Rambling
thoughts abound this month...
CONGRATS TO THE “FAVES” OF THE REGION! First off...
congratulations to the many talented local artists who took a little
gratitude and recognition home with them from our March 29 “Local Music Awards”
gala. In all, over 180
plaques were handed out from the stage that night by our columnist FREAK
and myself. All
said, a lot of regional performers were given props.
Fans who turned out to see their faves rewarded for their musical
efforts, were themselves rewarded by live sets by –– Steepwater, Inzane, Steve Vansak and History’s End.
Kudos to all! To reflect back on the
night or to see all the fun you missed, log on to www.midwestbeat.com
after April 15 and/or watch for Dan
Locke’s huge pictorial of the Awards night gala in our May print
edition. Those who
were paying attention to the front cover, may have noticed that this issue
finds us focusing on a few of the many remarkable original Chicagoland
artists who work hard to create an indelible and individual sound all
their own. We tried to profile a
small cross-section of the musical styles from both Illinois and Indiana
that make our scene richly diverse -- from
city-dwelling singer/songwriter/guitarist Ripley
Caine, to aspiring Hoosier alt-rockers Nast
Devin, to a regional punk band already enjoying a good deal of
national success, The Alkaline Trio.
To be fair, we are going to flip the coin and shine a light
on some of the area’s better cover bands next month! Adorning our front
page for the special May edition is going to be History’s End, voted “Favorite
Cover Band of 2002” in our annual reader’s poll survey.
They were also declared “Band Of The Year” by the staff of this
publication consistently selling-out shows doing a superb job of
entertaining those SRO audiences each week. ROCKIN’ & REMEMBERIN’
That said, I am proud to be among the local
music folks who are remembering Paul by celebrating his short life and his
music with a memorial concert to be held on April 19 at 2nd Dimensions in
Schererville. Several local artists will be performing that night. Each artist/band on the bill will perform a short set that will include their own songs, along with a couple of selected tunes written by Callaway. Some of these will be very familiar songs from his Mailbox days, while some will be ones written just before his death, which have never been heard. All the artists
performing have strong personal ties to Callaway and include –– Steve
Sparks (solo acoustic), John
David (solo acoustic), Felix
(who are reforming for this one time performance), History’s
End (who for the first time in years will perform songs from their
late ‘90s original music CD, Java Man), Emitter,
Transmission, Soul Pride, 5
Star Deluxe and the surviving members of Alison’s
Mailbox (with various guest singers). Many area businesses
have graciously donated prizes and gift certificates to be raffled
throughout the evening (winners need not be present).
To donate contact me at: (219)
972-9131. Paul, who was an
avid fisherman, would certainly appreciate that someone out there will get
the chance to enjoy a Lake Michigan Sport Fishing excursion on him.
The $400-plus package has been donated by Captain
Tom Cooper of Sunshine
Charters, Inc. of Highland, Indiana.
A special commemorative silk-screen t-shirt has been designed and will be sold at this event, along with some limited edition Alison’s Mailbox recordings never before released to the public. A special “Reflections
Of Paul” video filled with concert clips, images and
remembrances from his friends is currently being edited together by Jim
Hilligonds and Jeff Harmon
and will be shown on the club’s video screen throughout the night. All door proceeds, plus 100% of all monies raised through the various raffles and merchandise sales will go to the Callaway family to help with bills and to establish some sort of permanent memorial to him.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and music starts at 6:30 p.m.
A minimum donation of $5 will be requested, although a greater
donation will be appreciated. Advance tickets to the
memorial concert are now on sale at: CD
Trading Post in Merrillville, S&J
Records in Highland, Dynamite
Music in Griffith and Front
Porch Music in Valparaiso. SHUT
UP & PLAY YER GUITAR...
“Opinions
are like assholes”...as they say.
We all have them, but I would generally prefer not bending over and
showing mine to the world. That
said, I usually do not speak out on political matters.
But I am really tired of folks like the
Dixie Chicks, Michael Moore and others in the entertainment business,
who act like they have some Divine insight and knowledge on how to run the
world, solely because they have some semblance of talent that’s
escalated them to a certain level of celebrity?
We are ALL certainly entitled to have an opinion on this war that our brave
young people now find themselves in the thick of... but having an opinion
does not make one an expert on military or political affairs, nor does it
give privy insight on the best course of action to take.
And Martin Sheen...whom
I love and respect as an actor...only “plays” a President on television.
He has never had to “be”
a President and face the daily challenges and responsibilities of that
tough job, nor make the kind of decisions that impact millions of people.
I would wager many of those “stars” who so freely shoot their
mouths off in the press and on public stages about the war and the other
political matters, never even passed their high school government class.
We all hate to see our troops fighting on foreign soil, but since we are, would it not best serve our country and our fighting forces, to show unity as a nation. The disrespect so many celebrities are showing for our leaders and troops is embarrassing and shameful. Our having the very right to mouth off came with a price tag. Past American leaders and troops have paid for that right with strong actions not too unlike those we are contending with today.
WAR SUCKS!
There is NO argument
there. But realistically,
America could have made a parking lot out of Iraq in less than a day, had
our leaders not chosen to carefully extract the diseased regime, so as to
avoid injury to Iraq’s innocent civilians.
Can we say the same
about the barbarian bastards who threw the first proverbial punch at us
back on September 11, 2001. To
quote country artist Darryl Worley’s
newest single, “Have you
forgotten?”
At that time, many of these same celebrities who are now whining,
had wrapped themselves up in the Red, White and Blue, while decrying the
9/11 events. As well they
should have! But now that we
have started punching back, their tune has changed as they fantasize about
sticking daisys in gun barrels or something.
My point is that, entertainers should stop acting so high and
mighty all the time. They
should heed the wise words of the late Frank Zappa and just “shut
up and play yer guitar...” or
whatever it is they do.
Otherwise these self-appointed know-it-alls, should put their money
where their mouths are and run for political office!
But it’s unlikely we will see much of that happening, because to
that would require them to have balls as big as their mouths.
God
bless our troops! God bless
the UNITED States!
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One
of finest local musicians I’ve ever known, was lost to us when death
claimed Northwest Indiana singer/songwriter
Paul Callaway (ex-Alison’s
Mailbox) in the early days of January.