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In the Heartland
The Rockwells just got back from Cincinnati’s Midpoint Music Festival. Tommy Bateman, the group’s guitarist and organist, offers this report:
“First of all, it was extremely well organized, especially considering what a massive event it was (255 bands, 17 clubs, three nights). There were well-informed, highly visible volunteers and event staff at every club and on the streets.
“I didn’t see a band that wasn’t at the top of its game. In fact, we met 10 or more bands from all over the region that I would love to play with at some point in the future. All were very open to CD trades and information exchanging and were unfailingly upbeat personally.
“But there were three bands that stood out as exceptional. It would be unfair of me to keep these bands to myself. Luzer (Bordentown, N.J.)—electrifying guitar dueling, compact, rocked out, and airtight. Captain of Industry (Dayton, Ohio)—charismatic keyboardist/frontman leads the charge in this tuneful indie rock monster of a live band. Ruby Vileos (Cincinnati)—balance, beautiful sounds, great songs. They are for real. Content and performance collided in all three to produce a simply fantastic rock experience.
“We skipped the lectures and panel discussions. Staying out late was no doubt more fruitful and fulfilling.”
Knoxville’s Mic Harrison also played at Midpoint. We were unable to catch up with him before press time. But he did get a nice bit of press from Cincinnati’s CityBeat, which called his latest LP Pallbearer’s Shoes, “a superb slice of Roots punch, Pop melodicism and Rock intensity.” CityBeat went on to write: “Whether he’s playing with an acoustic intimacy or an electric roof-rattling intensity, Harrison is always representing the righteous best of American heartland rock & roll.”
Tighten It Up
Challenged to write a story in six words, Ernest Hemingway came up with the following: “For Sale: baby shoes, never used.”
Photographer Jay Harris is trying to see what else people can say in just six words. “I want to gather six-word works of fiction from Knoxville writers and have them illustrated by Knoxville artists and photographers and publish the complete work on the web for all to see.”
Interested? Well, Jay gives the details:
“Only one submission per writer, and with your submission please include a short bio or list of published works or just anything you want the public to know about you and an email so the public can contact you.
“Six words, no more, no less.
“If you submit something as a writer you can also be used as an artist (if you do both), but you cannot illustrate your own story.
“Whatever you create for this project, be it story or art, remains your property completely, I will only use it for the web project and for print, only if the project as a whole gets printed (I honestly do not see this happening at all).
“Once all the stories are received I will distribute them to the artists who will be given a set amount of time to create something and then publish the entire work to the web.
“The artists must submit their work in digital format and it must be in black and white (hey if the writers only get six words, then you only get to work in grayscale).
“Deadline for stories is Oct. 15, 2004. Please email your story to [email protected] with the subject ‘6 word fiction.’ If you are an artist and want to illustrate a story email me with the subject ‘artist 6 word’
“With your story please include any information about yourself you would like to be published (bio, published works, contact info etc).”
Go.
Thursday: Rock out with Speedshifter, Chris Scum and Lobster Lobster Lobster at the Pilot Light.
Friday: Bring some moonshine to the Laurel Theater and listen to the old-time string music of The Fiery Gizzard String Band. Then welcome Justin Sinkovich back home at the Pilot Light.
Saturday: Hide in your home, drinking tea and reading.
Sunday: Go listen to the Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra at the Bijou as they play Haydn, Stravinsky, Biegger and Beethoven.
Monday: Allman Brothers or sleep.
Tuesday: How many letters are actually read into a word by a careless person who knows what to expect, who sets out with the idea that the message is from a certain person, how many words into the sentence? We guess as we read, we create.
Wednesday: Get political with Yo La Tengo at Blue Cats.
—Joe Tarr
VARDATE
© 2004 Metro Pulse
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