Archive for September, 2009
Royal Bliss returning to Quincy with tour mates at a busy time for music
Sep 30th
Royal Bliss from Utah is returning yet again to Quincy to rock Backwaters Oct. 17. This time they are bringing two tour mates, Resident Hero and Divide the Day from California.
It is too bad it is a day that already has a big show going on in the area. The sixth annual Cheeks and Friends Freedom Fest is slated to take place all day at the Adams County Fairgrounds. The event cost is $15 in advance and includes regional bands Nowake, Pike Station, Superimposed, Predawn Hour, Descending New Angels, Fielder, Cheeks McGee and Nugget (the world’s #1 CAKE tribute band). The cost also includes overnight camping and after parties at the fairgrounds. For tickets, go here: www.bandtastic.com/index.cfm.
Royal Bliss is a great band that puts on a really good show, but Freedom Fest has become a regional staple and Cheeks has worked harder than ever this year to make it something really special. Who knows? Maybe Royal Bliss and their friends will come out to the fairground to hang out after the show.
Don’t forget to SUPPORT LOCAL MUSIC and GO TO A SHOW!
Jessica Martin
jmartin@whig.com
Musings on shuffling an iPod and upcoming live entertainment
Sep 25th
I’m curious if anyone else turns their iPod on shuffle and realizes they like a lot of great music. Whenever I do that, I am pleasantly surprised by the plethora of good music. With its random nature and total disregard of genres, shuffle is way better than the playlists I put together.
My current string of shuffle songs:
“Fair,” by Remy Zero (indie)
“Hurt,” by Sevendust (live rock acoustic)
“I’m the Man,” by Anthrax (rock/metal)
“Blood On Our Hands,” by Death From Above 1979 (rock/indie)
“We Bury Our Dead at Dawn,” by The Agony Scene (metal)
“The Ballad of John Henry,” by Joe Bonamassa (blues)
“Coin Operated Boy,” by Dresdon Dolls (punk/rock)
“Cryin’,” by Aerosmith (rock/classic rock)
“Can’t Stop,” by Red Hot Chilli Peppers (rock)
“Tennesse,” by the Wreckers (country)
“Stand By Me,” by Ben E. King
Go ahead and see what shuffling says about your music choices, and if you are skipping a lot of songs, then you need to clean up your iTunes. Enough about MP3 devices, check out the live entertainment available for this weekend below and have a great time!
WEEKEND SHOWS
ImpaKt Band and Nashiville Bound Band (country)
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Eagles Club, Quincy
HOW MUCH: $4
DU Stock featuring Cohesion and Predawn Hour (rock)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Delta Upsilon Fraternity House, Canton, Mo.
The Texas Funerals (surf/western), Death Folk (rock) and the Jackets (comedy)
WHEN: 7 p.m Saturday
WHERE: Kix Club, Quincy
HOW MUCH: $5
TIPS: This is the CD release show for The Texas Funerals.
Rainman Suit, The Catalyst and New Society of Anarchists (rock)
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Music @ the Mall, 300 Main, Keokuk, Iowa
HOW MUCH: $5, all ages
INFO: www.myspace.com/musicatthemall
Hamilton charities benefit dance featuring Delinquent (rock) and Duece Coupe (60’s rock)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Great River Golf Course, Nauvoo, Ill.
HOW MUCH: $10. Cost includes meal and patrons must be 21years of age.
TORQUE (rock)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: River City Billiards, Hannibal, Mo.
HOW MUCH: $5
Shanghi Lil (rock)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Adam’s Trading Post, Liberty, Ill.
Movin’ On (variety)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: The Grove Inn, 6510 Broadway
HOW MUCH: $5, outside
Duke Tumatoe (blues)
WHEN: 4 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: The Club Tavern, Quincy
HOW MUCH: Free
Jessica Martin
jmartin@whig.com
Events available this weekend from comedy to metal
Sep 16th
Pick a live event and GO TO A SHOW!
The Jackets (comedy)
WHEN AND WHERE: 8 p.m. at Spring Street Bar and 9 p.m. at the Abbey, Quincy
HOW MUCH: Free
INFO: www.myspace.com/thejacketscomedy
Esther Moore (acoustic)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday
WHERE: The State Room, Quincy
INFO: www.myspace.com/esthermoore
C-Box Prophets (hip hop/alternative)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Friday
WHERE: CJ Muggs, 101 Lockwood, Webster Groves, Mo.
HOW MUCH: No cover
INFO: www.myspace.com/cboxprophets
Wild Wild West Band (country/classic rock)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Sportsman’s Bar, Hannibal, Mo.
HOW MUCH: Free
INFO: www.myspace.com/wildwildwestband
C-Box Prophets (hip hop/alternative)
WHEN: 2 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Crown Valley Port House at Tievoli Hills, Clarksville, Mo.
HOW MUCH: No cover
INFO: www.myspace.com/cboxprophets
Benefit featuring NOWAKE (rock)
WHEN: 5 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: American Legion, 3819 Highway MM, Hannibal, Mo.
HOW MUCH: $10 per person, or $15 per couple and for kids 7-18 it is $5. All ages welcome to attend.
INFO: www.myspace.com/nowakemusic
Infliction of Need, Matt Lucas for Coroner, Dividing The Masses (rock/metal)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Music @ the Mall, 300 Main, Keokuk, Iowa
HOW MUCH: $5, all ages
INFO: www.myspace.com/musicatthemall
Benefit featuring Days Taken and Ticket to Ride (rock)
WHEN: 2 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Paloma Shelter House, Paloma, Ill.
