The Birchmere (America's Legendary Music Hall) has been located in Alexandria, Virginia for well over 50 years! Since 1989 it has been my pleasure, privilege and honor to create a wide variety of artwork for this fine establishment: logo design, bumper stickers, T-shirts, tabletents, signage, several murals, the monthly calendar, and even a life-size sculpture of Gary's friend (and bouncer/ doorman) William Edwin Tarbett, Jr., aka Pudge.
Sadly, in early 2023, the long-time founder and operator Gary Oelze left us and this world. He was a great man and a friend to so very many. "The Boss" will be forever missed.
Jimmy Matthews, the last surviving of the original club owners, asked me to paint Gary into the street mural in the main bar area as a tribute. I came up with this image of Gary walking toward the light based on a combination of pictures provided by his widow, Susan (see below).
Fortunately, local author and musician Stephen Moore and Gary came up with the idea to write a book about the Birchmere. Stephen spent months during the pandemic interviewing Gary and hundreds of artists and other folks associated with the Birchmere in order to craft this definitive account of the legendary club. We are all blessed that he was able to coax out so much history from Gary before he left us. I learned many stories I had never known and am honored and humbled to be included in the pages (p.303 - p.306 to be exact) of "All Roads Lead to The Birchmere: America's Legendary Music Hall".
Kyle Osborne's "Meet the Artist..." 2011 Interview with me:
When the club moved a few blocks in 1996 the Birchmere became one huge place. Inside one building is a 500 seat music hall, a large dining area with a second stage and dance floor, a 40' long bar, a retail store that sells music and merchandise, a pool hall, foosball, ping-pong, and even a full scale brewery with a tasting room full of antique beer memorabilia. The brewery with its memorabilia and the table games are gone, but the music lives on! All the above murals were painted in acrylics onsite on the walls except the stage backdrop which is acrylic painted on a 10' x 30' canvas.
The marquee sign I designed and painted for the club is a 6' x 12' iron stucture that stands 16' tall and was fabricated by Flaherty Ironworks. I cut out, painted, and installed the dobro, burger, and stein sheet metal panels.The track letters allow the act names to be changed on a daily basis.
All content except photo of Gary Oelze and Stephen Moore © Clarence Schumaker unless noted otherwise. All Rights Reserved