Artichoke Music

This review is for CAFE ARTICHOKE COFFEEHOUSE FRIDAY NIGHT
First time coming to the Friday night coffeehouse. We arrived a bit after starting time (7:30p) and were greeted with a dark space after walking through the back door to the café located behind the music shop. So many eyes on us looking at us like we’re foreigners and the person sitting at the «front» didn’t really bother greeting us. I had to ask if this is where we pay ($ 5/​person) to get in. After that we had to walk awkwardly to the back since there were no seats left and the entrance is RIGHT next to the stage, poor placement.
We were expecting a laid back, chat quietly amongst each other while local artists serenade us with their acoustics originals or song covers. But the place was set up like a small intimate dining experience, small tables with 4 chairs, candle lit, and everyone was dead quiet. Imagine walking in late with 13 or so tables looking at you. We were a party of 4 and there weren’t any tables with enough open seats for us so we sat on the floor in the back. It was fine with us and later the event people did bring out more chairs but the place was so small, it was fine to sit on the floor.
Would recommend if you just want to come listen but not if you want to also chat. Not a typical coffeehouse set up. And recommend you research the artists before if you can. We liked all of the ones we saw but the last one was a bit… unexpected. We really liked Riley Franks!!!

I’m not a musician, but my wife and kids are and we have visited many of the guitar shops on Portland’s East side. The staff are helpful, friendly, and don’t mind if you hang around without buying anything. They have a good variety of acoustic guitars and other string instruments at all price levels.
What a great location! I’ve left my teenagers there to try out guitars and ukuleles while I went down the block to Cross Roads and shopped for vinyl records. Cubo de Cuba has good food and a nice patio next door. Although on street parking is usually pretty good on this block, they have a small parking lot that they share with Cubo.
We dropped in to their performance space last night for the first time and had a nice time. There seems to be a home grown community of regulars who are very welcoming and really love acoustic music. This volunteer run show room provides a place where local musicians can enjoy music, perform, and build community. My wife is interested in volunteering and we will definitely be back.
I was excited to learn that they have a flamenco group that performs here the last Saturday of each month! I can’t wait!

I’m not a huge fan of Artichoke Music. A few years back, I went to get some new ukulele strings, specifically to change my high-​G to a low-​G string. I was an early beginner at the time and had questions about getting a wound versus unwound string, but the guy at the counter was very brusque and just picked a set of strings and said that’s what I needed. I don’t remember exactly what I was charged for the string replacement but I remember being shocked by the high cost (I think $ 20), definitely more than the nominal service fee I was expecting to pay. My ukulele was pretty new at the time and I didn’t know much, so I thought that he was only going to change out the G-​string. But without asking me, he cut all of my new-​ish strings off and replaced the entire set. Since the G-​string was wound and the others were unwound, I assume I could have just kept the other new strings as spares. He interrupted the restringing process several times to chat with another customer about an instrument though there were other employees in the store. He eventually came back and apologized, then said that he would teach me how to change my ukulele strings myself in the future. I was expecting a more friendly interaction after that point with some patience since he had been so distracted with the other customer, but he basically changed the string at the same rapid speed he changed the others but with narration, and it was more condescending than anything else, certainly not a lesson. I then expressed surprise that I ended up with such a different string (I had read online that unwound strings were preferred over wound strings but didn’t actually know what they looked like), as my initial intention was to get an unwound string. All in all, it was a very time consuming (because of the interruptions) and an unpleasant experience for a beginner. Since then I’ve been there a few times to browse and buy music and haven’t had issues, hence the 2^nd star. I am posting this review now because I inquired about private lessons at Artichoke Music. I was told at the store that their website was the only way to sign up. However, my online inquiry was completely ignored. It’s very frustrating to enter all this personal information into a form, including e-​mail, address, and phone number, with the intent of paying for 1-​hour private lessons, and just not hear back at all. This may certainly be the fault of the private instructor rather than Artichoke Music, but I think it’s one bad experience too many and there are other music stores in Portland I can patronize without being patronized in return.

Wonderful uniquely different music store. New and used instruments. They have some nice guitars but they also carry mandolins, dulcimers, recorders, etc., some of these kinds of instruments I’ve never seen before. Ray is really knowledgeable and friendly, he was a real pleasure to talk to. Definitely a great place to stop by whether you’re a musician or just curious.

