Record Stores Need Love, Too

Today is Record Store Day. April 16, 2011. Feel free to erupt into cheers and form an impromptu parade. If you’ve never heard of this before, you probably aren’t alone – the first Record Store Day (RSD) in the United States was in 2008, so it’s fairly new. Check out RSD’s website to see more about the day, special limited music you can purchase, and a list of participating record stores. And if Clinton, Iowa has a store on the list, you people living in your big fancy towns can surely find somewhere to go.

So get out there and make a special trip to your local record store today whether it’s on the list or not. I know, it’s a Saturday and it’s probably raining because that’s what happens in April, so all you want to do is veg on the couch in your pajamas. But if you leave the couch to go to the nearest record store, you could come home with some great music while helping out a local business. Just change out of the pajamas first… unless they are Power Rangers pajamas. Then do as you see fit.

Our local record stores need our help. The ones that are still around are incredibly lucky, but some may still be in danger of going under. I’m not going to start my rant of how I think Wal-Mart killed independent record stores because then I will never stop talking, but I will say that the last decade has seen a massive shift in how people buy their music: little mom-and-pop stores to big boxes like Wal-Mart to digital downloads (legal or not). At the very least, use this day to show that as music consumers, we care about them and understand the challenges they are facing. Let’s face it: if record store owners were in it for the money, they would have left a long time ago. We need to make it a point to support the ones that are still around.

Summer Concert Dreaming

The weather in northwestern Illinois has finally turned! Now even though it’s going to get cold again and probably snow a lot more before spring actually arrives, I’m pretending that won’t happen by thinking about my favorite summertime activity: Cornerstone Festival. Literally hidden in the cornfields, the week-long festival is filled with sweat, dust, mud (yes, both), sunburns like you wouldn’t believe, and music. Lots and lots of music.

I started reminiscing about my favorite concerts from past Cornerstones (the video links may have bad sound quality but only because they were taken IN the pit):

• Flatfoot 56’s cookout for “Da Bears”. They threw Polish sausages and pancakes at us.
• Flatfoot 56’s Toga Party.  Mine was a Strawberry Shortcake sheet.
• Flatfoot 56’s Mexican fiesta. They played La Bamba while we ripped apart salsa-filled piñatas.
• Flatfoot 56’s Shark Week. They passed out giant fins for us to hold and then threw chum at us. It probably wasn’t real… right? …Right?

Ready to circle pit in togas.

Obviously, this list is a little focused on one band, but their Cornerstone midnight shows are legendary. The incorporation of the themes, the crowd participation, and the general feeling of camaraderie with the hundreds of other people crammed into the tent make the show memorable. But unfortunately, not every show can be a Cornerstone midnight show, so I started thinking about other favorite concerts. One show in particular came to mind.

During the summer of 2009, I was interning at Provident Music Group in Tennessee. Two of my fellow interns and I ended up going to a house show in East Nashville to see The Last Hope and Revolution Radio (both are Cornerstone regulars). All the people there seemed to know each other and it was a little awkward just to walk into someone’s house, but then The Last Hope started playing. It is a very different but cool experience watching a punk band jump around someone’s living room ten feet away from you. I had seen them play a few times before and it was great to see that they played with the same enthusiasm in front of 20 people than they did in front of a couple hundred people.

Revolution Radio (a.k.a Aaron Foster Buchanan backed up by The Last Hope) was up next and they were a lot of fun to watch, too. They are a folk-rock-punk mix which basically means that it is fun music to dance and sing along to, and that is exactly what everyone in the house did. In the middle of their set, Aaron played some of his solo folk music. He turned off all the lights in the room except for one lamp behind him, and became a backlight silhouette playing acoustic guitar and harmonica. Everyone in the room was silent while listening to him singing quietly. This was, and still is, unlike any other concert I’ve ever been to – it was so intimate and sincere, and everyone in that room could see that those bands love playing music.

Here comes the  interactive portion of this post.What are some of your favorite concerts? Do you like the small, close-knit shows or do you prefer the huge mega concerts where you have to watch the big screen to see the stage? Did anyone else go to Flatfoot’s Shark Week and knows if the chum was real?!?

