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Friday, April 13
1:30 A.M.:

The room was as packed as a fresh box of cigarettes.

DJ Barticus, clad in giant headphones, spinned on stage as the dancing flowed to the steady stream of PBR, Jack and turntables. A hearty night of music in Athens would not be complete without the raw aura of Dance or Die at the Union. And the Soul of Athens was there to capture and breath in all its seductive fumes.

Amid the swaying and socializing, I randomly discovered Soul of Athens multimedia artists Zach Wise and Chris Kelleher as they shot, recorded and soaked in the evening’s soul incognito-style. A mélange of makeout enthusiasts barely seemed to notice as the crew captured each moment. And when they thought no one was looking, I even caught Zach and Chris subtly dancing, but they’d never admit to it. Then again, it might have been the smoke clouding my vision.

Producing content for the “Creative” section of Soul of Athens, the team had previously documented other bars and venues that night until it melodically culminated at the elusive Union – tripod and cameras in hand. Check out the Dance or Die teaser.
Then go to the SoulofAthens.com. on May 28th and check out Athen’s creativity in full.

In a brave new world of multimedia journalism, the award-winning Visual Communication School at Ohio University lead by Brian Storm of MediaStorm.org and Zach Wise of digitalartwork.net dares to ask the question: What is the soul of the 200-year-old community of Athens, Ohio?

Athens soul is restless. Its stories lie beneath the bricks, waiting to be exposed. Precariously balanced on the tip of cosmopolitan Appalachia, its uninhibited subcultures test the bounds of predictability.

Go to soulofathens.com, tell us what you think the soul of athens is. Come back May 28th and see what we discover.