Live from Bloomington

A smiling woman with an accordion plays folkish dance music, accompanied by a guy with flaring red hair playing a bright yellow guitar, while thumping out beats on the kickdrum. The bassist is plucking out hard notes in tune with the groove. It feels like you're in an old-fashioned pub with your friends, where joy and laughter is whisked around by the music. This is Kid Kazooey and the Ballroom Roustabouts, one of the many eclectic bands who are playing for Live From Bloomington.\nFor LFB, a program formed in 1986, Union Board has brought together many local bands to create a compilation CD, and tonight they will all be playing out a massive music scene. The point of all this music is to help out the Hoosier Hills Food Bank, which helps to alleviate hunger in nearby areas. Collections began on April 9, when people began donating non-perishable food items at city fire stations. The musical event, called Club Night, happens tonight at several venues around Bloomington.\n"It's a very admirable thing to do (playing for LFB)," says bassist Sam Crawford (nickname Sam Bob) of Kid Kazooey and the Ballroom Roustabouts. His band performs playful and humorous kids-style music. \n"We play story-singing-dance-music," guitarist and vocalist Kevin MacDowell says. Story-singing-dance-music is a type of music the band has made up on its own. This band lets the audience interact with the story it makes up on the spot. In one song, Kid Kazooey (MacDowell) asks the audience to have fun picking boogers, just like they're kids again. Kazooey and the Roustabouts not only play story-singing-dance-music, they also play '80s style, folk, disco and Motown.\nMacDowell says he got his nickname from a friend one day when he was playing his kazoo out on the streets of Bloomington. The Roustabouts' genre of music came about from Kid Kazooey's experience as a kids' librarian. With regards to their first show, Kid Kazooey says, "It was pirate stories with music." The band has played for 5-year-olds, college students and older adults, and the Roustabouts say everyone happily dances to its music.\nThe band has previous connections with LFB. Crawford did recording for LFB for two years. The band members say they are fans of Hoosier Hills Food Bank. Accordion player Lara Weaver (nickname Gantzy Dander) also works for the RISE Middle Way House, which recieves food from Hoosier Hills.\n"LFB usually gets the best talent in Bloomington," Brian Balta, director of Live From Bloomington says. The LFB committee collected 70 song submissions this year. There are 17 bands on the CD with a large variety of sounds. This year there is jazz, kid music, frat rock, hip-hop, punk, ska and country. The music features local bands of the past, including YOU from Atlanta and Homunculus from Cincinnati, which was on the LFB CD in 1996.\n"Bloomington's music scene is really strong compared to other places," LFB director Brian Balta says. LFB is so well known, that in 1996 Billboard had a story about LFB on its front page. Billboard wrote, "Bloomington serves as an oasis of progressive culture in an otherwise conservative Midwestern locale."\nAll the bands play different styles of music. One of this year's LFB bands, the Abercrombie Skins, says it plays punk music like that of the Ramones. \n"We write seriously, but have fun keeping it real," says green-haired lead vocalist and guitarist David Parker. A lot of their songs are about girls. They started writing songs about wanting girls, but now say they write songs about girls who want them. \n"Our songs are mostly about girls, but not sad-bastard songs," bassist Jackson Swain says. Lead guitarist and backing vocalist Trey Murrillo says the band does not like to mix politics with its music. \nAs far as the punk scene in Bloomington goes, Murrilo says there are five other punk bands in town. There are two other punk bands playing in LFB this year, The Hussies (girl-punk) and No Reason Given (ska-punk). On Club Night all of the punk bands will be playing at Rhino's. Parker says he feels there is a good variety of punk being represented at LFB. \n"I feel honored to play for an established thing," Parker says. \nLive From Bloomington is a four-pronged effort powered by Union Board, Hoosier Hills Food Bank, local area bands and venues and the IU School of Music. Union Board puts out a call-out to all area bands for song submissions at the beginning of the school year. The winners are on the CD being released tonight at the venues. Hoosier Hills is a clearinghouse that allows more than 60 restaurants, grocery stores, farmers and other distributors in food retail to donate. Dan Taylor, director of Hoosier Hills, says IU donates food through the Tudor Room in the Union, the cyber-cafe at the Main Library, the athletics department and the dorms. The collected food is given to food pantries, soup kitchens, youth programs, rehab centers and other places with need. \nLFB allows everyone in the community to participate. Anyone can donate food, buy the LFB CD, and listen to music on Club Night. The CDs are $6, and they can be purchased tonight at all venues. The cover charge for all of tonight's concerts is $4 without food or $2 with two cans of food. \nAll of the profits from LFB are donated to Hoosier Hills Food Bank. "Students in the past were not usually involved in food donations," Taylor says. LFB helps introduce students to food banking, and Taylor hopes that people who participate in LFB will become more involved with Hoosier Hills. On Club Night there will be tables and tents at the venues to tell people about the food bank. The organization will collect food at the fire stations for the next two weeks.\nBut tonight's the night to experience the music and charity of LFB. The Barber Brothers want to relax people with their jazz, YOU and Homunculus are ready for a homecoming shake down and Kirkwood and Epic are going to give people freaking rock and roll. These bands are at LFB to play their music, and at LFB people can enjoy them and give back to the community food bank-style. \nIf you are interested in volunteering for Hoosier Hills Food Bank, call 334-8374.