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(09/17/09 12:37am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The most remarkable thing about Yo La Tengo might be the band’s sheer consistency. After 25 years and a dozen albums, they continue to crank out carefully crafted, abundantly creative tunes. Their latest album, “Popular Songs,” shows no sign that they’re slowing down.Well, that is, it shows no sign that they’re slowing down – artistically speaking, that is. A certain mellow contentedness permeates “Popular Songs,” making it generally one of their sunnier and more laid-back albums, particularly in comparison to 2006’s “I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass” – not that that album was anything close to angry, despite its title.Starting from a grand, orchestral opening in “Here To Fall,” “Popular Songs” offers a mix of the serene “Avalon Or Someone Very Similar”, the joyous “Nothing To Hide” and even the funky “Periodically Double or Triple”. It does drag a little in its quieter moments, particularly in “By Two’s” and “The Fireside,” but “Popular Songs” provides no doubt that Yo La Tengo still has it.
(04/30/09 4:14am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Art Brut is one of the more divisive bands in indie rock. If you’re new to them, I can guarantee that some of you, upon hearing Eddie Argos’ tuneless talk-singing, will ask “What is this junk?” and immediately go back to Fleet Foxes or Grizzly Bear or something else with pretty vocal harmonies.This review, then, is for the other folks – the ones who, after hitting Art Brut’s MySpace page, notice the witty lyrics, surging beat and infectious energy. If this is you, and you have not yet purchased their 2005 debut “Bang Bang Rock And Roll,” do so now. It is, very simply, this decade’s greatest punk album. OK, but what of Art Brut’s latest album, “Art Brut vs. Satan?” Well, it’s not as essential as their debut, but it’s certainly fun – and a real improvement over their second release, “It’s A Bit Complicated.” Featuring slicker production and broader, more universal lyrics, “Complicated” was sort of Art Brut’s pop album – and, while decent, it lost some of “Bang Bang’s” spirit. “Art Brut vs. Satan,” on the other hand, takes the band back to the garage (thanks to production by the Pixies’ Frank Black), while the lyrics lead us on a tour through Argos’ life. But we’re not talking about rock star ego-tripping. We’re talking about bad hangovers (“Alcoholics Unanimous”), awkward hookups (“What A Rush”) and unfortunate drug interactions (“Mysterious Bruises”); celebrations of comic books (“DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshake”), public transit (“The Passenger”) and lo-fi production (“Slap Dash For No Cash”); frustration at mainstream musical tastes (“Demons Out!”) and the rapture of finding a new musical love (“The Replacements”). In other words, it’s the soundtrack to the life of a music geek. And if you’re reading this, face it: that’s what you are.
(02/05/09 1:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Of the brief dance-rock explosion in the first half of this decade, Franz Ferdinand’s 2004 debut was the movement’s apex.Beyond the much-mentioned “angular guitars,” Franz demonstrated far greater sophistication and consistency than their contemporaries: taking their songs in unexpected directions – for example, the sudden disco stomp in the middle of “Take Me Out” – and telling stories of dark, desperate, intelligent, sexually-ambiguous hedonism. The band’s 2005 followup, “You Could Have It So Much Better,” was not as earth-shattering, but was nevertheless quite good – exploring some new directions and dodging the sophomore-album curse that killed much of the movement.Thus, when they returned with “Tonight: Franz Ferdinand” to a music scene so desperate for rump-shaking it had embraced the dishwater-dull Hercules and Love Affair, it felt like a second coming. Sadly, this is not the case for two reasons.First, in “Tonight,” Franz opted to follow rather than lead. Fearing that their own sound had become dated, they sought to adopt the synth-heavy style of bands on the Death From Above record label. In this, they do a decent job – certainly better than Hercules – but it’s nothing compared to the brilliance of DFA’s star act, LCD Soundsystem.Second, “Tonight” loosely adheres to the concept of depicting a night on the town – from setting out to dance club to morning after. But much like the real thing, the album is best at the beginning; it’s packed with anticipation and ultimately disappointing in the end. Nothing ever quite lives up to the promise of opening track, “Ulysses,” but starting with the 10th song “Lucid Dreams,” things wind down to an exhausted gasp.In summary, “Tonight” is a decent listen, but as Franz has demonstrated in the past: “You could have it so much better.”
(10/01/08 9:25pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>This weekend, if you go downtown, stand in the right place, close your eyes and listen, you could be transported to the Ivory Coast, the rainforests of Colombia, the Australian outback or the Mongolian steppes. Starting today, 26 musical acts from all six inhabited continents will converge in Bloomington for the 15th annual Lotus World Music and Arts Festival. Since 1994, the festival has grown from a one-day gathering of 900 people to an event that stretches over four days, generates a half-million dollars for the local economy and last year brought in more than 11,000 people. Executive director of the nonprofit Lotus Education and Arts Foundation Lee Williams said that, thanks to word of mouth, the festival had become popular beyond its founders’ wildest imaginations, producing the most diverse crowd of any Bloomington public gathering. “There’s a connection that can be made to other cultures very easily through music,” he said. “Something that bonds and unites us.” Today through Sunday, the Lotus Festival will be at nine different venues downtown, some of which are free and some of which require tickets.Lotus Festival 2008 scheduleThursday7 p.m. – kick-off with the Northern Realms concert, centered on music from Northern Europe, at the Buskirk-Chumley•Frigg, a Finnish string ensemble•Julie Fowlis, a Scots Gaelic singer•Waltz with Me, a string group led by Norwegian fiddler Annbørg LienCost: $20 Friday6 p.m. – Lotus Arts Village, located between Sixth and Washington streets, opens its metaphorical gates, inviting visitors to wander its labyrinth and check out its parade banners, inflated sculptures and decorated bicycles7 p.m. to midnight – Friday night showcases get underway at: Bluebird Nightclub – 216 N. Walnut St.•10 p.m. ReelroadBuskirk-Chumley Theater•7:15 p.m. Julie Fowlis•9:00 p.m. Waltz with Me•10:30 Sogbety DiomandeBloomington Convention Center – Third Street and College Avenue•7 p.m. Marta Gomez•8:30 p.m. La Musgana•10 p.m. Jayme Stone and Mansa SissokoFirst Christian Church – Kirkwood Avenue and Washington Street•7:15 p.m. James Hill and Anne Davison•9:15 p.m. Etugen Ensemble•10:30 p.m. Etugen EnsembleCarey Worldwide Chauffeured Services Tent – Fourth and Grant streets•7:45 p.m. Reelroad•9 p.m. Little Crow •10:30 FunkadesiFirst Presbyterian Church – 221 E. Sixth St.•7:45 p.m. Son de Madera•9 p.m. Bill Harney and Paul Taylor•10:30 p.m. Son de MaderaMonroe Bank/Ivy Tech Community College Tent – Sixth Street, between Walnut Street and College Avenue•7:15 p.m. Etran Finatawa•9 p.m. Vieux Farka Toure•10:30 p.m. Mucca PazzaMallor Clendening Grodner and Bohrer Tent – Fourth Street, between Walnut Street and College Avenue•7:30 Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band•9 p.m. Pistolera•10:30 p.m. The Wilders8:30 p.m. – Chicago’s Mucca Pazza, a 30-piece group describing itself as a “punk circus marching band,” will lead a procession down Kirkwood AvenueSaturday11:30 a.m. – The film “The Singing Revolution” will be shown at the Buskirk-Chumley TheaterCost: Free with the purchase of a $5 Lotus PinNoon to 5:30 p.m. – Lotus in the Park (331 S. Washington St.) will present live music and workshops for all ages. Lotus in the Park will feature performances from:•Reelraod•Son de Madera•James Hill and Anne Davison•La MusganaAnd will also include a Nigerian musical customs workshop with Etran Finatawa, a didgeridoo demonstration with Yidumduma Bill Harney, and a West African dance demonstration with Sogbety Diomande7 p.m. – Saturday evening showcases commenceBluebird Nightclub – 216 N. Walnut St.