Music Unites!

Posted by Luke Henley in Music

The campus of St. John’s College may seem tucked away in isolation in one of the hillier parts of Santa Fe, but with the recent opening of a student-run coffee shop and concert venue, the distance between its student body and SFUAD’s may begin to feel a bit shorter.

Dubbed “The Cave,” calling to mind Plato’s famous allegory, a space has been established by St. John’s students for their schoolmates to congregate and caffeinate. In addition, the coffee shop plays the role of both an art gallery and concert venue thanks to students’ visions. In a phone interview with Theo Krantz, a junior at the school and sole booking contact for musicians and other performers, he shared his thoughts on the possibilities The Cave holds for better integrating St. John’s and SFUAD students.

Theo Krantz (left) and High Diver perform. Photograph by Martin Trevino.

Krantz himself has experienced this integration of artistic communities by playing a show in SFUAD’s O’Shaughnessy Performance Space with his band High Diver. He said, “I do love the Benildus Hall space,” later adding that the experience made him feel that getting St. John’s students to attend more SFUAD events, and vice versa, would be good for both student bodies. “I would love to have the two communities be much more entwined than they are,” Krantz said.

The first event held at The Cave seemed to reflect that as several SFUAD students attended and played the concert (including the author of this article’s band Sex Headaches). The show lineup also included Thieves & Gypsies – whose lineup includes CMP alum Adam Cook – and CatNip Tea. Krantz said he was enthusiastic about the event and felt positive about the interactions between both groups of students, saying he felt the SFUAD attendees were “really respectful and nice.”

When asked why he felt continuing these events would be beneficial to both schools, Krantz said he believes in one sense that the presence of students of a predominately artistic education will help to inspire St. John’s students with similar interests. Krantz went on to state that ultimately he hoped it would “inspire people here [St. John’s] to play music.” He said that St. John’s program “isn’t really focused on music or art” and that he wanted his schoolmates to see that there were “people in town interested in the same thing, doing the same thing” when it comes to music and other artistic forms of expression.

Though the space was initially created to provide a platform for St. John’s artists and musicians, Krantz says he feels like the success of the venue hinges on increased integration with the community at large. He explained his vision of expanding the events to include poetry and literature readings, film screenings and visual art exhibitions. When asked if he wanted to continue involving SFUAD students in these expanded events he said that primarily he wants the space to be available for St. John’s students but that ultimately “the more we have increasingly integrated events the more successful it will be.”

Krantz says he encourages any SFUAD musicians or other performers to contact him via cavebookingsjc@gmail.com.