the washington post.
friday, february 21, 2020eZ
8T
his would be a Saturday with pleasant to fair weather.
I’d get up early and get the dog to the woods. I’d go to
Fletcher’s Boathouse and the patch of woods between
the Potomac River and the Capital Crescent Trail. I’ve
got a pit bull, Stella, and she likes to hike. So we’ll go out for a
couple [of ] miles — a quick out-and-back hike.
I’d stop at the Coupe and grab a pair of doughnuts on the
way back home from the walk. The Coupe brings in doughnuts
from District Doughnut and I’m quite partial to anything that’s
covered in chocolate and has sprinkles. My p artner [and fellow
musician] Maryjo Mattea likes the Dulce de Leche. Stella will
like any of them but she’s not allowed to have them.
Maryjo and I quite like Som Records on 14th Street NW, and
our record collection begs a visit to their new-arrivals bin.
Then we’d h ead downtown to the Mall. I would really love to
go see the Army Medical Museum and Library at the corner
of Seventh [Street] and Independence [Avenue] where the
Hirshhorn Museum is now. The Army Medical Museum
[which shuttered in 1969] was a gigantic red brick, Italian-
style building, looking not too dissimilar from the Arts and
Industries Building next door, built by the same architect,
Adolf Cluss.
As far as the rest of the afternoon goes, any Smithsonians
will do. There’s that giant hallway of Mathew Brady photo-
graphs at t he National Portrait Gallery — I’m p ositive I’ll find
something beautiful.
I’d head to Chinatown Coffee Company for a red eye
because they closed down [last year] and I’m sad about that. I
read almost all of “The Fiddler in the Subway” by Gene
Weingarten in that coffee shop. I miss it dearly.
I’d get a quick, little bite: veggie dumplings from China-
town Express. That is a long standby favorite of mine.
Around 4 p.m. I’d like to go o ver to the Pie Shop and get onto
the patio roof deck. I would love to sit down and have a beer —
an Atlas District Common, a good rooftop beer — with Duke
Ellington, Eva Cassidy and Addison Scurlock. Two musicians
and one photographer, all of them sort of D.C.-area based
[when they were alive]. I would love to hear their thoughts on
how the community has changed, how different it looks now.
Then I’d get Maryjo and go down to the Southwest
Waterfront and watch whatever band is playing as the sun
goes down over Washington Channel, then grab a quick bite at
the old Fisherman’s Wharf, with crabs from either Jessie
Taylor Seafood or Captain White’s Seafood.
I would like to go catch Chuck Brown and Danny Gatton at
the Bayou [a rock club that closed in Georgetown in 1998]. To
see them play together would be really fun. Two guitar giants
from right around here. It’s the closest thing we have to
household names in the area. Once you get out of the D.C. area,
those two guys are people guitar nerds all over the world
talk about.
I would want to ride a bike and get back to U Street from
Georgetown and stop over at the Gibson. I would go when my
good friend Kris Kotek was working there. He a nd I would play
a fun game called make something new. He would ask me how
my day was or what was on my mind. We’d have a quick little
conversation and then he would make a drink based on my
emotional reaction. I’ve never had the same drink twice.
I ought to visit the Greek Spot for falafel and fries on the
walk home — it’s a significant uphill climb. I would definitely
need something crispy, fried and covered in salt to motivate me
toward home. Then I’d have a quiet walk with Stella and
Maryjo around a sleepy Columbia Heights before bed.
[email protected]My D.C. Dream Day
A musician’s ode to past and present
In D.C. Dream Day, we ask our favorite people in the area to tell us
how they would spend a perfect day in the District.
At the Pie Shop last month, singer-guitarist Jonny Grave played a
blues rock version of Chuck Brown’s enduring go-go anthem “Bustin’
Loose” t hat got the crowd moving. Though you wouldn’t think to
turn the song into a blues shuffle, the performance combined two of
Grave’s passions: D.C. history and traditional roots music. “I’ve
always liked old stuff: old movies, old records, old books,” Grave says.
“I like things that have been around longer than I’ve been here.”
When the Silver Spring native is not making music on the road or
in the studio, the 31-year-old can be found teaching guitar lessons,repairing guitars at 7DrumCity’s Rock’n Repair shop, leading tourists
around the city as a guide for Context Travel, or taking photographs
as he travels the world. “I’m grateful and I am blessed to have a very
balanced life,” s ays Grave, who lives in Columbia Heights. “I get to
have most of my passions satisfied in one way or another.”
Grave will perform at 7DrumCity’s the Pocket venue on March 6
and is working on new music he plans to release later this year. His
perfect day in D.C. incorporates many of his pursuits in some
fashion, including opportunities to interact with the city’s past and
present.
— as told to Rudi GreenbergMatt Mcclain/the Washington post
A bicyclist passes kayaks near Fletcher’s Boathouse in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
last July. On a pleasant morning, Jonny Grave likes to bring his pit bull, Stella, out here for a quick hike.2015 photo by brittany greeson/the Washington post2014 photo by bill o'leary/Washington post
Also in the morning, Grave enjoys dropping by the Coupe
restaurant, above, in Northwest Washington, which carries
a selection from District Doughnut. His partner Maryjo
Mattea likes the Dulce de Leche. Later in the day, he craves
the veggie dumplings from Chinatown Express, pictured left.UPLOADED BY "What's News" vk.com/wsnws TELEGRAM: t.me/whatsnws