•9 p.m. Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band•10:30 PistoleriaBuskirk-Chumley Theater•7 p.m. Gaida Hinnawai•9 p.m. Solas•10:30 p.m. Lo Cor de la Plana Bloomington Convention Center – Third Street and College Avenue•7 p.m. Jayme Stone and Mansa Sissoko•8:30 p.m. Marta Gomez•10 p.m. The New York Gypsy All-StarsFirst Christian Church – Kirkwood Avenue and Washington Street•7:45 p.m. Etugen Ensemble•9:15 p.m. Son de Madera•10:30 p.m. Etugen EnsembleCarey Worldwide Chauffeured Services Tent – Fourth and Grant streets•7:45 p.m. The Wilders•9 p.m. Little Crow•10:30 FunkadesiFirst Presbyterian Church – 221 E. Sixth St. •7 p.m. Ray Bonneville•8 p.m. La Musgana•9 p.m. James Hill and Anne Davison •10:30 Ray BonnevilleMonroe Bank/Ivy Tech Community College Tent – Sixth Street, between Walnut Street and College Avenue •7:15 p.m. Sogbety Diomande•9 p.m. Etran Finatawa•10:30 p.m. March Fourth Marching BandMallor Clendening Grodner and Bohrer Tent – Fourth Street, between Walnut Street and College Avenue•7:45 p.m. Pistolera•9 p.m. Reelroad•10:30 p.m. The WildersSunday2 to 5 p.m. – The Lotus Festival will conclude with the multicultural World Spirit Concert at the Buskirk-Chumley•Etugen Ensemble•Gaida Hinnawi•Lo Cor de la PlanaDespite the packed schedule of activities, Lotus executive director Williams said that visitors should simply relax and take in the festival atmosphere that produces impromptu events, such as street jams between artists brought together from far corners of the world and local artists.“We call it the Lotus adventure,” Williams said of the festival experience. “Ever changing, ever challenging, ever amazing.”Ticket info for studentsOne-day passes $33 ($28 in advance)Two-day passes $60 ($50 in advance)Where Sunrise Box Office, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave.Bloomingfoods – 3220 E. Third St., 419 E. Kirkwood Ave., 316 W. Sixth St.www.bloomingtonarts.infoTo become a volunteer at next year’s festival apply on the Lotus Web site, call 812-337-0417 or e-mail volunteer@lotusfest.org. The application deadline is in late August. Check www.lotusfest.org/LotusFestVol1.html for more details.
(09/12/08 2:26am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The end is nigh! Robert Frost suggested the world would either end in fire or in ice, and T.S. Eliot postulated it would end not in a bang but in a whimper. They’re both wrong: It ends with a click!This week, the mad demigods of technology have unveiled an “advance” that holds the potential to destroy humankind and all we hold dear. Once activated, there will be no stopping it, no negotiating with it, merely the icy hand of death as our world is ripped apart by forces beyond our comprehension. Oh, sure, they might claim that this is all doom-mongering, that their intentions are benevolent and the experiment harmless, that everything is under control. But such arrogance shall reap naught but tragedy, and the piper will demand payment of us all!What’s that? Am I referring to particle super-colliders? Hadrons? Switzerland? Huh? What are you talking about? Who cares about that? No, I speak of the most perilous technological development since the atomic bomb, the final judgment for our civilization: the new Facebook!You appear skeptical. But that is only because founder Mark Zuckerberg and his minions have lulled you into a false sense of security. Based on careful observation and hours upon hours of Facebook-based research, I have developed a theory that reveals unequivocally that this week’s implementation of the new Facebook format will destroy the human race as we know it.Facebook might appear to be a Web site that, like any other Web site, exists on computers powered by electricity. But in reality, Facebook is fed by a far more elusive force: time. Have you ever noticed how, after logging in just to see whose birthday might be today, you suddenly realize that it’s two hours later and you’re looking at photos of someone’s summer vacation? It’s no trick of the mind: Facebook gobbles up time particles, cows eat grass, cats eat mice and pandas eat turtles.When Facebook adopted its news feed, the site’s appetite grew; then, when its membership expanded beyond college students, it became hungrier still. Some of us tried to stop the insanity, to warn you before it was too late, but we became entangled in that application where you take a quiz to determine which character from Lost you are or the one where you hand out bumper stickers.But now the threat is imminent. Once the creators of Facebook unleash this latest update, it will open a temporal black hole from which no force on earth can escape: not for homework, not for class, not for a job, not even for meals. Humanity will wither as individuals find themselves violently pulled between checking status updates, tagging photos, making comments and petting (fluff) friends. There will be no logging out.If you wish to save our species, the only thing left to do is join one of the many groups protesting against the new Facebook. I’ll be right there with you, just as soon as I’ve finished tending my (Lil) Green Patch.
(09/05/08 1:41am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With all the political conventions and hurricanes and introductions to oddly named vice-presidential offspring, many people seem to have overlooked the single most important news story of the entire week. In a landmark study discussed by the New York Times’ Freakonomics blog, economists Peter Leeson and Claudia Williamson showed that a significant and positive relationship exists between the places where unidentified flying objects are spotted and where America’s most mysterious cryptozoological species, bigfoots (er, bigfeet?) are observed. In particular, the researchers said, the two are both frequently reported in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, New Mexico, Washington and Wyoming.However, Leeson and Williamson failed to follow up this exciting revelation with sufficiently strong analysis. To explain their results, they suggested that these are all sightseeing states (so there are more people looking at outdoors things), that the potential boost for tourism produces an incentive to falsely report bigfoot and UFO sightings and that their residents report relatively lower levels of religious belief than other states (as if a perfectly rational person couldn’t simultaneously believe in saviors, saucers and skunk apes!). But in this they completely ignore the scientific logic of Occam’s razor: that the simplest solution is often the correct one. In other words, that UFOs and bigfoots are showing up in the same places.But why? We can’t know that without further research, but the possible explanations are deeply unsettling and demand a full investigatory effort by the agencies of the federal government or, at least, Leonard Nimoy:First, the UFOs might be abducting our bigfoots! The reason for this is unclear, but perhaps after years of studying rednecks they’ve decided to move on to probing even larger, hairier hominids.Second, the bigfoots might be following the UFOs! Again, we can’t know why without further examination, but I suspect it might have to do with the aliens’ appearance. The most commonly reported species of aliens, the Grays, are small with large eyes, gray skin and, most importantly, entirely hairless. This indicates that they have hair-removal technology far beyond our primitive shaving, waxing and plucking. Using this technology, hairless bigfoots could infiltrate our society, joining with the Illuminati, Freemasons and Martha Stewart to establish a new world order!Third, maybe their joint appearance is a coincidence. It just happens that people in those six states are particularly observant. See, while you’re sitting around watching your soap operas, reading your “mainstream newspapers” and sleeping without the use of goat tranquilizers, there are people in these states that remain ever vigilant, staying up night after night to clean their guns and await the signs of the apocalypse. And thanks to that, they’ll see, smell and ingest things that are beyond your feeble imagination.Whatever the case, it’s time that we put the massive human and technological resources of the United States of America to work on resolving this question before it’s too late.What’s that you say? Perhaps we’ll find that the explanation for all this is that bigfoots are really aliens? Oh please. Who’d believe that?
