Down On The Corner
So many readers have told me that they read this column first that I have concluded that this is the place to make editorial comments, such as there are. Here are a couple:
Courier-Journal music writer Jeffrey Puckett's year-end column was a reminder to say "Farewell" to Bob Bahr, who moved to New Yawk to try to make some real money with his writing. Puckett said Bahr's departure had doubled his workload. Make that a double double, as Bahr was handling the recordings reviews section of LMN. We'll all miss him and wish him the very best in dah Big Apple. After he revealed his payment for reviewing the thirty hours of music at the IBMA Fan Fest, plus six hours of writing, his rationale for moving was extremely clear to me. Of course, I can't say that LMN paid him all that much, either, but then the LMN ain't the C-J.
In case you didn't notice, the LMN "flag" - often misidentified as the "masthead" - on the cover has changed. After nine years, our original flag, designed with rub-off type, ink and white-out was generally viewed as "ugly." We hope you like it better than the old one.
Performing musical acts and the members thereof who complain that their photograph doesn't ever appear in LMN, take note. If we don't have your act's photograph on hand, then - amazingly - we can't use it! Darnedest thing, that. Local blues acts are particularly guilty of this oversight, but they're not alone. The upshot of this fine whine? A request to all Louisville/Kentuckiana bands: Send us a photograph! Some biographical info - names of the members of the band, telephone numbers, addresses - would be nice, too, if it's not asking too much. Please don't forget to write the name of your act on the photo if it isn't already on it. Our address is: LMN, P. O. B 148, Pewee Valley, KY 40056. Thank you.
Like almost all other publications with which I am familiar, LMN gets very little feedback from readers, except when we make mistakes. Those we hear about and try to correct. What would be more useful would be some comments from readers not angered by some error in a story about them. What would you like LMN to cover? More live reviews? Fewer live reviews? More "upfront" coverage? Interviews? More recordings reviews? Coverage of some heretofore ignored genre?
Send your comments to: LMN, P. O. B. 148, Pewee Valley, KY 40056 or e-mail us at LouMusNews@aol.com. Thank you in advance.
End of editorial whining.
Tim Krekel's tune "You Can Feel Bad If It Makes You Feel Better," co-written with Matraca Berg, picked up a BMI Award for being one of the most-played songs in 1997.
If you are planning to see the Broadway Series Production of "The King and I," you can take your 5-18-year-old child for FREE, provided you get one of the 100 free tickets being offered by the Broadway Series, beginning on January 20, 1998. You have to buy one adult ticket, of course. The ticket includes a free party at the Louisville Science Center on opening night. Get them at the Broadway Series office at 611 W. Main St.
Musicians and songwriters, listen up! The Swannanoa Gathering at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, SC, is set to run July 5 - August 1. Offerings include Celtic Week, Dance Week, Dulcimer Week, Old-Time Music & Dance Week, Contemporary Folk Week and Guitar Week. Contact them at 704-298-3434 for more information about this large event.
The cover story subject of our November issue, Dan Gediman, has been running a monthly open stage at the Hawley-Cooke Booksellers for a while. Demand has decreed that a second night be added, so now the event will happen on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays at the Shelbyville Road location. Sign-up starts at 6:30 p.m. and showtime is 7 p.m. There is no charge.
We Get Records. The blizzard of local recordings continues. This month, we got Meet Mario, the initial CD from Mario Da Silva, a classical guitarist. The CD has acoustic renditions of various rock and pop tunes and was released by Rainbow at Midnight Records, a local indie label.
Also arriving in the mail was the premiere CD from Out, on the noise pollution label, plus a vinyl 45 by Itch House, a band currently inactive due to school.
Kelly Richey sent an advance cassette of the new Kelly Richey Band CD, Eyes of a Woman. This recording is sounds much rawer than her earlier productions and generally reflects the band in live performance. Fans of roots blues should like this one.
A former Louisvillian weighs in with a new CD called Junk Music. Donald Knaack, a.k.a The Junkman, makes music with found materials. He recently did a series of performances in Bosnia, using war debris to create music. His CD is available at Mom's Drum Shop and Mom's Indiana store.
Look for reviews of these CDs in future issues.
Dancin' the night away. DJ Slick Rick, formerly of Studebaker's, is now spinning the glass at Vinnie's, the disco club that replaced the Backstage Cafe at Hurricane O'Malley's. Unpack the polyester, gaze longingly at your John Travolta poster and follow the light from the spinning ball. O'Malley's Lynda Meland says the place has been packed.
While you're browsing some night . . .The Web continues to spawn new ventures designed to aid the unsigned artists. The latest we've heard from is at Joesgrille.com. The folks at Joe's Production a& Grille, inc. at least have enough backing to promote the site using real people, so could be worth a check. They offer independent and imported CDs,please music-focused Search Engines, plus distribution for indie acts and assorted other music biz stuff. A quick perusal reveals that the site is interesting and intuitive enough. Real Audio streaming allows you to hear a sample of all sorts of stuff.
James B. Brown, 85, died November 24 in Louisville. He was a musician and performed with the WHAS Hi Varieties.
Robert "Bob" D. Durst, 68, died November 27. He was a musician who worked as a one-man band.
Mario "Del Rae" Carl Engoglia, 79, died December 6 in Louisville. He was a professional musician and a member of the Chicago Musician's Union.
Latoshia "Tee" Washington Hathaway. 25, died November 27 in Louisville. She was a member of T. L. C. of Louisville Singing Group.
Michael Hedges, 43, was killed in an automobile crash sometime on the weekend of November 29-30 in Northern California. Hedges was a guitarist who recorded for Windham Hill records.
Charles A. Wigington, 83, formerly of Louisville, died in Gulfport, Miss. on December 4. He was a member of The Pee Wee King Band in the 1940s and appeared on the Grand Ole Opry with that group.