Dan's Papers - June 27, 2008 - Backbeat: Crossroads Music

Having only been open for two years, Crossroads Music in East Hampton has already become the center of the local music scene, as well as a home away from home for East End musicians who, before the full-service shop opened, had nowhere else to turn for their musical needs. It's a trek to get to the next closest shop, which is in Hampton Bays.

Crossroads caters to both older and younger musicians. For the young bands, there's the Crossroads Coffeehouse, a monthly showcase of local talent that takes place during the school year. For the older musicians, there's the Crossroads Sunday Jam, which began just one year ago.

Walk into Crossroads on a Sunday afternoon and you'll be greeted by a group of usually no less than 10 musicians who have taken over the front of the store to share their love of music - with each other and with the store's customers. Some of them have only been playing for a year; others have been performing all of their lives. But their common ground is that they all share an innate love of music. Varying in size, from 10 to sometimes more than 20, the jam sessions mostly attract middle-aged performers, but all ages and all skill levels are welcome. "It's a great place for them to get their ya-yas out," said Michael Clark, the owner of Crossroads. "Sometimes they play hokey, three-chord stuff. But it's still fun. They're just sharing what they know. But sometimes it's just amazing."

And local musicians have certainly taken notice of this musical melting pot. "It's a great place to come out and let loose," said David Eagle, who has been a guitarist his entire life and tries to make the weekly jam session. "It's a great place to meet people out here."

The group plays everything from jazz standards to rock favorites, typically settling on classic rock. "That's what people know," Clark said. On a recent Sunday afternoon the group went from the traditional "House of the Rising Sun" to Eric Clapton's "Lay Down Sally" to Patsy Cline's "Crazy" to Billy Joel's "Captain Jack" to The Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman." And while most of those who join in are guitarists, on occasion the group has attracted flautists and saxophonists, as well as players of other types of instruments, including a keyboard player, Bob Schepps, owner of Hampton Bagels, located just several storefronts away, who takes the walk over to Crossroads on Sundays and sets himself up on a keyboard in the store's window.

And perhaps what's most interesting is that these jam sessions have spawned its own music scene. Several local bands have found their start here - The Lost Keys, Under the Covers, The Surf Dogs, After the Carnival. "It's neat to watch what's happened in this one year period," Clark said. "They meet. Then they see what clicks. And they've gone off and formed their own bands."

The jam sessions are truly changing the collaborative music scene in the Hamptons. "People don't understand this stuff is happening here. I've lived out here a long time," said Michael Weiskopf of The Lost Keys, "and we didn't know any of us existed until this store opened. A nice scene has been created here."

The Sunday jam offers a recluse for creative people to come and do what they love. "It's such a musical and artsy community. There's so much happening out here," said Clark. "There are so many talented people. It's just hidden and needs to be uncovered."

Clark stresses that anyone is welcome at his store on Sundays and that he'd love to see younger musicians join in the jam.

For more information, go to www.myspace.com/crossroadsmusic.

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