Show #049: Branch Gordon

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One thing I will say for the Indianapolis music scene, there certainly is a lot of it.  When I first looked into doing this podcast, I had done a little research and concluded that there were around 3700 bands in the Indianapolis area (both original and cover).  As I approach the release of Episode #50 (and prepare to schedule recording for Episode #75), I'm starting to realize that this was only scratching the surface.  Not only had I woefully neglected to include surrounding towns (Greenwood, Bloomington, Lafayette, Muncie) into my calculations, but I had also assumed that in 2005 every band had made their way onto the Internet where I could find them, which was most-certainly not the case.  My informal, unscientific research now leads me to believe that the number of individual musical acts (solo and band) is almost double my original estimate.

This leads to some interesting, though completely pointless, statistical axioms.  It is said that one in four people meet the criteria for having a mental illness.  The average band has four people.  There may be as many as 7000 bands in the area.  There are a little over two million people in the nine-county area.  So, obviously there is room to expand the number of bands in the metro area, as there are still 493,000 potential drummers out there.  I don't know about you, but I'm buying stock in Zildjian next week.

By my own personal account, I've sampled about a quarter of the bands in the area, averaging maybe three per week (more on some weeks as the monthly Battle of the Bands that I judge usually affords me eight new acts in one night alone).  In addition there are the myriad submissions, recommendations, and stuff I find while aimlessly searching around the various music sites around the web.  Therefore, it should be no surprise that I glossed over Branch Gordon twice in the past two years before finally seeing the light after catching him in person at an open mic night.  The first was a personal recommendation from a mutual friend of ours after his first EP, Under the Fluorescent Lights, was released.  I listened to it, thought it was pretty good stuff, then filed it away in that folder where I keep all kinds of things I intend to one day revisit, but never get around to.  The second was from local music promoter, Kolo Bell, who made me write Branch's name down and promise to check his stuff out the next time I sat down to a computer.  That sat in a memo stored on my cell phone for several months, along with a few other to-do items like a grocery list from 2006 and some passwords to various clients' networks I used to maintain three jobs ago.

The point of that story, and indeed of this podcast, is to ensure that you, dear listener, do not make the same mistakes I did.  Branch is a wonderful, exciting contributor to our local music scene, and with the release of his first complete EP -- and a full CD in the works -- hopefully moving on to even bigger things in the future. 

Links referenced in the show:             

• Branch Gordon can be found here: MySpace | Facebook | Web Site | Blog | Twitter | Garage Band.    
• His new self-titled EP is available at Amazon, Napster, Rhapsody, and (since the show was recorded) iTunes. 
• On the EP, recorded at the Sound Emporium in Nashville, TN, he is joined by an impressive list of session musicians.
  
  • Dug Grieves - Electric Guitar 
  • David Flint - Acoustic Guitar 
  • Howard Duck (Rascal Flatts) - Piano/ B3/ Keyboards
  • Dow Tomlin (Brooks and Dunn) - Bass 
  • Billy Thomas (Vince Gill) - Drums/ Percussion  
  • William Smith - Producer 
  • Gordon Hammond - Engineer 
• Special thanks to Claude and Annie's in Fishers for the hospitality, and the free beer (Yes -- for those of you who have received a copy of the "Indy In-Tune Venue Marketing Services" proposal --this is what we call a "shout out," not that I wouldn't endorse them anyway.)  
• Branch Plays with his father, Lance, in the cover band Shoes and Strings.
• His 30 Songs in 30 Days project is similar in strategy, though not necessarily musical stylie to Jonathan Coulton's Thing-a-Week project, Pres Maxon's "New Song Sundays" album release, and Beatnik Turtle's Song of the Day: One Band, One Year, 365 Free Songs podcast.
• Our contests continue.  If you would like to win one of ten free Jeremiah Cosner CD's, simply log in with or create your profile on our web site and submit your name on the contests page.  The drawing will be made on September 1, winners will be notified via email.
• Our next Musicians Night Out will be Tuesday, August 25, at Incredible Pizza near Greenwood Park Mall. 
• Indy In-Tune is proud to be a co-sponsor of the 8 Seconds Saloon Rock Battle.  Come out and hear the next heat Friday August 21st at 7:00 PM.
• We hope to see everyone at our annual Podcast Marathon at this year's Kammy's Kause.  Come out and see a dozen or so really great bands in a picturesque outdoor setting, Friday and Saturday, August 28th and 29th at the American Legion campground in Fortville, Indiana. 
• Fellow Indy podcast Crossroad Resonances (MySpace | Web Site) is sponsoring the September to Remember on September 11th and 12th.  For details and a list of bands being featured, check out their show. 
• The next Indianapolis Podcasters Guild meetup will be Monday, August 24th, 7:00 PM at the Yats downtown. 
  

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