(09/03/08 9:44pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>From the speeding Coupe de Ville of Chuck Berry’s “Maybelline” to Elvis’ pink Cadillac and the T-Bird of the Beach Boys’ “Fun, Fun, Fun,” few things (besides girls and dancing) were as celebrated in early rock ’n’ roll as the car. Indeed, “Rocket 88,” by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats (a pseudonym for Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm), is a 1951 tune about a high-powered Oldsmobile, and is generally regarded to be the first rock song. But the opening decade of the 21st century is many years removed from the 1950s and ’60s. With record-high gas prices, concerns about air pollution and greenhouse gases, traffic congestion, parking costs, inescapable communications technologies, bland interstate highways and homogeneous strip malls – is it possible that car travel no longer rocks? And, if so, can something else take its place? What about the bicycle? Sure it’s humble, but then so are blue jeans, T-shirts and sneakers – and they’ve been rock staples for 50 years. And if there’s anywhere to test whether the bike can out-rock the car, it’s Bloomington. Not only is Bloomington home to the Little 500 and touted as one of the most bike-friendly cities in America, it’s also a god-awful place to drive. There are narrow, antiquated one-way streets that become riddled with potholes after it rains; there is far too much traffic, too many inexperienced drivers, scarce free parking and loads of pedestrians, skateboarders, bicyclists, children, dogs, squirrels and other things that have to be dodged like sprites from an 8-bit video game. And, on top of all this, Bloomington happens to have a rich and dynamic music scene. If bikes are to replace cars in rock, there are few environments more hospitable.Thus, the question was posed to a wide range of people, from academics and music geeks, to rockers and bike fans: Can the bicycle replace the car in rock ’n’ roll? For all of Bloomington’s love for pedal-powered transport, the most prevalent answer was an emphatic “No.”For example, despite being avid bike riders, Heath Byers and Jason Nickey, owners of local record store Landlocked Music, expressed deep skepticism.“The thing is, the car as an icon has to do with travel and the road as a metaphor for a spiritual journey and change,” Nickey said. “I don’t think it’s a political thing. The bicycle simply cannot carry that same symbolic, mythological weight. It’s an important collective myth and the bike, sadly, is just too rickety an image.”Byers likewise had his doubts about bikes’ chances.“Unless, of course, Prince makes a giant comeback with ‘Little Red Schwinn,’” he said.But why is there such a strong connection between cars and rock?When asked while working on his bike at the Bloomington Community Bicycle Project, local Sean Fegan suggested that cars would continue to dominate popular music because of their value as a status symbol.“You don’t have to be rich and famous to get a bike,” he said.However, Prof. Glenn Gass of the Jacobs School of Music said that, to an extent, it was a matter of timing. The rise of rock in the 1950s coincided with a post-war economic boom that made cars affordable to teenagers. Suddenly teens had a means to give the slip to the constraints of parents and other authority figures. And on their radios, rock ’n’ roll was providing the soundtrack for this newfound freedom. “Cars had this romantic image of motion,” Gass said, noting that the blues and country music of an earlier generation had similarly idealized the train because of its potential to let people escape and make new lives for themselves. Furthermore, rock and cars served as sexual metaphors, with the roar of engines and the roar of amps lending themselves as masculine means to get the attention of the opposite sex.“Not to mention making out in the back seat,” he said.While the “golden era” of cars as a source of freedom had passed, Gass said that the symbol remained and was unlikely to be ceded to bikes. Echoing this, front man Eddy Price of local rockabilly band the Phantom Cruisers argued that because new artists are always borrowing ideas from those who came before them, cars would hold onto their pride of place.“In the time it would take cars to replace bikes in rock music, neither cars, bikes or rock music will exist,” Price said. “We will all be listening to German techno and flying around with jet packs.”And yet, while bikes might be unlikely to take cars’ place in rock, they could be carving out their own.Jeremy Stone, another cyclist at the Community Bicycle Project, said that while songs about bikes would never break into the realm of classic rock, the vehicles were nevertheless tied into the environmentally friendly values of the independent music community.“They already accept the morals or ethics of bicycles versus cars,” he said. “They’re willing to live a lifestyle that relies on them for transportation.”Meanwhile, Mike Harpring Jr., drummer for Bloomington pop-punk group Good Luck, said bikes had been catching on as a symbol with underground, do-it-yourself-oriented punk groups because they were something to which their audiences could relate. For kids seeking to live cheap, nonmaterialistic green lifestyles, bikes had become a main form of transportation, and part of a constellation of cultural activities such as dumpster-diving and hanging out on rooftops. “The subcultural symbols are less leaning to cars and things the ’50s and ’60s were about,” Harpring said. “Bikes are more empowering than cars because of the amount of freedom you have when riding and powering the thing yourself.”He cited past and present groups such as The Blank Fight; Carrie Nations (note: named for the group from “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls”); Dead Things; Defiance, Ohio; This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb and many bands on the Plan-It-X Records label.However, the principles bringing bikes into the realm of indie rock received their clearest expression from Chris Barth, front man for psych-rock band The Impossible Shapes and a solo artist under the name Normanoak. While confessing that he wasn’t sure how bikes might relate to rock, Barth nevertheless advocated the benefit of moving from an “unsustainable” car culture to one that uses the bike as the primary form of transportation, and offered to take matters into his own hands.“I would be happy to write a new song for the bicycle to make it seem more ‘hip’ or more ‘rock ’n’ roll’ than the car,” he said.
(08/29/08 1:37am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Ahh, wasn’t that a marvelous school year? Who’d have thought that 2008-2009 would turn out to be so filled with momentous change? Would crackle with such boundless energy? Would turn out to be such a roller coaster of terrifying lows and soaring highs? Or that it would seem to go by so quickly? And yet here we are: back in May again, classes finished, grades turned in. And it’s time for all of you to pack up your stuff and go home.What’s that? Yes, of course it’s time to go home, you silly goose! I know what you mean, it doesn’t feel like it’s been a whole year since you arrived here, bright-eyed and bursting with possibility. Why, it seems like just yesterday you were parking your car in the middle of Tenth Street while you and your parents lugged that futon up to the third floor of Teter Quad, driving the wrong way down one-way streets and raiding every retail outlet like you were in the Florida Keys during hurricane season. And yet here we are: the first of May! The first of May, 2009! And you can go back again to whence you came, filled with the satisfaction of such a productive year.You look confused. Oh poor thing, is it possible that in the rush of things you’ve forgotten all we accomplished in the past eight months? Wow, you must have been working really hard this year! After all, who could forget that epic moment when the Hoosiers beat Ohio State to play Stanford in the Rose Bowl? They all said it couldn’t be done, but then they never counted on ... well, you know the rest. The story hardly bears repeating. Or what about when that sudden blizzard caused IU to cancel class for two days? Who would have expected that in the middle of October? I’m sure glad I brought my parka! And remember when they had to shut down Ballantine Hall for that movie shoot? I was out there every day and didn’t see anything except extras and crew members, but I have friends who swear they saw George Clooney get a personal pan pizza at the Union. And how could you forget when the biology department cloned that dinosaur? And it got loose? Thank God it was a plant-eater. Still, that sure was a sight when the Indiana National Guard had to trap it in the Arboretum! Speaking of which, don’t forget that the alumni foundation is collecting money for new trees, and to help pay for those Humvees. And we all thought it was exciting last year when Sen. Barack Obama showed up during the Little 500, but who would have thought he’d show up again this year to race? Or that his team would win? He sure is spry for a 47-year-old . Yes, it has been quite a year. And now you can pack up all your stuff and head back home for summer break. Go on, get out of here. You’ve earned it.
