Good Neighbor Podcast: Auburn and Opelika
With her genuinely good heart and a wealth of experience behind her, Susannah works to connect local business and non-profit leaders to their neighbors. In a community like ours in which so many have invested their lives, there are fantastic stories all around us that motivate and inspire, often right next door. She hopes to share some of those here, on the Good Neighbor Podcast. Book an interview today at GNPAuburn.com
Good Neighbor Podcast: Auburn and Opelika
Ep.#115: Standard Deluxe
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We sit down with Amy Miller to hear how Standard Deluxe in Waverly grows from a screen-printing shop into a Southern cultural hub and a beloved stop on the touring circuit. We dig into the 25th anniversary Old 280 Boogie lineup and why the grounds feel like a place where visual art and live music naturally meet.
• celebrating 35 years of Standard Deluxe in rural Waverly, Alabama
• Scott Peek’s approach to preserving and repurposing old buildings into artistic grounds
• the silkscreen print shop as the roots of the business and a global client engine
• how DIY pop-up shows evolve into a proper music venue
• two stages and two listening experiences, from the little house room to the outdoor yard
• Old 280 Boogie April 18–19 and what makes the 25th anniversary special
• lineup highlights
• what Amy wishes more people knew, that Standard Deluxe is where visual art and music unite
• how to keep up with shows, events, and open hours via the website and social
standarddeluxe.com
Welcome To Good Neighbor Podcast
SPEAKER_00This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Susanna Hodges.
SPEAKER_02Welcome, and with me is Amy Miller with the Standard Deluxe in Waverly. Welcome, Amy. Hello, thank you. Thanks for having me. Now, Standard Deluxe has been around for a while, and y'all have an awesome uh music venue there. Tell me a little bit about Standard Deluxe.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. Standard Deluxe is actually celebrating its 35th year this year. So, yeah, wild indeed. We're excited to be in the 35th year. Uh, we are a Southern cultural hub, as we call it, in the rural town of Waverly, Alabama. And we are founded and led by Alabama artist Scott Peake. Standard Deluxe has grown through his wide-ranging collaborations and his artistic vision over the 35 years. And you can see that through his hour ever expanding, ever unfolding artistic grounds in Waverly, which is a group of repurposed buildings and structures who most people might, you know, kick, kick over, tear down when they acquire it. But Scott has been deeply committed over the years to preserving the integrity of the buildings and repurposing local materials and such to make up the artistic grounds.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. And it really is a very unique venue and a wonderful place to go visit.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, thank you. Yeah. And on the artistic Go ahead. On the artistic grounds are, like you mentioned, the iconic music venue, right? And then also a design and silkscreen print shop, which is truly the roots and the machine behind standard deluxe. The the print shop serves clients near local to this area and far all around the globe and draws from that 35-year design archive.
Inside The Silkscreen Print Shop
SPEAKER_02So tell me about the print shop a little bit. And and but tell me about the print shop. Yeah.
From DIY Shows To Venue
SPEAKER_01So Scott started, you know, as a visual artist growing up as a kid, and then took on printmaking through a mentor in high school in Ozark, Alabama, and then moved on to study graphic design at Auburn University. Okay. And was printmaking throughout. And so soon after his graduation from Auburn, he he founded Standard Deluxe along with two of his childhood friends. And so over the years, you know, they've designed and printed iconic t-shirts and posters and merchandise for artists and for clients and businesses, other artists around the globe, a lot of different print collaborations.
SPEAKER_02And so how did the uh music venue grow from the print shop?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, well, it's an ex it's a long and intertwined story. Uh Scott's passions truly are live music and visual arts, design, and music. So starting the print shop in an old cotton warehouse in downtown Waverly that he had been renting, he rented it for many years and repurposed it into their studio and their print shop. Just loving live music. He he and his standard deluxe colleagues would take on uh the fun opportunity to create their space into pop-up music venues, right? So it was very DIY and over time just through a passion for presenting live music to both local artists and then connecting with artists that were touring and coming through this part of the South. Uh the story grew and Sander Deluxe has become a you know a proper presenting, a music presenter.
Old 280 Boogie Dates And Stages
SPEAKER_02And y'all have got a pretty important uh concert coming up here pretty soon, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we uh to to make clear what our music venue here is at Sander Deluxe, we have two stages, right? So we have our artistic grounds that house both our little house listening room, which if you have not been, I encourage anyone to come and experience the very intimate nature and acoustics of that space. And then we have our big outdoor yard, which a big grassy yard with tall Alabama pines surrounding it, and our eclectic eye-catching outdoor stage. And that is indeed where we have our old 280 boogie and then other outdoor shows through the year. So yeah, the boogie is coming up. Yeah, when is that? It is April 18th and 19th, a Saturday and Sunday. We're doing two years or sorry, two days for the 25th anniversary.
