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THURSDAY February 5, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels December 26, 2003 Crawdads prefer playing locally to big city business By Cyrus Emerson Tidings Correspondent During the cold winter months in Ashland people may find refuge in the warm confines of Alex's Restaurant, where every Saturday a band called the Crawdads play. Alex's Restaurant is located at 35 N. Main St. in the downtown plaza. Walking up the staircase, customers find a large upstairs room with brick walls, dark wood floors, and a fire place. During the holidays, Alex's is decorated with Christmas ornaments and offers a wonderful view of The Festival of Lights downtown. The Crawdads play in the corner of the restaurant at the end of the bar. The band is within arm's distance of the tables in front of them, and during their breaks they are accessible to the audience. "We meet a lot of people down here and they keep coming back." David Scoggin, piano player and singer for the Crawdads, said of Alex's. He has a pepper colored goatee and on the other side of his glasses are the seasoned eyes of a musician. Drummer Dave McClure, combines with Scoggin and Jeff Addicott who plays acoustic base and vocals. Scoggin said that the band is used to other musicians filling in because there is a community of jazz musicians in Ashland that play together regularly. The Crawdads play jazz and New Orleans piano rhythm and blues. Their music is more than conversation filler. They are artists that play music for the love of playing. "Musicians here [in Ashland] are friendly. In bigger cities they are more cutthroat. Here it's not about the money, it's about living in the woods," Scoggin said. The singer is also a father, and a husband, who teaches piano lessons in the daytime. In order to make a living soley as a musician he would have had to live in a larger city, Scoggin said, but that the atmosphere of Ashland was worth the sacrifice in salary. The Crawdads play at Alex's every Saturday night. For more information call 482-8818. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: A new improved archive search is coming! Look for it in mid-February! .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams