Thursday, January 28, 2010

A Night in the Free Zone



This is the first in a series of radio deejay profiles. I got to hang out on The Free Zone and soak it all in.

I love my writer introduction: This piece is the first in an occasional series of local radio DJ profiles by Nora Spitznogle has been fascinated by radio ever since she was old enough to reach the FM dial on the farm truck. She begged to drive the John Deere B-series tractor, not because it was easier to drive, but because there was an AM radio mounted by a galvanized pipe to the tractor. She didn’t mind having to throw her whole body into the gearbox to coax the tractor to move. It was worth it for the chance to sing “Run Joey Run” at the top of her lungs with no one within twenty acres. She still listens to the radio in her pickup truck and sings “Run Joey Run” in the shower.

Click here for the full article.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Broad Ripple Gazette volume 7, number 2

previews:


Local Music Git Down
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Locals Only
2459 East 56th Street
noon-2 a.m,. $10 for the entire day, 21+,


What a great idea! Music all day at Locals Only – and there is no excuse for not checking it out. This is for all of you that don’t want to go out at night or have to work Saturday evenings (me!) or have been leery of going someplace you’ve never been.


The kids at My Old Kentucky Blog.com and Laundromatinee.com teamed up with their favorite bands and DJs to host an entire day of music and fun. MyOldKentuckyBlog.com will also be celebrating the launch of a new website and Laundromatinee.com will be recording and filming sessions with all the bands all day long next door and you can watch!


Locals Only has great food and WiFi. You really could spend the whole day there. If I do it right I can have lunch there, run to work at the Red Key and make it back in time for the last band.


The bands are: Pravada, Marmoset, Andy D, We Are Hex, THUNDERS, Jascha, Heavy Hometown, Beta Male, Early Day Miners, The Broderick, Burnt Ones, Slothpop, Yuki andAmerica Owns The Moon.


The between sets DJs are Action Jackson, Slater Hogan, DJ Jessika, A Squared, DJ Phenom and Jackola.


I hear that they also have some surprises in store. I’ll see you there!


www.localsonlyindy.com
www.myoldkentuckyblog.com
www.laundromatinee.com




Harrison Thee photography opening, Jenny is a Boy music
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Indy Hostel
4903 Winthrop Ave
7:30 gallery opening, 8:30 concert $5-7 suggested donation, all-ages, non-smoking


Harrison Thee captures the sense of adventure life brings. Diverse cultures provide much of the subject matter for Thee's art. Each piece provides a glimpse into the lives of people, objects, and places preserved in his work. As an artist, Harrison works out of his studio in Indianapolis. He is actively involved in the local arts community and exhibits work on a regular basis.


Jenny is a Boy is well, a boy. Singer/songwriter Adam. Coppess. At the age of 16 started playing guitar and writing songs under the name "Jenny," after the song on the Mountain Goats album "All Hail West Texas.” Over the next couple of years, Jenny is a Boy continued to develop its style - a pairing of earnest, personal, and occasionally funny lyrics with simple antifolk/punk acoustic guitar compositions His new album, "Is it a Shame?" is due out in February 2010.


patternhungryrecords.com
www.indyhostel.us


Elsinore
Luna Music in-store
Thursday, January 28,2010
5202 College Ave
6:00 pm, free, all-ages
and later that evening…
Locals Only
2449 E. 56th Street
free (thanks to Butler Scion), 8:00, 21+




Elsinore (Champaign-Urbana, IL) is releasing their latest recording, The Chemicals EP. The wonder-pop quintet songwriting has evolved over the last few years. Described as “playful yet poetic lyricism” compliments new to-the-band arrangements – this is the first Elsinore release to feature scores of strings and horns. The band is generating a ton of great buzz among the in-the-know music fans in Indianapolis. There is no reason not to check them out with two free shows on one day!




www.butlerscionevents.com
www.elsinoremusic.net
www.localsonlyindy.com

Reviews:

Elvis Bash
Locals Only
January 8, 2010


Once again Wayne Bertsch did a great job of putting together a great lineup for the Elvis Bash. Indianapolis’ rock and roll power couple Mandy Marie Luke and Danny Thompson both brought their respective bands and their best playin’ for the tribute to the King. I really am blown away by these two. You’ll never go wrong with seeing Mandy Marie and the Cool Hand Lukes or the Danny Thompson Trio.



I really enjoyed Eddy Price, who played between sets. I think you’ve got to be pretty damn good – and brave to play on the dance floor while drum kits and amps are being lifted over your head as the next band sets up. Eddy did a wonderful job performing – I heard some great rockabilly guitar licks I look forward to hearing him play again.



www.eddyprice.com

Thursday, January 7, 2010

broad ripple gazette volume 7 number 1

Happy New Year folks! I look forward to seeing you all at shows and in the record stores, restaurants and shops. Remember every dollar you spend counts – so lets support the local venues that are working so hard to keep us entertained and the publications that entertain us (or provided something to wrap up the fish heads).