(08/27/08 10:09pm)
It all begins again Tuesday: classes, homework, projects, exams ... Some of you might be asking: What is there to look forward to in fall of 2008? A few campus groups tipped WEEKEND to new and unusual offerings they are planning for the upcoming semester (and, in a couple of cases, beyond).
(08/06/08 11:28pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Before going any further, I want to make one thing clear: I have nothing against bicycling. It’s good for you, it’s good for the environment, it reduces Bloomington’s perennial parking shortage, it gives the rest of us an excuse for a week’s worth of parties every April – all great things. There should be more bicyclists around here.Thus, when I say this, it is not out of anti-bicyclist animus, but out of a concern for the safety of bicyclists and motorists combined: The roughly mile-and-a-half stretch on 10th Street from its intersection with North Jefferson Street to where it meets North Smith Road should be a no-bicycle zone.Yes, I know 10th Street is a major artery through town. And I know the hills make for a good workout. And I know the city of Bloomington should do something to make this bit of road bicycle-friendly – widen it, put in bicycle lanes, refurbish the overpass, whatever. I’ll cheer once they do. But, until then, the presence of bicyclists on this treacherous bit of road is gumming up traffic and endangering lives, especially those of the bicyclists.Let’s look at what faces bicyclists after traveling east from Jefferson and 10th Street, shall we?First, 10th Street runs under a crumbling railway overpass that permits only two small passages for the eastbound and westbound lanes. Anyone slaloming through these passages (either way) faces a tight right turn and obscured vision of both what’s ahead of it and the oncoming lane. This is bad enough for a car, but with no space for a shoulder or bike lane, bicyclists are forced into the middle of this bottleneck with 20 pounds of carbon fiber to protect them instead of one ton of steel.Next, this narrow part of 10th Street travels up a steep hill past Tulip Tree apartments. Bicyclists – even fit, experienced bicyclists – slow to a crawl as they struggle up this hill. Drivers, of course, have no such problem, and push their cars up to the 30 miles per hour speed limit. Again, there is no room for the bicyclist to get over, no room for passing, no way to see what’s coming in the opposite lane from the other side of the hill. There is only the faint hope that one will not be run over or sideswiped into the woods alongside the road.At the intersection of 10th and the Bypass, the road widens, providing badly-needed space (although one will have to dodge potholes), but after passing the parking lot for the Stone Belt facility and the strip mall, we face another narrow road and another steep hill. But this time the speed limit is 40 miles per hour. Bicycles? Yeah, still traveling about five miles per hour. And after that? Yup, another hill.I’m sure that some people see this as a matter of individual rights. But then, why can’t I stand in my backyard and fire guns into the air? Oh, it’s because I’m risking my life and the lives of others? Funny that.
(08/06/08 7:29pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It’s 4:45 p.m. on Friday, July 25, when I first meet “the Manatee,” a huge, lumbering red and white Ford Club Wagon, packed to the brim with gear, and the official transport of Prizzy Prizzy Please. Since 2005, Prizzy has unleashed a high-energy fusion of punk and ska on the Bloomington music scene (with more than a dash of humor). They’ve won the Bluebird Nightclub’s 2007 Battle of the Bands Competition, braved the Austin, Texas, South by Southwest Festival and opened for Spoon. Now, I’m to follow them down to Louisville, Ky., for the Forecastle Festival – a three-day celebration of “Music, Art and Activism” (so sayeth the Web site). The objective is twofold: to find out what it’s like to play a big music festival, and to find out what the members of Prizzy are like offstage. At a house in the woods between Bloomington and Ellettsville, I’ve been waiting for lead singer/saxophonist Mark Pallman and bassist Bob Allen to return with a new tire for the Manatee. In the meantime, I meet drummer Scott McNiece, head of Lets Pretend Records (Prizzy’s label) Pete Shaw and friends of Prizzy – Sarah Coleman, Sarah Ellsworth and Graham McKeen.There are too many of us for the van, so I follow it in my car with Allen, McKeen and Ellsworth. The entire way down to Louisville, I watch the Manatee and wait for something to fall off. Later, Allen tells me that on tour he spent thousands of miles thinking the same thing. At around 7:15 p.m., we arrive at the motel where we’ll be spending the weekend. It’s clean enough, but with a clientele prone to screaming and getting dragged out of their rooms by the cops. After a quick dinner – at which I learn that Prizzy has been approached by Coca-Cola about possibly using their tune “Shorgasm” in a commercial – we walk down to Forecastle. The festival is being held in a grass-and-brick park bordered by hotels to the south and the Ohio River to the north. It’s done up like a castaway settlement with weathered sticks holding up signs and netting. Along with “Music, Art and Activism,” booths flog everything from independent-label albums and original art, to Toyota Hybrids and scuba lessons. At Forecastle’s large western stage, we’re joined by Prizzy keyboardist Ted Wells, his girlfriend Brittany Loewen, Pallman’s girlfriend Sam Miller and Sam’s brother Max. It’s warm but pleasant, populated but not overcrowded. Hippies amble across the grassy lawn, and the local roller derby team is selling beers.Forecastle headliners Del tha Funkee Homosapien and GZA from the Wu-Tang Clan turn out to be disappointing, and cleaners chain shut the public restrooms (throughout a speech by festival organizer JK McKnight, McNiece shouts “Where do we pee?”), but it’s impossible to ruin an evening like this.I notice how Pallman spontaneously breaks out into song or lets loose a few notes of nonsense syllables. Later, Allen tells me that this is part of how he writes songs – Pallman will sit down at the piano and go over the same eight notes over and over again, improvising lyrics to find ones he likes. A creative tension at Prizzy’s core shapes the group’s music. Pallman likes pop and R&B, but Wells is a classically minded former composition major, while McNiece and Allen favor punk and heavy metal. The resulting songs are loud and fast, but tight and melodic, with disarmingly silly, sing-along choruses.Back at the hotel, there are 12 people and one room (although Prizzy has faced far more crowded conditions, Allen tells me). Also there’s talk of hitting the bars. But after some discussion, everyone decides to … watch television.The room’s population even shrinks to seven as people make other sleeping arrangements. When I end up with half a bed, watching Bear Grylls from “Man vs. Wild” squeeze moisture from elephant dung, things seem positively serene.Throughout the trip, Prizzy’s partying turns out to be surprisingly moderate. Yes, there is drinking; yes, members of Prizzy and their entourage smoke pot; but, I’ve seen worse from journalists. And it’s hard to underestimate the sheer depth of Prizzy’s geekiness. One of Allen’s jobs is a professional dungeon master running role-playing games for Bloomington game store Game Preserve. Saturday night, he and McNiece get in an argument over who loves “Star Wars” most. At one point, while helping with the gear, I