The Strand

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1982
It's early Friday evening in Old Town Alexandria. Tesfie, the owner of an Ethiopian restaurant at 704 King Street, had recently opened a bar above the café featuring live music. It would be the only venue in the City for alternative music. Jim, Bill, and John would pull the van into the alley and begin the ritual of hauling in the instruments, amps, mikes and related equipment up the narrow stairs. Setting up was always a leisurely vague process interrupted by harmless insults and exclamations of "you forgot to bring the.…" Then the band would walk down King Street and grab some chowder and a schooner at The Fish Market or a Double R at Roy Rogers, or sometimes they just hung out in Tesfie's restaurant.
The name of the club was "The 704" or "The Upstairs." It didn't matter. The crowds ranged in size from 20 to 150. Punks with geometric multi-colored hair and Mods wearing old olive drab field jackets mixed with college kids and recent grads. Two bands for two bucks and buck fifty drafts. The underage kids hung out on the sidewalk listening to the rattle of rock n roll drift out of the club. How quickly the Ethiopian restaurant emptied out determined what time the band would take the ten-inch high stage.
The Strand plugged in. Amps and speakers leaked out chirps and feedback. Through the cigarette smoke you could see the boys dressed in denim, T's and button downs. The Strand wandered around the stage without fanfare; then abruptly the room exploded with the chord progression for The Monkees' "Stepping Stone." Jim assailed the lyrics with high energy and good humor. John became an outboard motor on drums. Bill, in Pete Townsend style, coaxed harsh crashing sounds from his Gibson. The kids cheered and took over the dance floor. The band filled their set with pop songs that rarely lasted more than two minutes. Next might be the Zombies' "Is This the Dream" or Jim would channel John Lennon's "Bad Boy." The band got your attention first, then started into their own songs. "Kids Today" and "I Understand You." The originals fit right in with the covers.
The Strand played most of the venues in the Washington, D.C area: Friendship Station, Saba, The Psychedely, The 9:30 Club, The Bayou, and The Gentry, to name a few. But The Upstairs was special. It was home. They found a little bit of magic at 704 King Street.