Whiskey tango foxtrot?
Is it really already 2010? Whew! Time flies when you’re having fun. Needless to acknowledge, the last ten years has brought about enormous social, political, economical, technological, and climatological change, which mostly wasn’t for the better.
OK, OK. I know. You came here to hear about the Louisville music scene. Well, I haven’t been present or witnessed all the great moments in Louisville’s original rock music scene, but I’ve done my fair share at helping it grow. I’ve complained about many of the shady assholes who do nothing but bring it down, sometimes to the point where I become part of what I bitch about. I wear my heart on my sleeve, and it get’s published. What do you want from me?
So with that being said….as it pertains to Louisville, Kentucky, and other destinations - the original rock music scene that is - these are the things I both saw, created, reported on, made fun of, and yes, sometimes things I helped teardown. Of course from my eyes, my experience, and my interpretations…..
2000 - 2001
The Return From Richmond
After moving back to Louisville from Richmond, KY (while attending Eastern Kentucky University), where I had lived for the last two years, I was eager to continue my job in the music business. While boozing my way through my first few semesters of college, I also acquired a love and ability for organizing and promoting rock n’ roll shows.
The rest went like this:
LMIA
With the many experiences I gained in Richmond, I would join the Louisville Music Industry Alliance (LMIA) which at the time was Louisville’s only city government funded professional association of people in the music business. Eventually taking over the management of many of LMIA’s sponsored live events, I met a ton of musicians, bands, venue owners, record company reps, and business sponsors of the music industry, who were serious about their careers. Late in 2001, I would eventually be elected as Secretary of LMIA, where I served a one-year term on the board. My goal was to bring original musicians into new venues that had no history of supporting Louisville’s original rock artists. As you’ll see, I’m pretty happy with the connections I made and the results of those connections.
“Light My Fire” on the Music Business
Oh yeah, late in 2001 I met the Robby Krieger of The Doors. This is essentially the coolest person you can meet in the entire music business. The Doors are legendary in rock n’ roll and just about my favorite personal band of all time. And Robby was as sincere as he could have been considering how long he has been in the business and accomplished all that he has. He happily conversed for about 20 minutes. I don’t have a clue what we discussed during that time because I was in sheer awe of the musical genius who stood before me. He blinked at the wrong tim….
Krieger and me backstage.
For obvious reasons, I retired the shirt off my back that he signed in tribute to a song he primarily wrote, “Light My Fire.”
2002
Rocking on the River
As I wrapped up my elected term with LMIA as their Secretary, I began to focus on bringing Louisville its biggest local live music event under my own umbrella. I wanted to offer something both different and exciting, and not just another night at the bar. So what I came up with was a joint venture with friend and manager of The Constant, Shawn Johnson, and together we launched “Rock The Belle,” Louisville’s first ever “rock-n-roll” show on the historic Belle of Louisville steamboat.
The show, in terms of attendance and ticket sales, was a major success. We sold out the tickets and packed the boat to its capacity of over 600 people. When we planned this, the intent was to make this an annual event, but only if the BOL’s on-board crew were both patient and ready-to-serve Louisville’s rock scene, a crowd that consumes more alcohol then the typical BOL clientele. But, as I anticipated and tried to convey ahead of time to the BOL’s planning staff, they were unable to keep up with the pace of drink orders from 600 music fans that packed the boat. Long story short, the BOL management only provided two bar tenders for 600 people, and the result was fans waiting 30 minutes or more to get a drink, on a three-hour cruise. BLAH! There were also a few power blow-outs that were not anticipated by their crew, but were eventually resolved about 1 hour into the show. As much as I wished Rock The Belle could have happened again, it didn’t, because it was a better concept than it was a reality to pull off correctly. I don’t like sloppiness and nor will I keep making the same mistake over and over again, expecting different and better results. That’s the definition of insanity.
2003
New Music, New Places
For the better part of 2003 I continued organizing and promoting a number of live music events in Louisville focusing on Louisville’s original rock scene. I would initiate another first for Louisville’s rock scene by introducing a hard rock and metal show at a venue that historically had not supported this genre of music, but provided a great venue and location for the shows: Coyote’s. As the management described it, they didn’t want to take the “risk” on the younger audience due to their expensive overhead costs, and their lack of experience of how to manage that crowd. But I was able to convince them to give it a shot. On top of that, it was a benefit show for a local artist who needed help with mounting medical bills. I also had a solid lineup including Louisville’s hottest rock and metal act FLAW, who had just wrapped up there Through The Eyes tour. Giving them the best that the Louisville rock scene had to offer encouraged the O’Malley’s management to open up the doors to new crowd.
