The recently established Windup Space at 12 W. North Ave. has the ambience of the loose-fitting cardigan you once wore to emulate Kurt Cobain after seeing him on MTV Unplugged.

The space is charmingly kitschy, with a section loosely modeled after the Road House bar from Twin Peaks, yet comforting and approachable, attracting everyone from the fella grabbing a cold one after work to bouncy lovers of the mathy, psychedelic maneuvers offered up by bands like San Francisco’s Triclops!, who will perform there Wednesday.

The Windup Space’s owner, Russell de Ocampo, tries to make the place unpretentious and accessible, while giving folks a splash of Charm City’s subterranean offerings.

The walls are adorned with the work of local and national artists, and it’s not your mom and dad’s artsy bar décor. Windup curator Jason Hoylman hand-picks the artwork. Pieces vary in theme and subject, from the works of local music photographers to the expressionist offerings of Critters, an exhibition opening Friday that features local and national multi-disciplinary artists, focusing on “animals or creatures in all their forms, pleasant or otherwise.”

Another thing that catches your eye is a large projector screen on the back wall, right behind the show space where bands perform. This combines the two elements that inspired de Ocampo to open shop: love for film and for music.

De Ocampo’s vision for the space is molded by his experience composing music for silent film, in addition to having spent time in various bands. His vision was aided by the recollection of a non-traditionally structured movie theater in Portland, Ore. The theater had removed the seats and replaced them with a bar and some tables.

These inspirations formed a mental blueprint for the type of good time de Ocampo deemed fit for Charm City. “That idea always kind of stuck with me. The idea of having a place that tied all that together was kind of the inspiration for the Windup Space,” he said.

On the musical side, the Windup Space offers a robust variety of options, from Brooklyn-based crunk-punk duo Ninjasonik to Baltimore’s charmingly disjointed Quartet Offensive (playing Nov. 20).

But jazz is de Ocampo’s first love. Among his many aspirations for the spot is to become a beacon for jazz in the Station North district. He explains “the jazz scene in Baltimore is splintered all over the place right now. If I can bring that to the center of the city, here at North and Charles, the jazz scene might flourish a little more.” The Windup Space is the place!

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