watch Wells pull out a book on symbolic logic – he confesses that the subject has compelled him ever since he wrote a senior thesis on it.In the Manatee, the nerdiness continues with the members conversing about a marching-band tradition of applying Gold Bond powder to one’s testicles. If bands are supposed to put on a front of studied, pretentious cool, no one has told Prizzy Prizzy Please.On Saturday, Prizzy is due to play Forecastle’s eastern stage at 4:30 p.m. This stage is a large tent, with four poles and a thin floor, surrounded by a climbing wall, a hula-hoop vendor and ramps for jumping mountain bikes. And it’s on a brick patio in 90-something-degree heat. Perhaps it’s the heat, but Forecastle is a ghost town. Word from the band is that the organizers were expecting 15,000 to 20,000 people – there’s no way they’re making that. Prizzy has never played anything like Forecastle before, and Pallman tells me they’ve taken extra effort to prepare. Returning to the eastern stage, we learn that Prizzy will have 20 minutes to set up and soundcheck, while the tight 30-minute performance slot means they’ll have to shorten their setlist. When veteran instrumental band Unwed Sailor finishes by 4:05 p.m., Prizzy rushes in. The band’s entourage has staked claim to the very front of the stage. I ask Ellsworth if she’s planning to dance, and she says it’s “simply impossible” not to at one of Prizzy’s shows. Although there’s a delay with the soundcheck (Pallman later says, “I hate when sound guys tell you to turn the amps down”), the sound of Prizzy warming up starts to draw a crowd.At 4:35 p.m., the band kicks into their tribute to goofy ’70s sci-fi shows, “Thought Command.” Despite the heat, they’re a flurry of energy. Pallman follows an initial volley of pounding keyboard, bass and drums with a wail of saxophone, then a burst of rapid-fire lyrics. In a red shirt, yellow shorts and green socks, he’s a twitching, howling traffic light. McNiece hammers the drums, bouncing off the stool to dive on them like a professional wrestler. At the front, there is indeed dancing.The crowd grows – I estimate more than 50 people by the time they’re singing about “Captain Bob” fighting off “disaster monkeys.” Next to a speaker, a large man with a “Deadheads for Obama” T-shirt dances drunkenly. Mountain bikers spring off of their ramps in the background. Two kids dressed as Batman join the crowd. In the set, Prizzy blazes through nine songs. It sounds like a hit with the audience. The soundman calls it one of the bet sets he’s seen. Shaw sells $65 worth of Prizzy CDs and T-shirts. Later, I watch as bands at the eastern stage struggle to get half of Prizzy’s crowd. Afterward, the band looks like they’ve been drenched by a fire hose. For this performance, the festival has rewarded them with a check for $50, five VIP passes, an organic snack bar, beer vouchers and four certificates for free pairs of shoes from one of the sponsors: Merrell. The band has essentially been paid $400 in shoes.
(08/06/08 7:04pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The story behind Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago has become something of an indie legend. In case you haven’t heard it already: after breaking up with both his band and his girlfriend, and recovering from a bad case of mono, Justin Vernon retreated to his father’s cabin in the Wisconsin woods for three months. But that time alone was hardly wasted. Developing a new songwriting style and trading in his growling vocals for a falsetto, Vernon spent the days recording delicate, impressionistic, complexly layered folk songs. He emerged from the cabin with what he thought was a nine-song demo recording, but what turned out to be the core of his solo debut. Self-released under Bon Iver, (a misspelling of the French greeting “bon hiver” or “good winter” and picked up from the television show “Northern Exposure”) buzz rapidly grew about For Emma, leading to high critical praise, a re-release by local label Jagjaguwar Records, international tours and newfound success. But if For Emma was largely the sound of one man and his laptop alone in a cabin, what should the Bloomington audience expect this Tuesday when Bon Iver plays at the Waldron Arts Center? Calling the project of adapting his digitally arranged solo pieces for live performance “a challenge, but a fun challenge,” Vernon is now supported by his former student Mike Noyce on guitar and Sean Carey on drums. The resulting live show, he said, is the “more masculine” counterpart to the “more feminine” For Emma in that it’s more extroverted, with more use of electric guitars over acoustic, making it feel “more live and in your face.” This process of developing live versions of the album’s songs has even come to incorporate Bon Iver’s fans. For the gospel-like vocals of “The Wolves (Act I and II),” Vernon sometimes turns to the audience to sing along with the band.“I wanted to hear more voices, but couldn’t afford to bring 20 more people on tour,” he said.That might seem like a bit much to expect of a song only just released last year, but Vernon’s music manages to attract a rare level of devotion.“In the first week of getting his record … I listened to each song over 100 times,” IU junior Tim Smiley said. “And surprisingly, it still reaches frequent rotation by me.”Bon Iver’s songs are not the only things that have had to adjust. With the popularity of For Emma, Vernon has gotten used to extensive touring, and all its difficulties (including having his wallet and passport stolen during the Austin, Texas, South by Southwest Festival). His current tour will last 11 weeks and will again take him to Europe. But Vernon was already eager to get back on the road.“I’m ready to go,” he said. Since writing For Emma, Vernon has embraced a philosophy of simply following where the songs lead him. While he works on his music, he doesn’t make songs cohere into an album or adopt a specific style. For example, regarding his switch to falsetto vocals, he said he just happened to notice that that was the direction the songs were taking. “I like that it was a new discovery,” Vernon said. “It keeps you honest, keeps you on your toes.”One new path he has expressed interest in is soundtracking films. And, indeed, while nothing was yet official, Vernon said he had been contacted about writing the music for an upcoming movie and, having studied the script, was waiting to work with the director and producer. Further, while Bon Iver’s lyrics have thus far been concerned with abstract imagery rather than politics, he was energized by the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.; he was unsure about whether he’d be willing to play a rally or not.“I don’t know if it’s super important for musicians to sell their politicians,” he said, but added that he was “extremely excited to be an American right now.”In the nearer term, Vernon is looking forward to performing again in Bloomington. A previous appearance at Bear’s Place was cut short by sickness, which will make Tuesday his first full Bloomington show. In addition, he anticipated visiting friends at Jagjaguwar Records.“It’s very Midwestern,” he said of Bloomington. “It’s pretty easy to like it.”Indeed, Vernon is very Midwestern himself, having just bought a place of his own in Wisconsin where he can indulge in his habit of writing on walls. Asked what his reaction was to going from an unknown musician alone in a cabin, to his current situation, the acclaimed singer-songwriter found himself almost at a loss for words.“I don’t know,” he said. “Just surprise. Like: ‘Wow!’”
