Reggae is said to have emerged from Jamaica in the 1960s. Now, thanks to the Equalites, you can hear it live in Wendell the first Friday of each month.
Guitarist and vocalist Dave Boatwright says his band has had a monthly gig at Deja Brew Cafe & Pub since at least 2011 and continues to attract people craving some Caribbean vibes and a sunny disposition.
“It’s something of a template for us, a dress rehearsal for what we’re doing later. We can try out new material there,” Boatwright says. “I look forward to the beginning of every month. … The last several gigs there have been really outstanding.”
But the Equalites are just one of the musical acts to get a platform at the watering hole at 57A Lockes Village Road. Proprietor Patti Scutari said her pub is open Wednesday through Sunday and has live music every day but Wednesday, when she hosts “Knitting, Crafts and Games Night.” Deja Brew has developed a reputation as a pillar of the local arts scene since 2005.
“I think it’s been very important. I know of groups that played their first gigs here … and people got to know them and they went on to become very popular and get a lot more bookings,” she said. “I’ve never had to go looking for a band. I get so many emails.”
Scutari says bands are not paid to play her pub — she just offers food and drink and passes around a tip jar for the musicians — but it doesn’t seem to matter.
“Nobody plays here to get rich or make money,” she said. “I’ve had more bands say, ‘This is our favorite place to play.’ It’s such a cozy environment. We try to be very hospitable and appreciative of the bands.”
Deja Brew, sandwiched between (and connected to) the local post office and the Wendell Country Store that Scutari also owns, seats at least 60 people and can host musicians in three spots — up front, in the back room and on the back lawn.
A 100-percent copper-sheet bar top shines under the overhead lights. The copper also graces the tabletops of the pub’s three booths, which Scutari said are made from 196-year-old pews from a Greenfield church. Two walls of the back room, once a deck, are lined with distinctive beer and cider tap handles. If you notice one missing, it’s probably one of the seven on tap.
Fresh food and the pub’s homemade salad dressings come from a kitchen section at the end of the bar. There are two flatscreen televisions but roughly two dozen wall-hanging works of art by Shari Sanders will likely catch most eyes until the end of February.
Sanders of Orange says the images of wildlife that temporarily adorn Deja Brew’s walls are giclées — digital copies of the original watercolor paintings. The featured animals include elephants, lions and domestic cats.
“All the animals are looking at you. They are directly connecting with the person looking at them, and that evokes a lot of emotion for people,” Sanders said.
She says the images, which have their prices listed on them, are part of a series called “The Glance of Mercy.” She said watercoloring is a difficult medium because there is little room for error and mistakes cannot be covered up. The series opened at Deja Brew at the end of October and Sanders said it has been quite successful.
“I think (Scutari) gets a steady stream of people who come here for the environment, for the comfort, for the intimacy, for the store,” she says. “It’s a very unique place here. It’s like Cheers. It’s like the internal country Cheers.”
Sanders’ husband, Jeff Anderson, said Deja Brew is the heart of Wendell.
“Every town has one place where everybody congregates,” he says. “This is the heart. And Patti, if they had a mayor, would be the mayor. She’s the one who knows everybody, knows everything that happens. Any question about Wendell, Patti’s the one you go to.”
Scutari says she never takes a cut on the sales of any of the pub’s featured artwork, insisting she doesn’t want “to make money on somebody else’s talent.”
Scutari says Deja Brew opened on Sept. 1, 2005. This was 12 years after she and her now late husband, Vic, moved to Wendell from Long Island following years of political activism and purchased the Wendell Country Store. She says the space that now houses the pub was once part of the store, but never fit the picture.
“The first week we were here, (Vic) had the vision to turn this into a night spot. What we saw was that the people in town gathered at the store. It was like the main place where people could communicate and ferment ideas,” she says.
“I’m not this kind of an artist,” she adds, gesturing toward Sanders’ work, “and I’m not a musician. But I love music and I love art and so, to me, if my contribution is to provide a place for that to happen, for people to enjoy other people’s talent and appreciate other people’s talent, then I’ve done my part for the arts.”
A schedule of performances and events at Deja Brew can be found at http://dejabrewpub.com/
You can reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 258. On Twitter: @DomenicPoli