Artichoke is a huge asset to the neighborhood. It is one of the only places I know of that amateur and beginning musicians have a place and times to get together to practice playing.
The way that most people in our modern US culture is as an audience, but at Artichoke, a person can transition from being a passive listener to participating and making music with the encouragement and acceptance of the Saturday workshop leaders and private music teachers.
Singing and playing music is a daily activity in many cultures, and our culture would be richer with more people participating in making music, instead of listening to processed, autotuned music. Artichoke is a bridge to a more musical culture.

Friendly, knowledgeable, no-​pressure staff. You’re welcome to come in, pick an instrument off the wall, have a seat and play without anyone hovering. I bought a uke and basic cord book for beginners. I appreciated staff not trying to «up-​sell» me in to buying more than I needed. I was told that if I decided to up grade later, they’d be happy to buy my uke back. Oh, and there’s free classes/​groups for folks wanting to play together. Shop here!

*this review is for the listening room/​bar in the back of the music store*
As far as venues go, there are a few key components that have to be good:
1) The sound system needs to be legit.
Artichoke has this going on. Clear sound coming from heavy duty speakers, an adept sound man working the system as well.
2) The place needs to have a good feel.
They’ve got this too! It’s a spacious roomy room, with mood lighting and a cool bar area. The host is friendly and welcoming, the musicians were showed a lot of respect.
3) It needs to be accessible
Meaning: the rose garden may be a good venue but it’ll cost you $ 100 to see a show there. Meanwhile, there are amazing acts and musicians here in Portland that are like, ¹⁄₁₀ of the cost. I think on average, Artichoke charges $ 5-​$ 10 per show. In addition, they host a weekly open mic that folks can get involved in the performance scene at.
Overall, great venue to play at or see a performance at — and heck, go get some new guitar strings in the store when you’re finished.

Love this place. It’s a store, yes, but now it’s really a school. Yes, a school of folk music here in PDX. AND a concert venue. AND an open-​house venue. It’s many things, all rolled up into one lovely establishment on that part of Hawthorne that most people don’t go to, by the Chinese grocery that never seems to be open and that you may suspect to be a front for something.
Go there. Buy musical instruments. Take lessons for those instruments. Watch people play many instruments. Play your instrument. Ahem. Ok, why not. Play your instrument in-​front of other people!

hands-​down, some of the best and friendliest customer service i’ve ever received, anywhere, and i’m serious about that. As well, for a novice ukelele player, not an eyelash was batted over my cheap beginner uke OR my current inability to do much with it (though he did let me know about the upcoming classes — and i WILL be going!). The guy even played a song on his banjo ukelele (and now I need to own one) for my baby daughter and gave her an egg shaker to take home.
Prices are a tad higher here on some items than in some other places (perhaps because it’s small and can’t order the high volume required to keep costs down) but honestly? it’s worth paying a few bucks extra to support this awesome, friendly, high-​quality and community-​focused place. in world of chain stores with cheap product and people behind the counter half your age who call you dude, this place is a real, real gem, run with unsurpassed friendliness and class.
now let’s hope i can string the damn thing myself. otherwise, i’ll be back there tomorrow (and if i wasn’t going out of town in the morning that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, anyway).

All I did here was buy some strings and I walked out feeling totally inspired. The owner was courteous enough to show my boyfriend and I around the shop after kicking some annoying kids out and took us back to this amazing, hidden venue behind the store where they hold concerts and open mics 3 days per week. He also let me play with any instrument I was interested in, even though I’m just a guitar player. I never felt rushed or pressured to buy anything. I’ve always gotten lost in music stores since I was little, and this case was no different. I could have stayed in the shop all day.
P. S. The house brand light acoustic strings play beautifully!

This place is very, very Portland. The best of Portland.
I’ve always gone in and tried out guitars off their wall. Then I went to the folk festival I saw the blurb for in the WW… Turns out they’re trying to do community music teaching, and have coffee hour Friday nights. Tiny, tiny venue with very good guitarists.
I’m a fan. I’m a tremendous fan.
I can’t afford to buy guitars here, but next time I need strings or yet another tuner or something… This is where I’ll get ‘em. I feel places that try to strengthen their communities should be treasured.

