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Musician Matt Pierce and writer Lane Harlan got together overseas, when his band was touring Europe and she was teaching English in Paris. And in many ways, their tiny Mount Vernon apartment feels like a slice of bygone Europe.<br>
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The place is a delightful jumble of art, instruments and knicknacks, many of them discovered at local thrift stores. Pierce, who plays in the Baltimore bands Big in Japan, Mt. Royal and Arbourteum, first moved in about 10 years ago. At the time, the building housed primarily Peabody Institute students -- including a violinist, trombonist, and opera singers, Pierce said.<br>
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"You could hear them practicing all the time," he said. "It was amazing."<br>
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Pierce, who once played in the Baltimore band Lake Trout, sublet the apartment for a few years to join the English group Unkle. He and Harlan, his girlfriend, moved back to Baltimore in the spring of 2011, and are currently working to open a bar in Remington. They tolerate the apartment's small size and Mount Vernon's lack of parking because they like the feel of the neighborhood.<br>
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"It's the closest thing to living in Europe," Harlan said. "We pretend that we're a little apartment in Paris."

Matt Pierce and Lane Harlan

( Josh Sisk, Photo for The Baltimore Sun / January 11, 2013 )

Musician Matt Pierce and writer Lane Harlan got together overseas, when his band was touring Europe and she was teaching English in Paris. And in many ways, their tiny Mount Vernon apartment feels like a slice of bygone Europe.

The place is a delightful jumble of art, instruments and knicknacks, many of them discovered at local thrift stores. Pierce, who plays in the Baltimore bands Big in Japan, Mt. Royal and Arbourteum, first moved in about 10 years ago. At the time, the building housed primarily Peabody Institute students -- including a violinist, trombonist, and opera singers, Pierce said.

"You could hear them practicing all the time," he said. "It was amazing."

Pierce, who once played in the Baltimore band Lake Trout, sublet the apartment for a few years to join the English group Unkle. He and Harlan, his girlfriend, moved back to Baltimore in the spring of 2011, and are currently working to open a bar in Remington. They tolerate the apartment's small size and Mount Vernon's lack of parking because they like the feel of the neighborhood.

"It's the closest thing to living in Europe," Harlan said. "We pretend that we're a little apartment in Paris."

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