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Merchants struggle to make a scene By Sean Wolfe Ashland Daily Tidings Call it an attempt at a renaissance. Since the late 80s, the Ashland Underground Marketplace has been an out-of-view shopping area beneath Main Street, hosting small shops and restaurants that came and went. Now there's an effort to make it into a gallery, a space for live music, and a place for people to gather. The struggle is how to make a basement location - already barely visible from the street - a place that people want to come. According to Reuben Davis - current owner of Low Down Piercing, and former owner of Low Down Boardshop - the idea is to create a gallery space for fashion shows, art shows and the like. Davis is also in the process of taking over the former site of A2K Records, adjacent to his piercing studio. "We know we have a visibilty problem, so we're trying to make events happen here and get some draw to the area. That's what we're banking on," Davis said. "What we want to do is develop a scene, and develop synergy between the businesses that are down here. We've got piercing and tattooing. We've got music. We've got food from the guys at Los Gordos. And we've got fashion from Bizarre Bazaar," Davis said. Music and fashion are just part of the passion. Davis is also looking at bringing in artists to do gallery installations. Collage artist Darrah Danielle whose work incorporates rusted metal, sawblades and the like is already planning her show at the venue. "Ashland as a whole has this front of being a quaint little town - all the art is just so, and everything is perfect. What I'm trying to do, and what Reuben is open to is having stuff down there that's a little more edgy," Danielle said. "What we've been lacking in town is a venue for young artists. My stuff, for example, wouldn't go into a gallery downtown. Those places aren't really after radical expression." On Sunday, Davis and former A2K owner Ben Cattle were knocking out walls, and working on converting Cattle's old record store into Davis' new store. Dubbed Anubis, Davis' new shop will cater to the deejay culture - offering selections of old and new vinyl albums, used turntable equipment, CDs, as well as clothing and other accessories. "These days, everyone's a deejay," Davis quipped. "I expect to make most of my sales off CDs, but those will all be niche music - electronica, and other stuff. I don't want to compete head to head with the other music stores. I also can't compete with Medford when it comes to new turntable equipment - so that will be used. But I can bring it all together in one place, and that's what will make this space cool and unique," Davis said. The turn into music is a departure for Davis, one he insists is a natural one. Following a back injury, Davis said he became disenchanted with the boarding business. "I'm getting older but I don't think I'm getting less counter-culture," Davis said. "If anything it's more. That's what stoked me about selling the board shop. That shop made skateboarding and snowboarding consume my life. So when I broke my back, that was the signal - the opportunity - to take on something else," Davis said. After running A2K for two years, Cattle said he was pleased that Davis was taking over his old digs. "I wanted to do something like this when I was running it, but the money wasn't there to do it. I'm glad to see Reuben take it to the next level," Cattle said. But Davis isn't alone in expanding his business. Los Gordos has recently been hosting live bluegrass music in the space on Saturdays, and a scene is taking form. Matt Herman, one of three partners in Los Gordos, said his group had recently taken over the tobacco shop, formerly known as RYO. Now redubbed Blah Blah Blah - the shop features many of the same products - but is more focused on stocking glassware than the premium tobaccos and hand-rolling equipment RYO was known for. According to Herman and Davis, the combination of businesses working on collaboration is increasing the foot traffic, and that pleases the building's owner Roger Ledbetter. Ledbetter said he was beginning to sense some building momentum, and hopes it continues. "I created the Marketplace and never really followed through and did much with it. We remodeled it in 1988, and that's when the basement was really made useful. And we had two shops there off and on. "It's a great space for alternative culture. You've got Low Down there now, you've got the guys at Los Gordos who are building up their business. Once you get a critical mass of business, it becomes successful, and I'm seeing more of that now," Ledbetter said. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -