A Local Benefit For Musicians From "The Big Easy"

I received this nice bit of info from local Celtic artist, Lisa Boucher. This is a press release from her regarding a local benefit to be held at Mike n' Molly's on Saturday, October 8th from 5-8PM on behalf of the musicians of New Orleans.

The traditional Irish music scene in central Illinois will rally to aid New Orleans musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina on Saturday, October 8 in the beer garden at Mike 'n' Molly's, 105 North Market Street, Champaign from 5 to 8 p.m.

The event will feature a reunion of C-U favorites Mind the Gap, the band Bloomsday from Bloomington-Normal, and a lineup of other local musicians.

"One of New Orleans' most important industries and institutions is its music, yet musicians there were among the most economically vulnerable to the effects of Hurricane Katrina," said Lisa Boucher, an organizer of the event. "This is a way for regional musicians and
their fans to come together to help, and also to wake New Orleans while in good Irish fashion celebrating its hoped-for revival."

All proceeds from the event will go to the Tipitina's Foundation, a 501c(3) charitable organization formed in 2002 with the mission of uplifting the musical culture of New Orleans. Now it is saving it. Since its founding, the foundation has raised money to provide
instruments to underprivileged children in New Orleans classrooms, developed an internship program designed to teach students all aspects of music business, and opened a co-op business office providing business training and tools for New Orleans musicians. In light of the recent tragedy in New Orleans, the foundation has shifted its current focus to the task at handing of preserving and reconstructing New Orleans' cultural heritage. Its commitment is to
provide the New Orleans music community in exile with whatever resources they need to survive, including food, clothing, shelter, instruments, gigs and options for resettlement. For more information, visit www.tipitinas.com.

For up-to-date information on the Oct. 8 event, see: http://www.fpmrecords.com/events/bigeasy.html.

Friday - "Gawker Media" Style

- I ran into Matt from It's Matt's World Wednesday at a bookstore and ruminated about upcoming concerts and the fact that the second C-U Blogosphere Get-Together has yet to transpire. Any ideas? I would hope for a more low-key (i.e. sans media) gathering...

- The Hub has finished it's new website, and it's pretty flashy. However, it's not entirely up to date with this week's articles, so you still gotta hit the newsstand. I could do without the audio track on the site, but hey, I'm sure some web guy sold them on a "full experience" with "sights AND sounds." What would be cool is an optional audio stream that plays music by local artists and DJ's. But hey, I'm full of ideas ;-) Just ask me! *laughs*

Lisa Meid is stepping down from her post at The Hub, and there was no real explanation. Here's to your work, Lisa! Best wishes on the T.V. gig.

And The Hub has suddenly beefed up this week... a whopping 40 pages...and it's great. Tons of Pygmalion Fest Coverage... even a sweet pull-out schedule in addition to their weekly guide. A brief interview with Seth and a Fein by-line in The Hub (gasp!) giving info on Pygmalion, the always informative Grapevine, Don Gerard finds an opportunity to use the phrase "painted trollop," and Eric Steckler's article on tennis champ Roger Federer makes me wish I wrote it myself and that he just mixed me a drink. He's the cocktail master!

- Oh yeah, Interpol is coming to town this weekend. I dig their first album... Antics is just okay. See them with Boom Bip this Saturday at 7:30PM in a pared-down Assembly Hall.

- The Buzz sees the return of the Feinest columnist in town. He admits to being a flip-flopper, but I prefer to be a waffler... it's just tastier. And while I support his stance on the whole smoking thing, Mike n' Molly's, the Iron Post, and the Brass Rail all provide entertainment. Hell, M&M's was where I saw my first show in Champaign (Imaginary Posse, if you're wondering). But I do get Seth's point. Coulter hates math (and so do I), Fred Koschmann scribbles on Daniel Lanois, Mike Schiele reviews Sufjan's Canopy show, and Kyle Gorman feeds my t.aT.u. addiction. Although I think their new single sucks.

- There's more coffee talk on Little Blog concerning a recent DI article and $tarbuck$. (Get it? The dollar signs are S's!) Honestly, I think the best coffee house on campus wasn't even mentioned; that being Cafe Paradiso. I'll still take Kopi over all of them.

- Broken Flowers is at The Art!!! I'm excited.