(07/23/08 8:13pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>This week, The New York Times revealed that the Meredith Corporation, which owns 12 local television stations across the country, has incorporated product placement into its news programs – specifically, placing cups of McDonald’s iced coffee in front of their anchors during their morning news broadcasts. And all I can say is: It’s about time!Local news programs have been working product placement into their broadcasts for a while now; for example, by running “stories” on their network’s programs or its parent company’s products (alongside sports and weather, “American Idol” seems to have its own category on Indianapolis Fox affiliate WXIN-TV). Or by airing video news releases, which are fake news segments shot and edited by companies, then turned over to stations for integration into their nightly stories. But the Meredith Corporation’s iced-coffee scheme has forced product placement’s role in news out of the shadows and into the bright light of day (morning, to be specific). Thus, in this spirit of openness, I thought I’d make public the various products that have been subtly promoted in this column over the years. What’s that, you didn’t know that this column had product placement? Why, the disclaimer is in the small print at the end of the column. You just have to look close. No, closer. Actually, you might want to get a magnifying glass. Regardless, it’s there.Anyway, for starters, I’d like to thank Toupe d’Etat, makers of quality hairpieces for short, husky gentlemen. If, from time to time, you’ve looked at my mugshot and wanted to do something about your growing bald spot – well, now you know why.Next, a big thank-you to the folks from Dead-Off Zombie Repellent Spray. It’s a terrific product, ideal for anything from an academic conference on statistical methods to a Sunday-morning trip to Wal-Mart.Also, I’m grateful for the sponsorship of Advanced Integrated Network Solutions, a terrific company that provides advanced solutions for all your network integration needs; or integrated solutions for all your advanced network needs; or advanced networks for all your integrated solutions; or advanced integration for all your network solutions; or, well, something.And a thank you to the makers of Paramount Pictures’ comedy “The Love Guru,” who would like you to know that they don’t actually hate Indian people, just movie audiences.Also, a hearty thanks to the folks from the federal Transportation Safety Administration (who, I’m sure, would like to provide a friendly reminder that when you fly, they own your ass).Finally, I’d like to thank the tourism board of the Principality of Andorra for its generous sponsorship. As they say on all their brochures, “Andorra: It’s a country.”Well, all that said, there is certainly more space for sponsors interested in seeing their products appear in this column – just send all checks or money orders to Brian McFillen, care of the IDS Opinion page. Currently, I’m looking for partners willing to help fund a full set of journalistic ethics ... or possibly a new stereo.
(07/16/08 6:52pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Sure, the Bloomington nightlife can be a lot of fun, but what if you have work or classes in the morning? What if you just happen to be a morning person? No problem! Throughout the summer, a wide variety of Bloomington concerts take place before the sun goes down. Below are four major musical events worth checking out before the long summer days give way to fall (and homework).The Farmers’ MarketAlong with locally grown produce, the Bloomington Farmers’ Market features live, free music. At 9 a.m. this Saturday, at the circular stage on North Morton Street (by City Hall), the market will host acoustic/jazz/rhythm and blues performer Curtis Cantwell Jackson; at 11 a.m., traditional country/bluegrass string combo The Bloomingtones will be performing. “The audience should expect a show that is full of passion, great vocals, guitar playing, just a great morning,” Jackson said.Meanwhile, at 5 p.m., the Tuesday Market (at Sixth and Madison streets) will host singer-songwriter Mark LaPointe.Bloomington Parks and Recreation’s Performing Arts SeriesThroughout the summer, Bloomington Parks and Rec hosts free concerts at Bryan Park, People’s Park and Third Street Park. For Bryan Park, 1001 S. Henderson St., concerts take place at 6:30 p.m. on Sundays, with the next show featuring the rock band Big Ol’ Things. Meanwhile, on the corner of Kirkwood and Dunn, People’s Park has concerts every Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. (this Tuesday’s will star folk and blues performer, Lou Stant). And at Third Street Park, 331 S. Washington St., the shows take place at 7 p.m. every Friday. For tomorrow’s Third Street show, jazz vocalist Janiece Jaffe, with support from a team of local musicians, plans to offer a wide range of genres.“Some jazz, some popular, some Latin, some waltz, some groovin’, maybe singing along … dancing is encouraged!” Jaffe said. IU Summer Music FestivalFrom June 15 through August 9, the IU Jacobs School of Music is sponsoring an extensive and eclectic series of performances that range from jazz and classical, and from solo recitals to bands, orchestras and full operas. Many of the festival’s headlining events require tickets and will be at the Musical Arts Center (although the July 27 performance by choral group Chanticleer will be at the First United Church) – while others, such as the recitals, are free and held at Auer Hall. See the festival’s Web site for full information about upcoming events, their costs and their locations: www.music.indiana.edu/publicity/summer_fest/2008. Revolution Music and Peace Festival The fifth Revolution Music and Peace Festival will bring together more than 20 bands from August 7 through 10 in an effort to raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. Organized by Tony Minnich, along with family and friends, the festival will be held at Freedom Farms northwest of Spencer, Ind., (roughly 20 to 25 miles northwest of Bloomington). This year’s lineup comprises a mixture of national and local bands including Freekbass, Taarka, The Macpodz, Knundrum and Metal In the Microwave, with tickets available for $50 (for all four days, camping space included) from the Buskirk-Chumley Theater’s Sunrise Box Office. For more information, visit the festival’s MySpace page, www.myspace.com/revolutionmusicandpeace.
(07/10/08 1:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Two weeks ago, British Broadcasting Corporation columnist and BBC World News America anchor Matt Frei complained about the failure of the United States to lead a global charge against the autocracies in places like Zimbabwe, Burma, the Sudan and Iran.“Just when you actually want Uncle Sam to throw his weight around a bit, he says he is bogged down, busy, otherwise engaged – call back later,” Frei wrote. “The U.N. is toothless, the EU is gormless (i.e., stupid) and the U.S. has had ‘the willing’ kicked out of it by Iraq and Afghanistan.”The funny thing is that, if I happen to recall correctly, no small amount of that kicking came from Western Europe.Now, I don’t mean to single out Frei. From reading his columns, it’s clear that he understands and sympathizes with Americans far more than the vast majority of his colleagues at the BBC, whose other U.S. reporters seem to leave their New York, Washington and Los Angeles enclaves to explore the nation’s mysterious interior only for presidential elections (during which they are invariably shocked to find that liberals, secularists and non-gun owners manage to survive in the “flyover” lands, uneaten by the rest of the heathen natives). But the column is telling of a larger problem in U.S.-European relations and, indeed, for the rest of the world.It’s simply this: For decades, Western European politicians and populations have looked forward to the end of U.S. hegemony and the rise of the European Union as a major global power – and, congrats folks, you got it. Hope you enjoy it. Now, what are you going to do about the brutality of Zimbabwe’s dictator, Robert Mugabe?Because, while we were overthrowing Saddam Hussein and struggling to replace him with a democratic government, you had a grand old time shouting that this was a neo-con fantasy, a flight of Wilsonian idealism, the true face of U.S. imperialism and brutality, and that we should’ve been patient with diplomacy and trusted the wisdom of the United Nations. But never mind that Hussein, at least, was a threat to the United States and its interests (if a badly exaggerated one) – we should just ignore all those “American hyperpower” quips and send the Marines after Mugabe (and the Burmese junta and the rulers of Sudan). Meanwhile, gee, all those U.N. resolutions aren’t doing a dang thing to stop Iran from building atomic weapons? Strange, that. You’d almost think that it’s necessary to back diplomacy with something scarier than sanctions.But despite all this sarcasm, I really do think that the United States and European Union should work together against the world’s tyrants and threats (avoiding force, if possible). But I mean together: The days of Europe getting its cake and eating it (benefitting from U.S.-provided security, while gaining diplomatic goodies from criticizing it) are over. That is, unless the EU wants to just let the Chinese and Russian governments call the shots, and they, I’m sure, will care deeply about the treatment of Mugabe’s political opposition.
