No, you didn't pick up the wrong feed by mistake this week. This is a
linked post to one of my favorite podcasts and radio shows over at Indianapolismusic.net,
where I had the honor of filling in this week for IMN editor Steve
Hayes, or in reality, sitting there like a deer in the headlights and
occasionally interjecting a few semi-relevant remarks while my buddy
Ryan Williams does all the heavy lifting.
As most of you are
probably already aware, IMN has been the premiere website for all
things Indianapolis music-related, and the top Indianapolis Music
podcast since 2005. In my humble opinion, they have set and raised the
bar for people like me several times in the ensuing years, so you can
imagine what a thrill it was to get called up to the "big league" for
an evening. Surprisingly, the most-notable difference between what
they do and what I do is that they
carry a lot less equipment around than I do, and actually have notes
and stuff written out in advance. That's a concept I may have to look
into.
Special thanks to Steve and Ryan for the opportunity ... and for buying me ice cream. I had a great time.
Every once in a while you've just got to change it up. One of the
hardest things about doing this show, particularly when you're doing
three and four shows a week as I was doing when this interview was
recorded, is that you run the risk of losing your own energy, which
then transfers down to the guests and subsequently the interview.
Fortunately, Pres Maxson seems to have energy in abundance, and it was he who
largely led the "off-the-wall" mood of this week's show. I just
happily followed along.
Pres
is a recent immigrant to Indiana, coming to us -- like Upshot and Finer
before him -- from the bustling L.A. music scene. I've never really
been to any venues in L.A., but if it's anything like those three
groups describe, I'll just be glad I'm in Indiana. L.A. did, however,
apparently give him a change to hone and refine his sense of humor and
flair for showmanship, as evidenced by his music and this interview.
Look for Pres to hopefully return in the future in the guest-host role if I have anything to say about it.
I love a bit of controversy. I've actually had very little with this show over the years, and what I did have is normally from that vocal group of five or six listeners who hate it when I change anything, no matter how minute ... new layout on the web site, moving the introbabble to the outrobabble, opening the show with a track instead of music news, etc. This week sparked a particularly heated debate from the limited-vision what is probably of that exact same group of four or five people: Are club DJ's technically musicians, and should they be featured on Indy In-Tune?
As if this is some exclusive country club?! Honestly, sometimes I think most people should be begging me not to associate myself with them.
Trust me, both El Carnicero and Motif (aka: the Bring the Fiyah crew) are not only musicians, but they are also a fascinating melange of producer, DJ, artist, computer programmer, sociologist, music historian, entertainer, PR consultant, entrepreneur, music researcher, writer, journalist, and probably twenty other trades and skills once you scratch a little deeper beneath the surface. This interview covers all of that, as well as a bit about their roots, their current work, and their plans for building a multimedia publication empire dedicated to culture, fashion, art, and of course music. Really, the stuff that these guys deal with on a nightly basis boggles the mind, as I witnessed the following week, when I dropped back by their Wednesday night residency at Blu to take a few pictures, hang out in the booth, and watch them in action. I can safely say, as a project manager and someone who likes to have everything go according to a pre-defined plan, I do not envy these guys with the rapid, real-time, ups and downs, adapting, adjusting, and scrambling that they go through every night. I'd much rather sit on the other side of the speakers and listen and watch.
Even though I'm frequently a judge at such things, I have this love-hate relationship with the typical "Battle of the Bands" competition. The one redeeming factor is that I get to see a lot of acts this way. I've seen some comically bad acts, and I've seen some acts that make you think, "What are these guys doing playing a battle of the bands for fifty bucks!? They should be touring, at least regionally." On some level, I like all that stuff. The problem is, most of the time the contest is just a thinly-veiled audition to see which bands bring in the biggest crowds or have the most audience appeal -- favoring bands with the longest track record, cutest singer, or best time/date slot in the draw. Rarely do they have anything to do with and objective assessment of musicianship, showmanship, or dogged determination to get up there and give the audience a satisfying musical experience. Ask yourself, would any of the top-selling, most-groundbreaking, influential artists of the past 20 years have a chance in hell at winning American Idol? Could you see Nirvanna, Tool, or Green Day up there defending themselves to Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul?