- Jukebox Upchuck may sound a little nasty, but it's really quite a resource for tunes. Indulge!

- And I'm still seeking ideas for sustained gainful employment... comment or email me. I'm also still thoroughly obsessed with Neil Young. I picked up his biography, Shakey, from the library the other day and am currently listening to the beautiful Comes A Time on this rainy day in CU.

Mad Science Fair - Release Party @ Highdive

Mud Records is celebrating the release of Mad Science Fair's debut album ... for a better tomorrow tonight at the Highdive at 9:30PM. They are joined by Cameron McGill, Darling Disarm, and Elsinore... all for $4.

I highly reccomend checking out the download section on MSF's site. There's three freebie tracks to preview off the aforementioned debut to whet your appetite.

New Strokes Single - "Juice Box"

Interesting stuff... different... give it a sample.

Download Link 1

Download Link 2

Thanks to Jasper at Web Vom ;-)

Slow Day

Not much going on today... other than the fact that I'm furiously job hunting (help!!!) and unhealthily obsessed with the early music of Neil Young.

Yeah, I need a job seriously bad. I have a degree in PR/Marketing but have had no luck and need to do just about anything. Send me an email or leave me a comment if you have any useful suggestions.

Pygmalion Fest Makes the Pitchfork Press

Pitchfork Media, the indie music homepage, has given props to the local Pygmalion Music Festival (first covered on this here blog) that's going on September 28th through October 1st. Here's the article:

The people of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois unleashed REO Speedwagon upon the world in the early 1970's, and they've been making up for it ever since. Braid, Hum, Poster Children, and the Didjits are but a few Chambana bands that have vaulted the city into the same indie rock league as Chapel Hill, Athens, and Olympia-- college towns with musical influence in absolute disproportion to their size. Cue daydreams of a record-geek Rose Bowl: you paint the K Records logo on your face, I'll recruit four shirtless friends and paint our chests to spell M-E-R-G-E, and we'll meet in the parking lot for microbrew and vegetarian tailgating.

Well...maybe not. But if the organizers of the first annual Pygmalion Music Festival have anything to say about it, the prairie duopolis will henceforth boast its own mini-SXSW. From Wednesday, September 28 through Saturday, October 1, six different Champaign-Urbana venues will host a whole mess of bands, from locals like Headlights and the Beauty Shop to out-of-town guests such as Maserati, the M's, Chin Up Chin Up, the Appleseed Cast, and Troubled Hubble. The hottest session in the whole schedule has to be the early show on Friday at the Canopy, with Mates of State, Ida, and Saturday Looks Good To Me kicking off at 7:30 p.m. for a mere $10. But if you want to make a weekend of it, a $25 wristband will admit you to any show that can squeeze you in (unless for some reason you want to see Umphrey's McGee, a bunch of jamband putzes who are such consummate pros that they insist you pay for their show separately-- maybe they need the extra cash to buy a new band name). A portion of your Pygmalion ticket scratch will wind up in the hands of the Red Cross, for the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. You can find the whole tangled web of times, dates, venues, bands, prices, age restrictions, and firearms regulations at the official Pygmalion website.

I'm guessing it didn't hurt that the Pitchfork offices are a scant 2 and a half hours north of C-U, but hey, pub is pub. Get your wristband and save some money on great music.

Sarah Michelson - A Solid Debut

Well, let me be the first local blogger to say "Welcome Ms. Michelson!" The latest columnist for the Buzz is filling in for Champaign O' Blogs usual fave columnist, Seth Fein, as he takes a bi-weekly hiatus to give his friend a shot at the weekly by-line. And we should all be thanking him (if we haven't already for all of his efforts in booking some excellent rock shows).

Michelson explores how our perceptions can change locally and globally and how much of a challenge it can be to change our minds when faced with new information. From taking a trip to Greek Park, to witnessing our government fail to serve its people in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina tragedy, Michelson finds her peceptions about people and places change when confronted with reality. In this case, a pleasant surprise with new friends and uttter disdain for the undue suffering of fellow Americans, and the cognitive dissonance that occurs when those events transpire. I think she does a fine job in tying her personal experiences to the challenges we're all facing and giving them a voice through the written word.

Pick up a copy of The Buzz locally, or just click here for the article.