(06/25/08 10:39pm)
Henry David Thoreau once wrote “It appears to be a law that you cannot
have a deep sympathy with both man and nature.” But while sitting alone
all day staring at some pond might sound like fun if you’re a
transcendental philosopher, what do you do if you want to be both
environmentally friendly and … well, friendly?
(06/25/08 9:22pm)
I don’t like criticizing The Associated Press. Normally, I think the AP does a laudable job. While cable networks, for example, obsess over Hollywood starlets and minutiae from the presidential campaign, the global network of AP stringers seems to cover everything and anything – one has only to check, say, Google or Yahoo News for loads of substantive stories. All that said, this week the AP published a story that was simply stunning in its wrong-headedness – an extraordinary combination of a bizarre concept, poorly supported speculation and even disservice to the public. And while such things might have their place (say, in some of my columns), they really shouldn’t be labeled as hard news.\nThe story I’m talking about is June 22’s “Everything seemingly is spinning out of control” by Alan Fram and Eileen Putman. The article opens by asking if things are, indeed, “spinning out of control,” then proceeds to list every bit of bad news it can muster (many in the opening paragraph): floods in the Midwest; global warming; gas prices; falling home values; expensive air fare, college tuition and health care; war in Afghanistan and Iraq; the earthquake in China; the cyclone in Burma; Hurricane Katrina; rising food prices; thunderstorms causing electrical outages; drought in California; the weak U.S. dollar; the winter writer’s strike; the internet killing newspapers and video rental stores; steroids in baseball; crooked referees in basketball; and doping in bicycling. No matter that the connections between many of these things are highly tenuous at best.\nThe article then speculates about whether Americans will be able to deal with all these simply unbearable problems, and reaches the implied conclusion: no. The highlight of this section is when, after comparing current problems to past crises such as the Great Depression, the article quotes historian Allan J. Lichtman as saying “All those periods were followed by much more optimistic periods in which the American people had their confidence restored ... Of course, that doesn’t mean it will happen again.”\nOh, give me a break!\nI’m not trying to say that nothing’s wrong or to promote a sense of false optimism. There are plenty of big problems that need to be tackled. And some issues we can strive against, but will probably never solve: intolerance, violence, the dilemma between economic growth and economic equality, etc. And, sure, the present is rockier than some periods of the past. But we’re supposed to believe that the present is worse than the 1970s – home to Vietnam, Watergate, high unemployment and prices due to stagflation, and out-of-control violent crime? Or the 1940s – with millions upon millions killed in wars and genocide? Or the 1930s – with 25 percent unemployment in 1933, unchecked racism and sexism, the rise of totalitarian regimes throughout the world and, again, raging crime?\nAlright, so things aren’t at their greatest, but past generations faced far greater challenges, and they got through them. Sure, there are problems today – but to tackle them, we need the information that comes from honest reporting, not manufactured hopelessness.
(06/18/08 6:45pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Last Saturday night, the Cinemat’s screening room reverberated with the sounds of sonic experimentation. Standing in front of a projection of the animated sci-fi film “The Iron Giant,” electronic six-piece Goodhands Team paired droning and static with drums, guitar, violin and trumpet. Following Goodhands’ set, the garage-meets-progressive-meets-funk threesome Impure Jazz provided a groove-heavy soundtrack to Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver.” The path to this concert was not without its bumps – headliner Development (aka New York singer-songwriter Shawn Trail) canceled his appearance, and earlier in the week, floods struck the home of Impure Jazz drummer Joshua Morrow and destroyed much of his musical equipment. But the show still went on – and even a flood could not dampen Morrow’s enthusiasm.“We really enjoy the space because it’s really intimate,” Morrow said of the Cinemat’s screening room. “You’re not on a huge stage, you’re in the crowd’s face.”The Goodhands Team/Impure Jazz show was no random, last-minute occurrence. It was the result of a process started four months earlier by individuals beyond the ones playing the instruments. Every single week, Bloomington hums with live music – in bars and basements, in parks and theaters, from professional bands passing through town to amateurs playing at open mic nights. But a show is seldom the product of the artist (or artists) alone. Rather, people like promoters, booking agents and venue owners spend countless hours offstage, providing the mechanics for Bloomington’s dynamic music scene. For a change, it’s time to shine the spotlight on them. PromotersJune 14’s Cinemat concert was organized by Andy Goheen, vice president of Spirit of ’68 Promotions. Founded last year by IU alumnus and Herald-Times journalist Dan Coleman, Spirit of ’68 promotes shows in Bloomington every week, organizing them, finding sound engineers and working with hundreds of acts, including Feist, Okkervil River and Vampire Weekend.“Basically everything that people don’t think of that goes into a show is what we are responsible for taking care of,” Goheen said. Once a show is arranged, Spirit of ’68 designs and prints fliers, publicizes it online (for example, through Goheen’s “People who like to go to shows and don’t mind incessant event invitations” Facebook group), and seeks to spread awareness of it via word-of-mouth – anything to generate a buzz.“And then hoping to God that people actually come out to it,” Coleman said.However, even with Bloomington’s large college-aged population and active nightlife, the job of promoting shows is difficult and risky. It can be hard enough to organize a show that simultaneously leaves the musicians, the crowd and the venue owner happy with the result – but doing it day after day, for months on end, represents a far greater challenge.Further, the more famous the act, the more money it will demand. And if there isn’t a large enough audience to cover the show’s cost, the promoters get stuck with the bill. Spirit of ’68 seeks to reduce this risk by researching the kinds of music Bloomington audiences demand – for example, indie rock has a steady fan base – and by limiting its promotion expenses as much as possible. Thus far, the company has struggled to make ends meet, but Coleman and Goheen are optimistic.“Are we rolling around Scrooge McDuck-style?” Coleman said. “No. But neither one of us is doing it for the money. ... We make enough to get by and bring interesting shows to Bloomington.”Booking agentsNew, local bands such as Goodhands Team and Impure Jazz arrange their own gigs with promotion companies or music venues, but the more shows they play and the farther they travel, the more complicated this process becomes. Thus, touring and long-established acts generally turn these duties over to booking agencies. “The number one thing that a booking agent does is take a band on his agency’s roster and tries to book them so their fanbase grows,” IU senior Ari Solomon said. Solomon is an intern for Creative Artists Agency, an international firm that represents not just bands, but actors, athletes and other companies. A booking agent’s duties vary widely, from arranging a tour route that minimizes an act’s travel costs while maximizing its opportunities to make money, to negotiating its contracts with promotion companies and music venues.For handling bands’ tours, booking agents receive a percentage of the proceeds from their shows.“It gets split up in a lot of different directions,” Solomon said. After the agency and the venue each take their percentages, the money then goes to the act, the act’s management, covering its rider (the part of an act’s contract covering expenses of any equipment, food or other things it might require for playing a concert), etc.VenuesBut, of course, there’s no show without a place to perform. The Goodhands Team/Impure Jazz show was one of an increasing number taking place at the Cinemat – which, despite renting out videos since 2002, has only recently branched out into live music, as well. As a small, low-cost venue, the Cinemat attracts an eclectic assortment of acts. But Bloomington venues vary widely in the types of shows they host and how they handle them. For Rhino’s All-Ages Club, Assistant Director Tim Pritchett looks for acts that appeal to 13- to 20-year-olds and solicits recommendations from the club’s young volunteers – who show a preference for metal and punk.“We’re really open-minded in terms of music, but the stuff that does better is the louder, angrier-type of stuff,” Pritchett said. As a youth center, Rhino’s requires that bands’ lyrics not be obscene or glorify substance abuse. The venue also limits ticket prices (the maximum being $15) – but, as a nonprofit, its low cost has made it very popular with bands looking to reach a teen audience. Pritchett receives about 150 unsolicited requests from bands per week, he said.Over-21, for-profit venues face dramatically different conditions, however. Aaron Steele, owner of Uncle Fester’s House of Blooze said that his club has to balance offering a diverse range of music and finding acts with high integrity, while also drawing in a large enough crowd to pay the bills.“They may be an amazing talent, but unfortunately if they can’t bring anybody in, it’s not worth me running,” Steele said, noting that he nevertheless will try to build lineups of smaller acts whose collective audience will make the night profitable. “Sometimes you’ve got to take shots on things, or you’re just stuck with the same thing, over and over and over.”And as venues that host larger, national acts, Fester’s and The Bluebird Nightclub have to negotiate contracts with booking agents and fulfill concert riders. Solomon, who before working for the Creative Artists Agency served as promotions director for the Bluebird, said that venue owners had to deal with a wide range of demands in getting bands to play Bloomington.“Each band requires different things, different riders, different guarantees,” he said. Steele, though, found an item on the request list of guitarist Tim Reynolds memorable. “He wanted Hershey chocolate bars,” he said. “It had to be the big ones. Specific number: six, I think it was. In foil, in wrapper.” Despite the challenges, Fester’s and the Bluebird each succeed at hosting shows an average of five nights a week, amounting to more than 200 every year.Wherever you go, and whatever music you prefer, you might want to hurry up and get out there. As a longtime resident, Chris Swanson, the co-founder of independent record labels Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar and Dead Oceans said, the Bloomington music scene undergoes cycles of strength and weakness. It is currently very strong.“It’s a really exciting time when you can feel the extension of the scene, feel it growing to critical mass,” he said. “Right now just happens to be a really great time in Bloomington.”
