Eddie Owen Leaving Eddie’s Attic
Decatur Metro | October 6, 2011 | 7:00 am
In 1992, Eddie Owen opened Eddie’s Attic along North McDonough Street in downtown Decatur. A year later he got married there.
In 2002, he sold the business to Jennifer Nettles ex-husband, Todd Van Sickle. In 2005, Van Sickle sold it to Bob Ephlin, who brought Owen back to his namesake “attic” to book the talent.
And on Friday, Owen will depart again.
Taking his talents to Duluth, GA as early as next Tuesday, Owen is excited about the possibilities of a “turnkey ready” 250 seat theater with “killer sound and lights”, a green room, catering kitchen, rehearsal space, and office area. Though there’s currently “no contract in place, no launch date, no artists booked”, Owen already as plans for workshops and lessons to be a key part of this new concept. Says Owen, “I’m diving out on a limb, yet I’m more excited about this than I’ve been about anything since my marriage… and then the birth of my 3 children.”
Attic owner Bob Ephlin is supportive of Owen’s move and thankful for his years of service. “He’s been a great mentor to the Attic staff.”, Ephlin recalls.
As for the Attic itself, perched up in Decatur’s lower atmosphere, Ephlin says that he’s still getting a plan in place for the transition, and that he’ll stand in for Owen for the time-being while he assesses the Attic’s options in finding a replacement.
As for the longer term future of the Attic, “We have a great staff in place.” Ephlin points out. He reassures the Decatur community that Eddie’s Attic will continue to be about the listening room experience and the relationship between the artist and the audience. Ephlin says the Attic is already completely booked for the remainder of 2011 and the beginning of 2012, and will continue with its weekly radio show, which is now over 50 markets.
So life goes on for both parties.
But it doesn’t sound like Decatur has seen the last of Eddie Owen. He’ll be back in town next week for the sold-out Eddie & Agnes Civil Wars concerts and all signs point to that partnership continuing into the future.
We at DM wish all the best both to Eddie Owen and Eddie’s Attic as they move into their new phases of life.
h/t: Carl
Disclosure: Eddie’s Attic is a DM sponsor
I think it’s Ephlin, not Elphin.
Thanks, my dyslexia knows no bounds!
But why didn’t you also point out the unnecessary “the” in my post title?
I just didn’t want to pile on that early in the morning.
Eddie and his family are the greatest. It was a sad day when they moved from Decatur out to the country. Wish them the best!
Best luck to Eddie, in his new venture, and to Bob in his continuing one.
Funny, on Monday evening I attended open mic night for the first time ever, with out of town company. We all had a good time: it was fun to hear the aspiring songwriters, the food was good, the drinks, too. Mostly I enjoyed watching Eddie lavish attention on each of the acts, getting the sound and set-up just right, making sure they would appear at their very best for their audience. “Sing it like you mean it,” he told the performers. There was a lot of love in that room.
I credit Eddie with giving our community the early traction it needed to become something greater. Eddie’s Attic was the first draw in a rejuvenated Decatur. His intent was pure — create a quality music experience — but its impact was larger than that.
Glad to hear he’s continuing that cycle of building / creating.
I’m not too surprised–I know it’s been a struggle to keep up the commute since his family settled in Madison. That’s a lot of pressure on a dad and a husband. It’ll be good for Eddie, but it still breaks my heart, since he’s always been the soul of the Attic.
I’m sure Eddie’s new place will be amazing — one more great venue to entice talented performers to swing through Georgia. Best of luck to both Eddie and Bob!
Thanks for all your support for Decatur and its folks over the years Eddie. Godspeed!
Anyone know where he’s headed in Duluth? We certainly wish him all the best.
It’s reportedly the Red Clay Theater in Duluth.
Best of luck to Eddie and Eddie’s Attic. In a lot of ways, both are to thank for our moving to Decatur in the first place, so this news is certainly bittersweet. But we still be at the Attic often and will probably also check out the goings on in Duluth, since we often venture up there for Korean food anyway. 😉
And with lumpintheroad’s comment I am instantly craving “Honey Pig”. I might have to head OTP this weekend. Sorry to see Eddie go, but I wish him the best with the new venue.
Congratulations to Eddie and a big thank you to Bob Ephlin for maintaining Eddie’s legacy, supporting him in his new venture and holding The Attic true to it’s original ideals.
+1
Best of luck to Eddie! You will be missed!
And many thanks to Bob for carrying on.. the best place to see live music!
his new web site may be
http://www.atticcommunityplayground.org
something like that
or not !
[[looks like jennifer nettles / avondale centric stuff ]]
wle
Eddie’s Attic was also a reason we chose to make Decatur our home.
So happy that Duluth is getting such a great source of talent!