We started attending the Friday evening Artichoke Coffeehouse at The Artichoke Café back in January and we’ve hardly missed a single one since.
The owner, Richard Columbo & his partner Jim, are absolutely amazing as they so graciously offer themselves in complete devotion.
You won’t find a Taylor or a Gibson here but what you will find is quality. They are very helpful and will assist you in finding the musical instrument that is right for you. I have been so inspired by this place as to take up the guitar myself.
Please come by in support of this wonderful music shop and musical venue and see the best talents in the Portland world of folk and Americana.

If you’re used to shopping at the big chain guitar stores than you will be A) blown away at the great customer service here, and B) be confused by their merchandise, because you will have never heard of the name brands they carry.
Me… I was both A and B.
Don’t come here expecting to find your kid some $ 100 piece of crap. Artichoke carries high quality instruments. None of the guitar that I fiddled around with gave me that «Yucky!» feeling. They all played smoothly and sounded wonderful.
The staff is way knowledgeable and will help you find a great instructor for the style of music you want to learn.
Come here expecting a great experience and be willing to throw down some cheddar.

I wanted to give a music accessory to a friend at his going away party. The item was available through several online retailers for $ 35 with free shipping, but I prefer to support local businesses, so I called Artichoke to see if they had it. They didn’t have it in stock, but offered to special order it, and said they could get it «really fast.» Their price was $ 50, but what the heck, I like to support local businesses. This was six business days before the event, I told them, and they said they’d have it in three days.
On the third day, I called, and they said no item, they’ll call me when it’s in. Same the next day. On the fifth day, I called and asked if they could track their shipment to find out if it would arrive in time. They said there was no way to guarantee when it would arrive. Finally I apologized and told them I’d need to go buy this elsewhere, and asked to cancel my order. Clearly annoyed, they refunded my card, and then slammed down the phone as I tried to thank them.
I hadn’t been rude and was trying to help solve the problem, so that response was a shock, and gave me the strong impression they didn’t want my business. Next time I need a small item, I’ll probably just order online, and when I need to make a large purchase like a guitar, I’ll choose a different local shop.

This is probably my all-​time favorite guitar store. When I lived in Portland I visited often. They have a lot of beautifully crafted wooden instruments: guitars, mandolins, ukeleles, etc. I bought a hand-​made maple Art Lutherie guitar there, and I had it for years. They could have a slightly larger supply of Martins, but, this place has so much personality, and the staged area has some cool shows too. I saw Martin Sexton there. If I had ever followed through with my pipe dream for building my own guitar store, Artichoke Music would have been my model.

I know nothing about musical instruments, which is why I was so happy that the kind folks in Artichoke helped me pick out a birthday present for a friend, steering me away from spending too much money, and helping me out with tuning it. I can’t recommend them highly enough!
Of course, their folk music events (check their website) are something special too!

Artichoke Music not only supplies high-​end musical instruments (beautiful wooden guitars, ukeleles, and other folk instruments), they also teach you how to play them. Here you can take lessons to learn how to play the button accordian, the piano accordian, the banjo, the bodhran, the bass, cello, folk harp, hammered dulcimer, harmonica, irish flute and pennywhistle, mandolin, mountain dulcimer, piano, ukelele, violin, and the musical saw.
Tell me, who else is going to teach you how to play the pennywhistle or the musical saw? Artichoke also has a «backstage caf» where you can see some professionals play these beautiful and bizarre folk instruments.

Looking for a banjo made out of cardboard? An African stringed thing made out of gnarled driftwood? A concertina? A luxurious $ 600 ukulele? A rarely-​played tenor (4-​string) banjo? A reproduction of a book of sheet music chronicling early American minstrel music, complete with racist caricatures? A jaw harp?
Of course you’re not! But if you were, this tiny music store specializing in folk and world instruments would be your best bet. It’s stocked with beautiful and bizarre instruments that you’ve never heard of before, and it feels more like a birthday party than a retail establishment as instruments are pulled off the wall for one of the many jam sessions going on between customers and employees.