Old Time Pickin' Parlor
121 2nd Ave. N. 254-0955
From 1971 to 1977, the Old Time Pickin' Parlor embodied the conversational nature of Nashville's music scene. On any given day, fans of bluegrass and traditional music, amateur and professional alike, could be found gathered around the potbellied stove in the downtown music store and nightspot, playing, exchanging stories and just plain hanging out. Nowadays, however, this once typical informality seems in short supply. Nashville's honky-tonks have become "venues," cover charges are the norm, and there's not a potbellied stove in sight. All this feels like a great loss to renowned guitar builder Mark Taylor, owner of Crafters of Tennessee, who has recently reinstituted the Old Time Pickin' Parlor just four doors down from its original location on Second Avenue North.
"That was a big thing in the music business here in Nashville.... People would hang out together jamming and picking, and it was a way of life. You don't see that near like you used to, so our intention is, let's go back and pick up a little of that, what we've lost," remarks Taylor, whose father, legendary Dobro player Travis "Tut" Taylor, was one of the Pickin' Parlor's original owners, along with luthier Randy Wood and musician Grant Boatright.
To this end, the Taylors—Mark, Tut and Mark's son, Travis, who serves as manager—have gone to great lengths to re-create the original Pickin' Parlor's casual ambience. Guitars, Dobros and mandolins line the walls of the bare-brick, shotgun room. Carefully stenciled old-time window lettering welcomes customers, and a replica of the original location's most distinctive feature—a huge painting of a Martin D45 guitar—serves as a backdrop for the stage. "The original stage was painted by my dad in 1972," recalls Mark Taylor. "We wanted to duplicate that same stage area, so he also painted the new one. We took it from drawings and pictures of the original.... It's the thing that ties it together, the thing that all the people who played in the original place would remember."
That list of people is pretty impressive. A typical day in the old location might find Tut Taylor and bluegrass multi-instrumentalists Norman Blake and Charlie Collins casually swapping licks. Neil Young played and hung out there, as did Eric Clapton, Clarence White, Bob Dylan, Vassar Clements, Sam Bush, John Hartford and many others.
Much like a lot of the music played at the Pickin' Parlor through the years, Taylor's plan to open the new location was spontaneous. "I was riding downtown with one of the guys who works for me building guitars," he recalls. "We saw the building, and he asked if I'd ever consider reopening and having a music store as an outlet right downtown." The attempted revitalization of the downtown area and a renewed interest in bluegrass and acoustic music combined to jumpstart the new location. "It just sort of clicked," Taylor says. "In a couple or three weeks, we were opening the doors."
Of course, Second Avenue today bears little resemblance to the street during the Pickin' Parlor's heyday, so despite being true to its predecessor, the new location also has to reflect a new demographic. "Nothin' was goin' on on Second Avenue back in the '70s," remembers Taylor. "The main thing that feels different now is that there's a totally different younger crowd, so there's more interest in the rock kind of thing." In response, according to the club's booking agent, Chris Thigpen, the Pickin' Parlor has been trying to feature rock, blues and even reggae acts in addition to nights regularly devoted to acoustic music. As a result, younger people who may not be familiar with the Parlor's legacy have found themselves caught up in the spirit of the place. "Everything kind of comes back around," Taylor notices. "I think young people are looking for some kind of way to connect to music, and they're seeing that there's something real here."
Back in November 2000, singer Brenda Lee and Elvis guitarist Scotty Moore—both members of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame—were among many who stopped by the new Pickin' Parlor's grand opening party to pay their respects. It's still too soon to tell, however, if the new location will be the same kind of second home to bluegrass, old-time and popular music legends that the old place was. Nevertheless, Mark Taylor is optimistic. "We're starting to get some interest back," he claims, "and we've got several people who want to come down and play. Ricky Scaggs wants to hang out and revisit.... [Legendary guitarist] James Burton is a real good friend of mine and he's going to come and play, and we're trying to get with Leon Russell—he worked with Dad back in the '70s."
Star power aside, what's most important to the Taylors is that Nashville's traditional music community be provided a comfortable, informal environment in which to thrive. "There's something here," Mark Taylor insists. "Look at O Brother, Where Art Thou? and this thing with all the complaints about WSM dropping country music, and they're putting the Opry back in the Ryman...that's just what Nashville needs—places where real music's being played. We've got an earthy, laid-back thing, and Nashville will never lose that legacy or its music unless we the people allow it to happen."