After bringing in over 600 people on this show, O’Malley’s management began offering a slew of both local and national rock and metal acts on the nights the rednecks weren’t line dancing. Yee-haw!
Here are a few other events I hosted, including a live music series in partnership with Anheuser-Busch called the “Homegrown Music Series,” monthly at Wicks on Baxter Ave:
My birthday show and quite a crazy night with Two Pump Chump, End of Me, and Silent Q
Very interesting night is all I’m gonna say…
RIP E.V.
The Flux. Yeah Bitch…..
So, as I knew it eventually would, my patience wore thin with being a promoter and event organizer after dealing with a few greedy venue owners and a sh**load of disorganized, non-punctual, musicians and bands. There are a lot of shady and greedy people in this business to say the least. So, like Forrest Gump, “That’s all I got to say about that.”
Oh Shit, My Words are Going to Press.
Luck-fully as one door was closing another one was opening. I was granted the opportunity for me to help launch Louisville’s first free full-color magazine called The Ville. I was tasked by the owners and editor of The Ville at taking charge of the magazine’s Music content, thus beginning my so-called career as a music journalist. Overall the magazine was dedicated to Louisville’s many cultures, through food, fashion, art, and yes, music. There was plenty of random social montage with this magazine to boot. We targeted a young (21-35) and so-called hip professional crowd, and drew them in pretty fast with plenty of live event promotions and printing up to 50,000 issues per month. I actually heard a rumor that The Ville delayed the launch of the CJ’s Velocity. Whatever the case, we launched in September of 2003 with a pretty crazy launch party and Miss Kentucky 2003, Mackenzie Mays, from Monticello, Kentucky as our cover model. Not bad, eh?
Pictured here are a few of the pages from some of my first and favorite stories, interviews, and reviews I managed to come up with:
The “F”
Still the best female vocal chords in Louisville….Miss Kimmet Cantwell
(intheclear) was on the The Ville radar too before they became popular
Black Stone Cherry
With the popularity of The Ville growing as 2003 progressed I started meeting some newbies to the Louisville music scene. One of my most memorable subjects over the years came with meeting the boys in southern Kentucky’s super group, Black Stone Cherry. At the time the boys weren’t even old enough to play, much less be in a typical music venue in Louisville, only ranging in age from 16 - 18. But when your father and uncle are Richard and Fred Young of the Kentucky Headhunters, you get a few strings pulled for you. In late 2003 I met up with John Fred Young, accompanied by his father Richard, guitarist of the KHH, at a sevendust show at Jillian’s. They were about the nicest people you come across in this business, not having a shred of arrogance about them. BSC, with only being together as a band for less then 2 years, was trying to score their first gig in Louisville and their first story in a publication such as The Ville. Long story short they invited me down to their hometown of Edmonton, KY eager for me to see what they had going on. I was eager to oblige, so shortly thereafter I would take the 2 hour trip down south to be one of the first journalists to interview and learn about Kentucky’s most promising rock act to hit the scene.
Pictured below is Black Stone Cherry on the deck of their famed “Practice House” where the Kentucky Headhunters wrote much of their own music.
Over the years, BSC has done exactly as I anticipated they would; becoming international rock stars with their hard-hitting, bluesy, and powerful Southern style of rock. And along the way they haven’t forgotten their Kentucky fans and the local media that told their story.
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This is an unreleased preview (from the The Ville Magazine) I did on Black Stone Cherry from 2003:
The Ville Radar
Black Stone Cherry
While kickin ass in the rest of the Bluegrass, Black Stone Cherry thought they would start bringing some good ole’ down and dirty rock n roll to The Ville as well. Hailing from Metcalf County, these young lads may look like innocent little farm boys but once they strap on those Gibson’s and claim the stage they pick you up and then tear you back down with their raw in your face style. Fronted by Chris Robertson on vocals/guitar, Jon Lawhon on bass, Ben Wells on guitar, and John Fred Young (son of Richard Young from The Kentucky Headhunters) they range in age from only eighteen to twenty one. From anthems about a Redneck Bitch, a Bulldozer, to the very tasteful and patriotic dub, America, BSC has been spotted on The Ville Radar and gets our stamp of approval. Check out www.blackstonecherry.com for more info, pictures, and the next upcoming Louisville shindig.