Tonos Triad is a perfect example of such a band that I met at one of those aforementioned contests I was judging. The cards were stacked against them from the start. Not only did they draw the short end of the stick and end up last on the bill that evening, but they were also up against other great acts that had large followings and brought dozens of their friends -- to say nothing of the fact that the Triad's music isn't exactly what one would expect to hear in a blue-collar sports bar (and a two-night booking was one of the prizes up for grabs that night).
So you have to picture the scene: It's 11:00 or so on a Monday night. Most of the crowd is gone, and I've been drinking beer and listening to bands for the past four hours (hey, there's only so much even I can take in one sitting ... particularly when I'm sitting on a very uncomfortable bar stool). Our "judges' scores" are, for the most part, tallied. The crowd has long-since cast their "audience votes" for whatever band they came in with and left. We're all tired and just waiting to go home. Suddenly, in walk three very serious-looking guys that I figured must have just come off the set of Reservoir Dogs II. One of them whips out an expensive classical guitar; one is hauling a large upright bass; and I can't figure out what the third guy is doing, but he's carrying what looks like ... luggage? Honestly, my first thought: "Pretentious. After all, this is just a small-prize battle of the bands in a neighborhood bar on a Monday night. They can't be any good, otherwise I'd have heard of them before."
Within a half-hour, I'm introducing myself and begging them to be on Indy In-Tune so I can tell everybody about them.
So we took a couple weeks off in there, but rest assured that we were not sitting around twiddling our thumbs and watching crappy VH1 countdowns during that time. Quite the contrary, we managed to record seven new shows, which will be coming about at a rate of about one every four days for the next month or so. Those of you who are observant, or who have a balance of more than 500 "Official Indy In-Tune Cool Points," will be able to listen to those in advance, however.
This week we travel to Locals Only, one of our favorite venues, and pay a visit with Fernhead, who hold down a Tuesday night residency there playing their free from brand of funky, psychedelic, groove-rock. It a great show that varies completely from week to week, features amazing musicians, excellent guest musicians, can't-beat-em drink and food specials to boot, and if you're so inclined and they still have them available, a free CD to take home with you at the end of the night.
Jacob Ginnup and I eluded to playing sessions together for a legendary unfinished/unheard project, one version of which can be found here. Note that it also features Mark Miller (co-host on Show #018) and Tim Spainhower (who appeared on show #007 and who will soon be returning on show #050).
Their current CD, Parsing Dichroic, was recorded live at Locals Only in Broad Ripple and can be found on their Reverbnation site. A second CD, Malobar, is available for free at the door if you attend one of their Tuesday night performances there.
Both CD's were recorded using the Olympus LS-10, which they wholeheartedly endorse for live performance recording.
Songwriters take note: we will be plugging the Art Beat songwriting contest for the next few shows. Check out their site for rules and to learn more about their voice and poetry contests as well.
I wanted to take a few minutes and post a quick shout-out and salute to Michael A. Dyer -- who released the first episode of his new Indianapolis music-based podcast this evening entitled Crossroads Resonances (also on MySpace if you're one of the six people who still hang out there). Michael's a busy boy indeed. Some of you may know him as one of the former hosts of UpsideBackwardsRadio and it's accompanying site at upsidebackwards.info. He also publishes a blog at Dreamwidth.
The debut show features Indy In-Tune regular, Jenn Cristy (featured guest on shows
#012 and #031, and a
co-host of episodes #024 and #046 -- with a few more hosting appearances planned for the later half of 2009), as well as a couple of other artists who have been in touch with us about possibly coming on the show in the near future. So, congratulations to Mike and here's hoping he's the first of many to take up the call of supporting our local artists and helping to bring them to the public at large. All things considered, his debut effort is a lot stronger than mine was (once again, completely my fault, and no reflection on Brian Deer, who was brilliant as always).
