A robust setting for fresh-brewed music

For a coffeehouse, the Coffee Gallery has a lot on its plate.

The Altadena eatery is a place of many purposes -- among them restaurant, gallery, classroom and all-around hangout. Its blackboards tout such fare as soups (“as good as Mom’s or better”) and 31 flavors of coffee (including the slushy specialty “The Flying Squirrel”). It hosts watercolor classes, yoga sessions and a writers group. And adorning the 12-foot walls is original artwork, surrounding patrons of all ages who play games, read or chat.

But beyond a storage area is the Coffee Gallery’s most magical spot: Its Backstage performance space, a place where 49 patrons can hear folk music, Tin Pan Alley, old Nashville, even the Delta blues. Thanks to the talent lined up by Bob Stane (who runs the venue with partner Ken Marshall), it’s a room where the 40-ish crowd can be transported back in time.

“It’s like the old nightclubs here; it’s intimate,” said Ian Whitcomb, a regular performer and patron at the Backstage. “You can see people, you can take requests and you can talk to people.”

On a recent Saturday, Whitcomb and his wife, Regina, as well as friends Fred Sokolow and Dave Jones, resurrected the days of vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley. During a two-hour performance, opening act Sokolow and then Whitcomb revived the Great American Songbook, playing tunes from the likes of Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Hoagy Carmichael and Billie Holiday.

The one thing fans can always count on, though, is what Whitcomb promised and delivered during his set: talk, and a lot of it.

Once, before arena rock and MTV made visuals onstage as important as the music, troubadours charmed their audiences between songs with storytelling. Though there are a few acts (Bruce Springsteen, John Hiatt, Ani DiFranco and Robyn Hitchcock are just a few) who can still regale their crowd with intimate yarns, the art of between-songs banter is definitely an endangered species.

Not at the Backstage, though, where Stane looks for the whole package. “We look for wit and humor, sparkling personality, absolute excellence in instrumentation and lyrics,” he said. “We just demand it and it’s one of those things, when you say something and you demand something, quite often you get it.”

The Backstage opened in 1998, two years after Marshall bought the Coffee Gallery, and has built a reputation as a favorite with musicians.

“It took us probably two years to understand our market,” Stane said. “After two years there was enough word of mouth out there and acts started saying, ‘Oh, you’re in L.A., you ought to call Bob. He has a great place to play.’

“Now it’s to the point where we aren’t even using the acts that we used, say, four years ago. It feeds upon itself. We’ve had acts in from South Africa, Canada, Norway, Germany.”

It’s easy to see why musicians gravitate to the Backstage. The former storeroom offers a distinctive vibe thanks to the talent and imagination of graphic artist Gary Thomas. Thomas painted the room to resemble a combination of a coffee bean warehouse in Central America and a mountain retreat, complete with an open window looking at a lake. Adding the final touches to the decor are French Quarter-esque lamps, ceiling fans and tables and chairs with a surprising amount of room between them, given the overall coziness.

The other reward for musicians is an audience thirsting for knowledge. “One of the things I appreciate more than anything is that we get out of our own rut by coming here,” said Carol Jackson, an Altadena resident who frequents the Backstage with husband Shannon. “We’re exposed to music that we might not normally go after. We come here, we see this great show, and now we have a new understanding of different types of music.”

Before Sokolow began the early show, Stane, who does the sound, lights and everything in the Backstage, greeted the crowd.

“I don’t have a curtain, so I’m going to dim the lights, then I’d like you to go, ‘Ooh,’ ” he announced.

Sure enough, as the lights dimmed then came back up, the crowd oohed and applauded. Later they sang along to standards like “It Had to Be You.”

Jackson said that’s a big part of the reason she and her husband keep coming back: “It’s just a very friendly place.”

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Coffee Gallery Backstage

Where: 2029 Lake Ave., Altadena

When: Coffeehouse is open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekends. Performance schedule varies.

Price: Covers for shows, $12.50-$20.

Info: (626) 398-7917 or www.coffeegallery.com