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2004
The Ville Goes Belly Up
The Ville Magazine, although in the midst of growing popularity and demand amongst readers, fell victim to going out of publication after the May 2004 issue, due to lack of sufficient and initial financial reserves to keep the magazine afloat through its infancy.
Road Trip to New Orleans
A few stories I was working on at the time never went to print as a result of this. One of which, was a “road-trip” edition of the music column, observing the culture of music scene in one of the countries oldest cities, New Orleans.
Here are a few pics from the trip:
Street musicians were everywhere in the French Quarter offering a vast array of musical styles rooted in cajun culture.
Entrance to the New Orleans House of Blues.
You gotta wonder what these dudes were up to. I’m betting on it wasn’t about starting New Orlean’s next original band.
This diverse group of guys could jam…believe it or not.
These pictures were taken in the summer of 2004, just one year before Hurricane Katrina would eventually ransack and displace many of the people who made up New Orleans’ original music culture. And as it turned out, I was granted the privilege to experience an original American music culture living out essentially some of its last days before it was forever changed. Something I’ll never forget.
LRS Fest 2004
Another story I anticipated publishing was on the 2004 LRS fest in Louisville’s Great Lawn. This annual premiere live music fest really stepped up their “local” support in 2004 by offering a second stage featuring some of Louisville’s best unsigned artists. There was an enormous crowd of over 8,000 people. To my knowledge, Louisville’s unsigned rock artists have still never played to a larger crowd. Here are some pics from this show:
FLAW getting ready to taking the main stage
FLAW’s Chris Volz gets as close as he can with the fans
Surviving Thalia preformed on the second stage
(intheclear) got a shot at playing the main stage
Flatlyne also rocked out on the second stage
Chicago-based Chevelle was the headlining artist at LRS Fest
2005 - 2006
What the hell was I thinking?
So, as much as I hate to admit it, and because I’m an honest and open guy, 2005 and 2006 were years of stagnation for me as it pertains to my involvement in Louisville’s music industry. I made the fatal mistake by allowing a woman to make some of my decisions on what I do with my time and who I spend it with. The whole music business and many of the people that came along with it, got banned by this dame. I allowed her to essentially convince me that I had to change myself for her. And for almost two years I pretended I could. WTF was I thinking? But, once her BS and her bitching further deafened my ear, I was finally set free to graze in greener pastures. And boy have I….
2007
What? My words are going to press…. again?
So, with my new found freedom, coupled with a commitment to remain a bachelor for life, I searched for an opportunity to re-enter the Louisville music scene again. I was getting the itch to write again. Simultaneously Louisville’s hard rock scene was starting to breathe some creative life again with a swarm of new acts emerging that - once again - sought to put Louisville and Kentucky’s hard rock scene back on the national radar. Perfect timing.
Of all people that would give me a chance, Paul Moffitt, long-time publisher (even before Yarmuth introduced the LEO) of Louisville Music News would give me an opportunity to reignite my hobby for writing.
So in the March ‘07 issue of Louisville Music News, I debuted my first review in the original source for music news in the Louisville area. The subject matter: Two Pump Chump, appropriately titled “Too Drunk Too Die.”
Two Pump Chump File Photo
2PC made a great guinea pig band for me to knock the dust off the ole’ pen with. Who doesn’t like to read about what the foxtrot those bunch of crazy drunkards are up to?
Later that year I was invited to hit the road with Black Stone Cherry by joining them for a road trip to Huntsville, Alabama where they were playing with Buckcherry and promoting the release of their self-titled debut album on Roadrunner Records. The boys in BSC had a lot to tell in my interview with them that published in the July 2007 issue of LMN.
BSC and I after an interview in Huntsville, AL.
The ad they placed in LMN for their Ear x-tacy gig
A few other note-worthy stories in 2007 I covered were:
16 Bones (June 2007 LMN)
Dead City Rejects (August 2007 LMN)
Venue review of Phoenix Hill Tavern (October 2007 LMN)
Heaven Hill (November 2007 LMN)
Still, more to come on 2008 & 2009 soon.
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