Broad Ripple Gazette vol 8, no 9

first published in the Broad Ripple Gazette 

First of all, I’d like to thank the Broad Ripple Kiwanis for inviting me to speak at their lunch meeting. I’ve given hundreds of talks about Second Helpings, but this was the first time I’d ever been asked to talk about music and writing for the Gazette. It was a fun lunch – thank you. 

Previews: 

IndianapolisMusic.net 10 Year Reunion Show
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Birdy’s
2131 East 71^st Street
$5, 21+, doors 7:00, show 7:30

When I first started this column, IndianapolisMusic.net was my main source of information. Bands promoted shows and it was an easy way to contact musicians. I met many friends on the message boards. Everyone had clever screen names. I went with good old ‘nora,’ no hiding for me! I listened to my first-ever podcast through the site and I’m proud to be a panelist on the Top Ten Live list that is published on the site. 

IMN is celebrating their ten-year anniversary on April 1, 2001 with a show at Birdy’s, of course. The club was the site of all of the IMN showcases and their first in five years. The ten bands were very active on the site and seven of them are coming out of hiatus or reuniting for the show.

 Stan Muller, Loretta, 2008

The lineup and set times (the times are subject to change):

7:30 - Matt Mays/The Spin
8:00 - The Common
8:30 - Lines of Nazca
9:00 - Pop Lolita
9:30 - Paging Raymond
10:10 – Loretta
10:50 - Citizens Band
11:30 - Extra Blue Kind
12:10 – Lunar Event
12:40 - Nowhere Good Fast

I’m excited that the show coincides with my sweet nephew’s First Communion and I’m not working at the Red Key that night. I’ll see you there!

 www.indianapolismusic.net

78 rpm
Saturday, April 30, 2011
American Legion Post 34, Broad Ripple
6440 Westfield Blvd
8:00 – 11:00, free

The band, 78 rpm is a good old fashioned, Chicago-style blues band. They are celebrating their first anniversary with a free show at the American Legion. A good time is sure to be had!

www.reverbnation.com/78rpm

Picture This
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Creation Café
337 West 11^th Street
5:00 – 7:00, all-ages, nonsmoking $10 ticket/$40 for five tickets

Picture This is a fundraiser for The Viewfinder Project. TVP started informally in Cape Town, South Africa in 2005, by MaryBeth Jackson. She sought to better understand how middle-school students see their corner of the world and how she might encourage them to think about how as children they might become change makers in their communities.

From this three-day experience with 18 sixth-graders from a farming community, The Viewfinder Project was born. MaryBeth has since developed a 16-lesson curriculum guide dedicated to teaching these students not only basic photography skills, but also life skills that encourage the students to think about how the lesson  applies to their lives.

TVP aims to encourage people of all ages to think about beauty and what is good to the extent that it influences the choices they make. The Viewfinder Project believes that fostering creativity in people helps equip them to think more creatively in all of life’s circumstances, making changes as they have the opportunity to do so.

Picture This will feature student work and a chance talk to people who have run The Viewfinder Project in their own organizations around our city. The goal is to raise enough money for 75 new point-and-shoot cameras for projects here and around the world. 

$10 includes wine tasting, appetizers and music by Tad Armstrong and Brian Deer, with the proceeds going to The Viewfinder Project. Bring a few extra bucks for raffle tickets – the items include a Kyle Ragsdale painting and a Blue Candy Photography photo session. Stay for dinner at Creation Café and mention The Viewfinder Project; 10% of your total check will be donated to The Viewfinder Project.

RSVP by May 2, to info@theviewfinderproject.org
theviewfinderproject.com

Broad Ripple Gazette vol. 8 no. 8

first published in the Broad Ripple Gazette. 

Record Store Day 2011
Indy CD and Vinyl
LUNA Music
Vibes
free, all-ages

I can’t believe that this is only the fourth year for Record Store Day; it has quickly become a tradition. And you can mark your calendars in perpetuity – Record Store Day is always the third Saturday in April.

The original idea for Record Store Day was conceived as a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundreds of similar stores internationally. 

This is the one day that all of the independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists make special appearances and performances.

