Lucas: Bringing back the music: 5 questions with Josh Cooke and Jordan Ross

Josh Cooke, owner of the Corner Perk, and Jordan Ross, a sound engineer and booking manager, have teamed up to run a live music venue or a "listening lounge."

The Roasting Room, above the coffee shop in Bluffton's Promenade, features a full bar.

But the venue is a little different from most in that it will only feature musicians playing original music -- from local musicians who write their own to singer-songwriters who are touring regionally or nationally.

We spoke to Cooke and Ross recently on the new endeavor which is already creating a bit of buzz.

Where did you get the idea to do this?

Josh: So it's something that I've wanted to do for a long time. We used to have music at our old place (on Burnt Church Road). Coffee shops are usually known for great music or at least some kind of music. And there's a lot of great music around town and we have a great location, so I thought why not take it a step further and really show appreciation for musicians.

...We wanted to create a place where the music is the star of the show as opposed to just being background noise for people wanting to go out and have a great time.

Bluffton is an arts town, but we don't have great representation for musicians around town. ...You can go anywhere and there is always someone up there playing, but a lot of those musicians have had songs they've written and created and they're not being heard. So there is an under-appreciated element here.

Jordan: As a musician who plays on Hilton Head and for tourists for years, I selfishly or personally wanted to have a place that I could call home. That I could feel safe to play my own music. A lot of musicians when they're playing are told, 'That was great, but I'd love to hear Van Morrison instead.'

We created this space to celebrate the idea of creating your own music. Musicians really want to be accepted for what they've done. So to have that and a place for locals as well ...to be accepted is huge. We really want this to be a seminal moment for Bluffton culturally.

How difficult, then, is it to find artists who are playing original music?

Jordan: I'm the guy who does all the booking and it is surprisingly not all that difficult. There is a thirst for musicians (to have a place to play). They thirst for a place to come and be themselves.

We have such a rich pool of musicians here and there are so many live venues. Unfortunately, those venues don't even request or ask for them to play their own music so they are not creating a culture of original music.

Hopefully, it will spur people who are on the fringe to create music of their own. Hopefully.

Also, it's not an open mike and that's another thing... That can be kind of scary or more like, 'Do I put myself out there?' Where this is not like that all. You put on a show and so hopefully that gives the artist something to focus on.

Recently you had Atlanta singer-songwriter Angie Aparo. How did that go and what was the vibe like?

Josh: Before Jordan speaks to that, I just want to say we created the room to have an unbelievable sound. The floors and walls are floated. That's to create a really crisp, focused sound.

Angie is amazing in his own right, but with him in the room it was electric. You could hear a pin drop and there was a hundred people in the room.

Jordan: It was amazing. And we hope to see people react like that. There were people who wanted to hear him, and if people were talking they would be shamed.

People rose up and made people pay attention. It was amazing to see the response. I feel confident, moving forward, that it will be that kind of a vibe. You don't have any other distractions. Nothing making any other noise except the artist.

Speaking of distractions, with more and more people wanting to experience their entertainment at home, on a tablet or by plugging in earbuds to listen to music, do you think live music is something people will still turn out for? Are crowds receptive to what you're trying to do?

Jordan: That's the hope. We hope that people will see that it's just different enough to support...

There are two sides to that. First it's, 'Do people care? Do they want to go out and spend money on music?' The other side is people are so wrapped up in their phones, that... I think we are all desperate for something real. We want something to distract us from our distractions.

What has been the most surprising part of running a music venue or this endeavor so far?

Josh: ...I've been surprised so far that reaching out to bands I thought they would be like, 'Whatever. A little venue in the middle of nowhere. Who cares.' And their response has basically been overwhelming or, 'I cannot wait to come to this show.'

Jordan: Most places will have a TV in the corner, a pinball machine. There are so few listening lounges that have their own sound system, that has all the stuff that bands want. I think they were shocked that we have what they want and provide hospitality.

We have a green room set up for that. We do a sound check. Doors don't open until 8 and they don't go on until 9. There's all that and they are hungry for it... .

They want to keep those little organic places going. They want to provide an intimate evening with people. They know it's going to sound good because of the way the room has been designed so that helps them. They can sell themselves to a captive audience.

Bonus question. Anything else you'd like to add?

Josh: ...The thing I was going to say earlier about people responding, we had, on the musician's side, great response and on the customer's side too.

People know me from Corner Perk, and I've never had this response before. They are saying 'Thank you for doing this. For taking the risk. For bringing original music to the forefront.'

They may have had something really cool back home and so they are saying thank you for thinking of us and doing it right and that has meant a lot to me...

My other little commercial, to be up front about it, is... We have a goal to have great live music here on a nightly basis. It may take several years to get there but, we'll slowly build the business.

We are way ahead of where we thought we'd be, but the point is we think we have a really cool concept.

About The Roasting Room

The Roasting Room is above Corner Perk at 1297 May River Road in Bluffton's Promenade.

John Cranford and Jared Templeton will play Dec. 19. Doors open at 8 p.m. The show starts at 9 p.m. There is a $5 cover charge.

Follow reporter Mindy Lucas on Twitter at twitter.com/MindyatIPBG.

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This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 2:29 PM with the headline "Lucas: Bringing back the music: 5 questions with Josh Cooke and Jordan Ross."