Someday I'm gonna get back in gear and edit the backlog of great stuff I've got sitting on the hard drive right now. Sorry, real life kicks my butt sometimes. In the meantime, if you're a fan of the harder stuff, take it from me, you want to catch this show on Saturday night, featuring Active Life Infection. You'll learn more about them on Show #045.
Since a hectic schedule this week means no new Indy In-Tune episodes until at least next week, I thought I'd at least give you guys a preview of what to expect. Both of these shows are scheduled to be recorded this evening, so this also assumes both interviews get done with no technical difficulties, mind you. Otherwise, we may see a slightly different schedule.
First up, Show #041 features Fernhead a new free-form improvisational/jam band playing regularly at Locals Only on Tuesday Nights for the next several weeks. Check out some of their stuff in this video...
Next, Show #042 features the Tonos Triad, a very original instrumental group out of Noblesville with a very interesting visual as well as auditory style. Check them out in this video ...
This week continues our busy month of May with a visit with The Great Hookup, a band that first came to my attention when they opened up for ESW at Birdy's some months ago, and later when singer/guitarist Rory Connolly began hosting the Monday night open mic at my favorite watering hole, and thus destroying what was a fine tradition the guys and I had of being the only customers in the bar on Monday nights.
We caught up with the band at Spin Nightclub in Broad Ripple on the evening of a rather large party celebrating the release of their debut CD, In the Realm Of. While Spin is a fine club with some great acts on the bill, maybe I just vist on the wrong nights (or I'm chasing the wrong bands), because I can honestly say that I haven't seen 6308 Guilford Avenue that hoppin' since the days of "The Patio."
... insert silent moment for The Patio here ...
The Great Hookup is a laid-back rock/reggae/blues/jam band playing a wide range of material that, thanks to two very distict songwriters and vocalists (Andy Baker and Rory Connolly), never gets old or falls into any kind of repetitive ruts. The sound is rounded out by an incredible rhythm section (Brad Edwards on bass;
Kris Edwards on Drums) and colored with some great audio textures courtesy of a keyboardist (Russ Cameron) who knows how to fill in the proverbial cracks in the music, as well as pump out a great solo when it's called for. In short, these are five well-tuned and tight-playing musicians that work extremely well together -- and judging by their following that night, you probably didn't need me just now, pointing out something that you already knew.
The new album, In the Realm Of, is not yet available online. When it is, we will link to it here. In the meantime, you can pick it up at one of their live shows.
The CD was recorded at the Pop Machine in Broad Ripple, produced by Adam White of ESW (whom many of you will remember from Show #009), and mastered by Andy VanDette.
For those of you who were having trouble picturing what a melodica is, here is a picture of Russ playing one.
Anyone interested in "playing keyboards for little pay or notoriety" (his words, not mine) is asked to contact Jeff Byrd and the Wingmen -- and tell Jeff he needs to be on this show while you're at it. Otherwise, I may be forced to dust off my Yamaha and audition ... and believe me, nobody wants to hear that.
Rory can also be seen playing in a duo with singer/guitarist Kelley Isenhower.
Drummer Kris Edwards can be seen with the Steve Trio every Friday and Saturday evening this summer from 5:00 to 7:00 on the patio at the Jazz Kitchen.
The Great Hookup has generously donated a copy of their brand new CD, In the Realm Of, to be given away to one luckly listener. You can enter to win it on our contests page. The winner will be picked on June 7.
No, you didn't pick up the wrong feed by mistake this week. This is a
linked post to one of my favorite podcasts and radio shows over at 
This week continues our busy month of May with a visit with The Great Hookup, a band that first came to my attention when they opened up for ESW at Birdy's some months ago, and later when singer/guitarist Rory Connolly began hosting the Monday night open mic at my favorite watering hole, and thus destroying what was a fine tradition the guys and I had of being the only customers in the bar on Monday nights.