Broad Ripple is lucky enough to have three independent record stores within walking distance of each other. Below is a rundown of activities and live music. Check the store Web sites for what special releases they will carry.

Indy CD & Vinyl
806 Broad Ripple Avenue

noon - Junker

1:00 - Pop Lolita

2:00 - Beta Male

3:30 – Hotfox (formerly Sanuk, last year’s national RCD winners)

5:00 - Five Year Mission
6:00 – Southside Larry

LUNA Music
5202 N. College Avenue

LUNA music celebrates Record Store Day block-party style. Music indoors and out, sidewalk sales, grab bags, give-aways, beer, West Coast tacos, Pin The Skinny Jean On The Hipster game and Handmade Promenade.

noon - Divine Time

1:00 - The Kemps

2:00 - Brad Real

3:00 - Vacation Club

4:00 - Oreo Jones

5:00 - Beta Male

6:00- We Are Hex

Sidewalk DJs from: noon – 6:00 p.m. Rusty Redenbacher and Mr. Kinetik

Vibes Music
1051 E. 54th Street (54^th Street and the Monon Trail)

Vibes Music is celebrating RCD party-style, staring at 2:00 (store opens 11:00). Glory Hole Records is hosting a showcase featuring live music from Marmoset, Vacation Club, Homeschool, The Kemps, Adam Kuhn and DJ Jewey Ramone.

www.indycdandvinyl.com
www.lunamusic.net

www.recordstoreday.com

Brooks Williams with Amy Speace
Indy Acoustic Café Series
Wheeler Community Art Center
1035 Sanders Street (Fountain Square)
doors 6:30, show 7:30, $17, all ages

Indy Acoustic Café Series is celebrating the end of their fourteenth successful season with a wonderful concert. The series has been wonderfully successful in bringing high-caliber musicians to Indianapolis, but needs your help in filling the seats.

If you haven’t been to a show in this series, this concert would be a great time to start. Brooks Williams is one of the top 100 guitarists of all time, according to Guitar Magazine – and they should know! Amy Speace, one of my favorite singer-songwriters of all-time is opening the show. This is a not-to-be-missed show. Visit the series Web site for pre-sale ticket information.

www.brookswilliams.com

www.amyspeace.com

www.IndyAcousticCafeSeries.com

March of Rhymes to benefit the March of Dimes
Saturday, April 16, 2010
Locals Only

2449 East 56th Street

10:00 p.m, $5, 21+

March of Rhymes had me at the word play on March of Dimes. And word play is what it will be all about at this show. The lineup includes four of Indy’s best hip-hop acts.

Oreo Jones took the hip-hop and indie music scenes of Indianapolis by storm with the release of his Delicious EP on Heavy Gun Recordings and was recently voted one of the favorite hip-hop acts in NUVO Newsweekly. His latest release Oreo Jones and Friends is lauded as one the best hip-hop CDs out of Naptown in years.

Mic Sol & A.C.E. O.N.E. released their first record last year, The Light.  It features tracks mined from the same streetwise vein as old blaxploitation flicks. The retro elements combine with fresh rhymes to create a sound that pushes the traditional hip-hop envelope to new places.

Indiana City Weather a full band that combines indie-rock with hip-hop. The MC’s rhyming style is reminiscent of Speech from the band Arrested Development. and maybe even a touch of Gym Class Heroes. I can’t recommend these guys highly enough. 

Shammers and Lefthand are icons in the world of nerdcore hip-hop fans. They travel the country for computer convocations, hacker gatherings and science fiction conventions. Sadly, they are virtually unknown right in their town. They rap about everything from Pokemon to Keyboard Cat in a way that’s fun and accessible all the while wearing their nerd moniker proudly.

www.localsonlyindy.com
http://heavygun.blogspot.com/p/oreo-jones.html
http://www.myspace.com/indiancityweather

Monon Food Company One Year Celebration featuring Michael Kelsey
Friday, April 29, 2011
6420 Cornell Avenue
6:00 – 9:00, free, all-ages

The delicious and delightful Monon Food Company is celebrating one year of business with a concert by guitar guru Michael Kelsey. Wonderful food, kick-ass beer list and great music. What more do you need?

www.mononfood.com