(06/12/08 12:20am)
Thunder, lightning, torrential rain, tornadoes, floods ... Southern Indiana’s weather has been going bonkers lately, and it looks like it’s far from ready to take a break. But while you and I have been staying indoors, sipping cocktails made from fermented beets and yelling obscenities at the neighborhood chipmunks, the politicians have been busy ignoring the facts behind this sudden, dramatic shift in the local climate. There is a clear, scientific, logical and totally rational explanation for all of this:\nThe gods are angry at Bloomington. \nNo, not “God.” Gods. As a matter of fact, that’s one of the reasons they’re mad: All those license plates with “In God We Trust” have them wondering which one you’re talking about. And they don’t care for the other license plate, either. It doesn’t even have a slogan! And as if you didn’t see enough farms outside your windows, they had to put one on the plate too.\nBut I digress. Yes, the gods are mad. But no, not any gods you’ve ever heard of – in fact, they prefer to keep low profiles. All that they care about is that you know that they speak through me and, therefore, that you give me whatever I want. Or else they’ll become very wrathful. Very wrathful, indeed!\nWhat’s that? How many gods are we talking about? Um ... 72. Yes, 72. What? Name them? I can’t name all of them. I mean, yes, there’s, um, Velouria, goddess of pixies. And Impala, goddess of economical luxury. The dread god Tarragon and Baracus, god of pitying fools. And, uh, 68 others who shall reveal themselves in time!\nBut first, these gods must be appeased! They care not who you marry, or who owns that desert-looking bit of turf stuck between Africa and Asia, or whether you covet your neighbor’s labrador. No, they care only for those things that truly affect the human spirit.\nFirst, they demand that IU set their people free by canceling exams and giving everyone “A”’s. And by doubling the wages of any graduate instructors, for the wretched of the earth are beloved in their eyes.\nNext, they say that automobiles are the work of the devil; or rather, devils. Yes, many devils. And therefore, only one who has their blessing shall be permitted to drive one (traffic and a lack of available parking being mortal sins). As one so blessed, they demand I be rewarded with a totally sweet ride, to be disclosed in a revelation as I peruse the local car dealerships.\nAnd, lastly, the gods say I must be provided an Xbox with a divine host of games, including the sacred discs of “Guitar Hero” so that I might perform Foghat’s “Slow Ride” in their honor. And no one shall be allowed to play against me until I get really, really good.\nIt is with a heavy heart that I accept these burdens, but it is only by following their commandments that the storms will cease. Unless they don’t, in which case there must be more commandments. Their ways are mysterious, after all.
(06/05/08 1:42pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>While some protesters against Interstate 69’s extension through southern Indiana are maintaining a demonstration at a construction site north of Evansville, enduring the elements from an encampment suspended more than 30 feet off the ground in a clutch of trees, others are opting for harmonies rather than heights.This Friday and Saturday, at its farm just northwest of Spencer, Ind., the Deep Roots Animal Sanctuary will play host to the Stop I-69 Pledge Camp and Music Festival — a gathering of musical acts and activists that seeks to combine entertainment with education. Featuring seven bands and offering workshops on subjects ranging from non-violent civil disobedience to tree climbing, the festival is also offering free food and space for camping (although its organizers are requesting a $15 to $20 donation to help cover costs). For Bloomington musician Clare Hubbard — who, as Caethua, performs a mixture of Celtic, folk and drone music — concern about the current state of the world moved her to play the festival. “We are rapidly losing land to development, and some of us are quickly destroying the land that created us,” Hubbard said. “Developers and supporters of I-69 are contributing to a global crisis affecting the economic, social and environmental health of communities by creating this highway.”In her role as a musician, Hubbard said that she felt she had to employ music as a means of communicating the pain of the earth and its creatures, and “to help people feel and understand what is happening beneath the surface of every ‘truth,’ beneath the surface of ourselves and the ground we walk on.”For others, the motivation was more specifically local. Ben Rector (aka Brenn Bone Reectumm) of Bloomington indie band Dust From 1000 Years said that he objected to the seizure of property through eminent domain and deforestation that I-69 would bring about, as well as possible changes to the surrounding area.“I don’t care much for politics, but for personal and aesthetic reasons, I wouldn’t want an interstate to run through Bloomington, or any of southern Indiana for that matter,” Rector said. “Plus, (the festival) sounds like it will be very fun.”The potential for fun was very much a motivator for Samuel Steelman of Nashville, Tenn., who will be performing both nights of the festival — first in the rootsy folk-punk group Mother’s Best, then in the experimental garage/country band Looks Like A Snake! “I’m looking forward to the audience — you know, hopefully we can get these people up and on their feet, having a good time while (they’re) there for a good cause,” Steelman said. “The audience should expect strings flying, and for their legs and arms to be tired by the next morning from swinging and dancing.”Rector was a bit more modest regarding what awaits the audience, noting that Dust From 1000 Years would be performing without electricity for the first time in a long time — but expressed excitement about performing outside. Likewise, Hubbard touted the venue’s unique qualities. “Playing in the woods is an intimate setting, one in which the acoustics lend to a very particular emotional experience,” Hubbard said. “Everyone has a deep attachment to the woods, whether it’s memories from childhood — as in my case, where I would spend most of my time — or some primal recollection that this is where we came from: what the world was before we began to develop it.”But for Hubbard, the festival represents more than just a chance for a moving performance. Rather, she said that she looked forward to the opportunity to “learn from other people how to make my voice stronger, and how to combine our voices and efforts to incite change.”