Down On The Corner
It's been a busy month in Louisville, with a couple of interesting and unexpected developments in the music scene. Notably, of course, is the closing of City Block, which will deprive the city of a major venue. The owners blamed the city-underwritten 4th St. Live! complex two blocks away.
The other, perhaps less important, news, was the the LEO weekly has discontinued its show listings, much to the dismay of the city's musicians. While the Velocity remains as a weekly listing spot, many players have very little regard for the Courier-Journal's faux alternative publication, branding it a corporate rag aimed at twenty-somethings. That seems to be a pretty accurate assessment.
The news of Tim Krekel's sudden surgery for an adominal tumor, followed by the erroneous news that it was pancreatic cancer, rattled the city's boomer audience. By month's end, however, he was out and about, showing up at the Schitzelburg Walk show on April 26, looking thin but in good spirits.
We're tight for space, so have a good Derby and see you next month.
Ernspiker, Christoper David "Dave," 39, died on April 9, 2009. He was the founder of Big Rock Show Inc., a guitarist and music teacher.
Malzahn, Walter William, 81, of Louisville, died April 2, 2009. He was a trombonist with many of the name bands of the 1950s and 1960s. In Las Vegas, he was a regular in the house band at the Stardust. He was a member of the American Federation of Musicians, Local 47 in Los Angeles. After moving to Louisville in 1993, he played with several of the local Big Bands, primarily in John Roy's Ovation Orchestra and David Mehl's Swing Street Big Band.