Saturday Lineup Highlights
SPEAKER_0225th anniversary of the old 280 boogie. I love it. Who what are some of the uh artists that are going to be there?
Sunday Lineup Highlights
SPEAKER_01Oh, it's quite a hot lineup. We're really excited. Uh, on Saturday, we're kicking off with Alabama's very own Abe Partridge. And then right after that, we have two artists coming from the Florence and Muscle Shoals area, northwest Alabama, very much known for their music in that area. We have the Pine Hill Haints, which are the mainstay of the boogie. They've played every boogie except one with their Alabama ghost music, and then Billy Allen and the Paulies, and then we have Mississippi blues artist Cedric Burnside. He's of that blues Burnside family line. That's incredible. And then and then the very beloved and popular duo Shovels and Rope. Oh that's Saturday. And then for Sunday, we kick off with Austin-based singer The Las Jimenes. He's known for his Rey Saka pop. It's a unique atmospheric blend of Tex Mex and kind of soul and indie folk. It's really fun. And then we follow that with the duo of Corey Harris and Cedric Watson. Corey is he's quite a renowned artist. He's a MacArthur genius grant recipient. And he blends Zelta Blues with reggae and West African music. And then pairs it with Cedric, who is a Zydeco artist based in Lafayette, Louisiana. And then we have the phenomenal vocalist, Alabama's favorite, Taylor Hunicutt, who will blow you away. Yeah. And then the UK rock band, the Heavy Heavy, which was a favorite at the boogie a couple years ago. They've skyrocketed, touring all over the world. They're joining us. Oh, good. Um, for a fun danceable set. And then we end with Band of Heathens, Americana favorite.
Life Outside Standard Deluxe
SPEAKER_02Okay. Well, it sounds great. I'm excited. April. April 18th and 19th. Got it. Well, tell me, let's turn the conversation a little bit to you. What do you and Scott like to do when you're not working at the standard deluxe? What do y'all do for fun?
SPEAKER_01Well, we have a two and a half-year-old.
SPEAKER_02Oh, so you're chasing a baby around.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, she's just our total joy and keeps us on our toes, keeps us really busy. And we like to be in the outdoors, right? We love living in the with beautiful surrounding scene scenery in Alabama. So we love to be on the Tallapoosa River and Lake Martin. We like to kayak. And then we love to travel. Um both both look around the south, around the globe, whatever we can manage. Um, and then you know, we we're we're there's never a shortage of ideas and dreams for our artistic grounds. So we're gardening and creating and building all of those things.
SPEAKER_02Well, what is one thing that you wish people knew about Standard Deluxe that they may not realize?
SPEAKER_01Well, as we somewhat referenced earlier in our conversation, it's definitely knowing both sides, both the visual art and design side of Sander Deluxe, the printmaking side that is truly respected in those industries, right? Scott and Standard Deluxe are iconic in terms of the design and printmaking work that they've been a part of for three and a half decades. And then also our grounds, the music venue and the gathering space. Many, many musicians have even told me that it's one of their favorite places on their tour, that it's become a bit of a rite of passage for musicians to stop through Standard Deluxe and have a performance here within this Southern touring circuit. So yeah, understanding that it's where visual art and music unite.
Tickets Mailing List And Social
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. And it is such a beautiful place. Waverly in general is just beautiful. And then just to have you guys there is special as well. Well, how can people learn more about Standard Deluxe and maybe even grab some tickets to the old 280 boogie?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. Uh, our website, standarddelux.com, and on the homepage, you can go and sign up for our email list. That is the best way to know about our shows and our upcoming happenings. We announce shows and other events through that. And sometimes they sell out quickly. So if you want to be the first to know about little house shows or outdoor shows, please join our mailing list. Uh, and that's also where we'll share info about um, as well uh as Instagram and Facebook, which is you can just search standard deluxe, very easy. Um, but that's also where we put up information about other events besides shows that we have uh and the the times that we're open, the artistic grounds are open.
SPEAKER_02Well, it's been a pleasure talking to you, Amy. Thank you so much for joining me. Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_00Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Auburn. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpauburn.com. That's gnpauburn.com or call three three four four four four four four two nine seven four zero.