modeled by senior theatre major Madeleine Bloxam, brings a “wow” factor that’s just dressy enough, while still passing as perfectly casual. 3. Why play it safe with traditional holiday colors when you can go with an unexpected shade of navy. This sequin dress ($58) modeled by junior political science major Olivia Woodson, is still a classic color, but with an unexpected twist.

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4. Looking for something out of the box? Leah Williams, a sophomore interdisciplinary liberal studies major, poses in a New Friends Colony brown cut-out top ($68) and a pair of Free People ripped black jeans ($78), for an added dose of toughness.

5. If you’re searching for a classic look that’s a great bang for your buck this black lace dress ($50), modeled by freshman media arts and design major Eleftheria Giannopoulos looks expensive while still being affordable.

6/7. Woodson rocks a Gentle Fawn dress ($125) in a winered color, perfect for fall. The Liebeskind bag ($248), from Berlin, is a perfect accessory that works well as a cross-body strap or an over-the-shoulder bag.

8. Get outside and enjoy the cooling temperatures in this cute combo modeled by Bloxam. The hand-knit hat is made locally by Thistle Dew ($52). And for people who aren’t into turtlenecks, this French Connection sweater’s

mock neck ($148) is the perfect solution. You’ll feel like you’re rocking the turtleneck trend while still remaining completely comfortable.

9. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking to splurge a little on your winter wardrobe look no further than this beautiful Johnny Was dress ($284). The dress, modeled by Rasmussen, is hand-embroidered and works well for a holiday party or an everyday outfit. 10. Layers automatically elevate any outfit and this Gentle Fawn dress ($104) is perfectly topped with a cozy white scarf ($35) and a classic tote ($448). The tote is perfect edition for any student looking to hold a laptop, papers and books.

11. Lighter layers work well for this ensemble, modeled by Williams. The blue jeans ($198), black tank ($39), cardigan ($45) and hat ($68) pull together for a laid back, casual outfit. The necklace is the perfect finishing touch. Made by Fashion Able, a brand that works to employ women in Ethiopia, ensuring your money is creating jobs instead of just being donated.

Grapes & Grains Words Lindsey Chiles /// Photos & Artwork Maddy Williams Beyond Exit 245 and a 42-miunte drive through the Shenandoah Valley lies Route 151 in Nelson County. Located at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains and nicknamed Nelson 151, five wineries, three breweries, one distillery and one cidery sit along this small stretch of the highway. Each location offers its own unique atmosphere and libations, making it one of the most popular drinking tours in Central Virginia for craft beer and wine lovers. Here are a few of the top spots to visit on Route 151.

Devils Backbone Brewing Company Adorned with overhead string lights and an arrangement of Adirondack chairs and picnic tables, Devils Backbone Brewing Company’s Basecamp Brewpub & Meadows location offers customers a rustic outdoor atmosphere. Devils Backbone instantly presents brewery visitors with a “make-yourselfat-home” impression upon entering the 100-acre property. An open, cabin-style tasting bar, smells of barbecue, and laughter erupting from friends and families are just a few of

the striking aspects that can be found here on any given day. The atmosphere at Devils Backbone draws customers into the laid back establishment, but its brews make them stay. The brewing company takes the most pride in the beverage creations it concocts at Basecamp. “Here we are beer-positive,” Keith Sutton, general manager of Basecamp, says. Their philosophy on creating an enjoyable product is simple: “Good beer is good beer.” ///

Bold Rock Hard Cider Crisp, refreshing beverages paired with views of the towering Blue Ridge Mountains are just a few of the features that make Bold Rock the unique destination it is. Its beverages are made with local ingredients: the apples are sourced only 30 miles from the Nellysford location. Apples are pressed and bottled on-site, keeping with the familiar message on the brewery’s bottles: “Crushed and crafted in the Blue Ridge Mountains.” Sourcing local apples creates the fresh taste of Bold Rock’s beverages, which Lindsay Dorrier III, Director of Retail Operations, describes as “cider with more kinship to craft beer.” The taste of Bold Rock Hard Cider isn’t the only aspect of the cidery that attracts customers. The friendly atmosphere guests can find at this Nelson 151 hotspot is fostered

by the constant involvement of owners John Washburn and Brian Shanks. Both can often be seen making the rounds at tables full of customers to make sure they’re getting the best experience Bold Rock has to offer. ///

Cardinal Point Vineyard & Winery Winding country roads trailing off Route 151 take visitors past quaint country homes and scenic landscapes leading to Cardinal Point Winery. Now run by JMU alumnus (‘86) Tim Gorman, this vineyard was established by his parents in 1986. One wine that sets Cardinal Point apart from the rest is the Hopped Chardonnay. Compared to Cardinal Point’s traditional Chardonnay, which is much sweeter in taste, the hopped version first greets the nose with a mix of herbal and tropical aromas. Wine tasters

will find this creative beverage fresh and light with a crisp finish, followed by a slight bitterness and tang. These unique characteristics are due to the addition of hops. Gorman and his family pride themselves on the distinct aspects of Cardinal Point, which set the vineyard apart from the rest of the wineries in the area. “Growing our own grapes and making them into wine is what we are most proud of,” Gorman says. “We grow it, we make it, we sell it.” ///

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Where You Are For More, go to 22807Mag.com 22807 is a production of smad 421: magazine production in the school of media arts & Design at james madison university.