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Some Kind of Wonderful

Well Hello Blog-World

This is my first post into the exciting world of our Hilltop exclusive. I’ve got some fun ideas up my sleeve, as I’m sure the other girls do as well. If you’ve read our “About” section you now know a few things about me—a quick recap: I grew up in a small town. I like to sing. I went to Bradley University. I met Katherine & Erin.  Now I’m looking for a job. That’s me in a very, very small nutshell.

In college I found my niche in the world of music, non-profits, and events. Ideally I’d like to combine all those things into a job planning events for a non-profit (preferably a music organization–think VH1Save the Music, American’s for the Arts, Music for All), but until then, I am networking and using that network to get me into the biz as much as I can.

It’s all in the Family.

A year and a half ago I met my second cousin for the first time—odd I know, we have decided to help each other out since he has been in the music biz for a long time.  Actually, fun fact I’ve learned recently, my family has been in the music biz for a long time. My great-grandfather (Frank Anderson) started the Swedish Glee Club in Chicago, and was a large music advocate during the Depression era. He gave people opportunities for music when no one else could. (No wonder I want to go into music advocacy! It’s in my blood!)

So back to my cousin—Bill has been around the Chicago-land music scene for a long time and is quite well known throughout the city for being a band leader and being a great drummer. I have to say it’s very neat to be learning the ropes of the biz from a family member. Bill has decided to introduce me to people I probably would have never met in the first place and see how we can mutually help each other out.  Which brings me to this weekend’s event with Anything’s Possible Events.

Making the most of what you can, however you can.

They say, ‘when you aren’t working make the most out of every chance you get’, well isn’t that the truth.  Which is definitely something I decided to take on this weekend while at an event with Bill. On Saturday night, I had the chance to attend the Northern Illinois Food Bank’s “Super Saturday Party: Pre-Super Bowl Fundraiser”. The event, organized by Anything’s Possible Events, featured my cousin Bill’s band The Big Bear Band, great food and drinks, as well as a few former Chicago Bears Players at Midlane Golf Club.

Kenny (singer from the group), "Ditka" Look-A-Like, Myself

This event had all the right ingredients—great food, great prizes, great auction items (signed footballs, jerseys, etc) and of course great entertainment. Ideally how a fundraising event would be run. Just not exactly how I would have done it, but like life, there are a variety of ways to go about it. I like to integrate and immerse everyone in the feel of why we are there, besides the basic introductions and the motions, hit them in the gut with some powerful stories–where is my money going besides to the organization, how is it directly impacting those around us, etc. When you walked into that event on Saturday night you were hit with the Orange and Blue, Bear’s memorabilia everywhere, an empty stage and people wandering around.

Here is how I pictured it, before I walked in:

I wanted to see that place bleeding orange and blue, Bear’s Memorabilia and drinks a plenty, I want to see that stage with musicians on it, I want to hear live music to welcome me in. Inviting me to play the football themed bags sets, take a look around, grab a drink and start bidding on silent auction items all while listening to quality entertainment and having fun. After the buffet opens up and people have begun to settle down, then the introductions begin, as musicians make their way off the stage for their own food and drinks, then your main event switch over begins. The former Bears players, along with their very own Ditka look-alike (had me fooled at first!) does a Q&A session for about 30-45mins answering questions about the great Walter Payton, Ditka as a coach, and 1985 Super Bowl memories. After their time is up another a thank you is issued to everyone for coming, telling them more about the auction, and having the players sign autographs by the auction tables. The band will make their way back to the stage after their break and begin playing again, while everyone is hanging around and still hyped about just hearing the players speak.

In my head this is how the event would have been run. More people would have stayed for a longer period of time, allowing for more people to vote on items for the auctions, more people to donate money and more people to buy more drinks, and giving the band an audience to play for. How it was last night about a quarter of the people were still there right after the Bear’s Players left.

All in All.

This is why I try not to take going to fundraisers and networking opportunities like this for granted. It’s a way for me to get the most out of whatever I observe and whomever I meet. All in all I believe the event, from my standpoint, was a major success. I was able to observe the event, hang out with family, as well as hear great music, meet some really funny and fantastic musicians, and have a good time.  I personally can’t wait to see what is next on my list of musical adventures with Bill and his Bands!

Learn More About Bill & His Band:

Bill (my cousin): http://www.carmelme.com/entertainment/roster-of-bands-a-entertainers/74-bill-archer

The Band: http://www.bigfunband.com/