Art therapy

When Bloomington-based band Kentucky Nightmare plays the Art Hospital, it breathes life into the local music scene.

This Saturday, the group will play at the venue alongside fellow Bloomington act Alexander the Great as well as West Coast rockers Bodies of Water and Throw Me the Statue. The seemingly dull facade of the building hardly represents the eclectic acts the hospital brings.

Located at 1021 S. Walnut Ave., the Art Hospital is a communally-run venue for art exhibits and music performances. It is one of the few all-ages venues in Bloomington, its co-founder and IU alumnus Mark Rice said. Many of its 13 organizers are also musicians and artists in the Bloomington scene who book diverse musical and arts events – anything from jazz bands to photo exhibits.

IU Senior Jenna McKinzie goes to music shows at the Art Hospital for several reasons.

“It’s cheap, people don’t give a shit about what you’re wearing, there’s graffiti on the walls and the music ain’t half bad,” she said.

Kentucky Nightmare guitarist and singer Simon Moore loves playing at the Art Hospital because he gets to be surrounded by people who share the same passion for music as him and his band. Moore said Kentucky Nightmare’s melodic rock sounds like “classic rock you hear on radio stations.”

Bryant Fox, IU junior and vocalist/guitarist of Alexander the Great, echoed Moore’s sentiments about playing at the Art Hospital.

“It allows us to get involved with the thriving underground community of artists and musicians in Bloomington,” he said.

Bodies of Water and Throw Me the Statue are both on Bloomington’s own Secretly Canadian record label. The label’s publicist Lucy Robinson said that while Bodies of Water has a “rock gospel sound," Throw Me The Statue has “super-poppy rock songs.”

Ten of the 13 members of the Art Hospital book shows as well as have studios within the hospital for their own music and art projects, while the other three members focus solely on booking shows. Currently, these 13 members must pay a $40 monthly fee to book shows and participate in the Hospital’s weekly meeting. Rice noted that this price is likely to change within the next week, however.

Although Moore said Kentucky Nightmare tries to play as many venues as they can in Bloomington, there are certain things about the Art Hospital he appreciates over other places.

“There is no establishment around it. It’s as real underground as it gets,” he said.
That is, music aficionados are putting on shows for other music aficionados. Rice said that Art Hospital members must sponsor their own events, which means they are individually responsible for paying the artists performing and producing a minimum profit of $25, or $1 per attendee.

Moore believes that music fans should want to see shows at the Art Hospital because of its overall “cool vibes” provided by live music and the like-minded yet individualistic crowd and members.

“The Art Hospital reminds you how much young people can accomplish,” he said.