Elvis Birthday Bash hosted by Wayne Bertsch
Friday, January 8, 2010
Locals Only
2449 E. 56th Street
317-255-4013
21+, 9:00 pm, $8

A sure sign of the new year is Wayne Bertsch’s Elvis Bash. Once again, Wayne has assembled another all-star lineup to celebrate the King’s birthday.

"If the King were still alive, he'd be turning 74 that weekend. We wanted to bring together an event that showcases the diversity of his music. Elvis was more than a rockabilly act. His music assembled elements of rock, gospel and R&B in ways that influenced almost every musician that came after him," writes Barfly cartoonist and promoter Wayne Bertsch. "I wanted to assemble a line-up that reflected the diverse sound that made Elvis a standout even amongst the other giants in the Sun records stable."

The features The Danny Thompson Trio (formerly known as the Messarounds), Mandy Marie and the Cool Hand Lukes and indie rock band, Harley Poe.

No one does a theme like Locals Only – I can’t wait to see what they will feature for their annual Elvis-centric menu. Elvis clothing, hip shaking and sneers encouraged.

www.localsonlyindy.com


Edie Carey and Bobbi Lancaster
Friday, January 15, 2010
Urban Element
901 North Pennsylvania Street
317-423-2938
8:00 pm, all-ages, non-smoking, $12

Just hearing Edie Carey’s name makes me smile! She was a CATH coffeehouse favorite and it brings back memories of great music and laughter. Promoter Robin Coleman’s Segment of Society has picked up several CATH alumni for her concert series. I have a hard time describing Edie’s music without using a ton of dashes: singer-songwriter-folk-pop-roots-rock. Her shows are intimate, whether there are nine or fifty people in the audience thanks to Edie’s talent for engaging the audience. I’ll see you there!

www.urbanelementindy.com
www.edicarey.com 

With Love, Dessau by Emily Kennerk
January, 2010
christopher west presents
646 Massachusetts Ave (the Dean-Johnson space)
Gallery hours: Wednesday-Saturday, various hours

I haven’t had a chance to check out the new gallery, christopher west presents, and this month will be the perfect time. Emily Kennerk will be exhibiting her new work, With Love, Dessau. The exhibition is comprised of drawings, photographs, sculpture and an installation.

Emily spent the summer in Berlin and she explored the relationships between American suburbia and the Bauhaus structures in Dessau. She uses appropriated images and drawings from pre-Nazi era Germany to explore the nature and boundaries of expectations

Emily now lives and works in Las Vegas, where she is the Head of Sculpture at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She received her MFA in Sculpture from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2001 and had a solo exhibition at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 2007. Which is all very exciting for me – I first met her has a pig-tailed girl from Zionsville who loved to explore our farm and was a blast to hang out with. We had a few Instant Message conversations this summer while she was in Germany. I can’t wait to see what the talented Emily Kennerk has produced.

http://christopherwestpresents.com

Reviews:

The Meatballs, BoyToy
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Zonnies Closet


This review is filed under, “you never know what the evening will bring.” Friends have been encouraging me to check out the band, The Perennials, and I was thrilled to learn they were playing downtown, not far from Fountain Square where I was already planning to be.

 

In Nora fashion I arrived just as The Perennials finished. The trip was not in vain - I was delighted by the next two bands. The Meatballs were art-punk as it should be. Quirky and funny and incognito. Rumor has it they're Purdue professors. The Boy Toys are also Lafayette based. Power pop as it should be – pogo-dancing fun.

www.myspace.com/theboytoysmusic

New Year’s Meltdown
Otis Gibbs, Vess Ruhtenberg, The Academy, America Owns the Moon
December 31, 2009
Locals Only 

I’m no stranger to meltdowns on New Year’s Eve, mostly of my own doing. The stress over what to wear, where to go and the pressure of the midnight kiss (or lack of). The Meltdown show was the perfect antidote to all of that. Cara Jean Wahlers made beautiful personalized party hats – mine featured the great Josh Johnson drawing of me at the top of this column, all I had to add was a black dress, fishnets and heels.


The show was perfect and the crowd was great. Locals Only had just the right amount of people there – crowded, but not packed with the cool kids and the rest of us, lots of love and community in the room and nary a meltdown in sight. Otis opened the show with a beautiful acoustic solo set. He walked through the crowd for his last song giving a nod to the music community and fans along the way.
Vess Ruhtenberg formed a band for the evening that included Tina Barbieri playing bass, Dana Cooper on piano, and Joshua Strodtman on the drums. They were lovely.



A Squared Industries spun dance music between sets, champagne and noisemakers were distributed and we cheered in the New Year. I stayed for the first couple of songs of the great indie band, The Academy before driving my charges home. Yep, I was the designated driver – I appreciate the great non-alcoholic beer Locals Only carries – they made it easy not to be tempted by a real beer.

Happy New Year!