HOW MUCH:
Wild Wild West Band (country/classic rock)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Sportsman’s Bar, Hannibal, Mo.
HOW MUCH: Free
INFO: www.myspace.com/wildwildwestband
THUNDERUNDERUS (rock)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Mugshots, Hannibal, Mo.
INFO: www.myspace.com/thunderunderus
Musicians Memorial Concert
BANDS: Ryan Dixon, Justin Tuck, Country Time, Gary & Jessica, Hot Buttered Toast, Laughing Soul, Tropical Punks, Overdraft, Love Junkie and Ditch 23
WHEN: Noon Sunday
WHERE: Victory Park under the bridge, Keokuk, Iowa
HOW MUCH: $10 in advance/$12 at the gate, all ages
INFO: www.myspace.com/musiciansmemorial
Kanye West takes mic and moment from Taylor Swift at MTV VMAs
Sep 14th
Kanye West, left, takes the mic from Taylor Swift at MTV VMAs.
Many were quick to turn to the Web last night after Taylor Swift’s win on the MTV Video Music Awards for Best Female Video.
Right after Swift came on stage to accept the award, Kanye West joined her, took the mic and proceeded to announce his thoughts on who should have won. He very arrogantly said that Beyonce had one of the best videos this year and when he finally gave the microphone back to Swift, the crowd was booing so bad that she was ushered off stage sans thank you speech.
Swift was said to have been crying in her mother’s arms minutes before her VMA debut performance.
If West had some patience and less arrogance, he would have waited until later in the show when Beyonce won for Video of the Year to show is appreciation of her work. (READ MORE HERE)
After Beyonce’s win, she talked about how excited she was when she won her first VMA years ago with Destiny’s Child and asked Swift to come back on stage and give her thank yous. Swift did, with no mention of West, and in the end, most think Beyonce and Swift both handled the situation with class and West only wanted publicity.
According to mtv.com, Katy Perry tweeted, “It’s like you stepped on a kitten,” about what West did to Swift. Read what other celebrities tweeted here.
Smoke On the River kicks off tonight
Sep 11th
Plenty of things are going on this weekend to go check out, so pick some live music and have fun!
Benefit featuring Torque and Tri-fecta (rock)
WHEN: 6 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Northside Boat Club, 200 S. Front, Quincy
HOW MUCH: $5
INFO: www.myspace.com/torquerocks
The Notorious Nightcrawlers (jam/rock)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday
WHERE: The Bucket Grill and Bar, Griggsville, Ill.
Smoke On The River with Raised On Radio (blues/classic rock)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday
WHERE: The Dock, Quincy
INFO: www.smokeontheriver.net
The Jackets (comedy)
WHEN and WHERE: 8 p.m. at Tony’s Too and 9 p.m. at The Grove Inn Friday in Quincy
HOW MUCH: Free
INFO: www.myspace.com/thejacketscomedy
The Scott Ford Band
WHEN: 9 p.m. Friday and 11 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Backwaters, 138 N. Front, Quincy
INFO: www.clubbackwaters.com
Smoke On The River with Blue Eyed Soul, The Cheeseburgers and Rick Berry (classic rock/blues)
WHEN: 3 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: The Dock, Quincy
INFO: www.smokeontheriver.net
Vagivore, Soy City Stranglers and Senseless Beauty (metal)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Music @ the Mall, 300 Main, Keokuk, Iowa
HOW MUCH: $5, all ages
INFO: www.myspace.com/musicatthemall
Thru the Ashes (rock)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Back Alley Bar and Grill, Pittsfield, Ill.
INFO: www.myspace.com/thrutheashesacoustic
TORQUE (rock/alternative)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Dugout Lounge, 217 S. Vine, Monroe City, Mo.
HOW MUCH: $5
INFO: www.myspace.com/torquerocks
Olivus (rock/blues)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Rookie’s Sports Bar, 611 Broadway, Hannibal, Mo.
HOW MUCH: No cover
INFO: www.myspace.com/olivus5
TIPS: They say they can play anything from Bob Seger to Killswitch Engage.
Nashville Bound Band (classic rock/country)
WHEN: 5:30 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: American Legion, Quincy
HOW MUCH: $4
INFO: www.myspace.com/nashvilleboundband
Jessica Martin
jmartin@whig.com
Quincy Not-So-Fine-Arts Society hopes to beat odds, make difference in area
Sep 9th
Quincy Not-So-Fine-Arts Society logo
Another group of young, maybe starry-eyed, arts/music lovers has begun with hopes of helping bring back the focus on the Quincy music scene and make arts more available to the younger alternative set. I don’t have any animosity towards this group, the Quincy Not-So-Fine-Arts Society, but I’m merely going to watch nervously as they progress.
I truly want them to succeed, which is why I wrote an article for the Herald-Whig that will appear in Thursday’s edition. I’m simply a bit scarred at this point from all the times I’ve seen a really great idea being put into action in the region by my generation and younger generations, and then it seems to dissolve into nothing or a lesser seemingly unstable version of itself.
This seems to happen somewhat due to grandiose ideas, and lack of planning, experience and interest.
So far, the Quincy Not-So-Fine-Arts Society seems different with a solid foundation of organized events, growing membership and media interest.
Below are some examples of other local groups that I hope can keep going.
LOCAL GROUPS/VENUES
BAND N’ FANS: I have seen Band N’ Fans come and go and then start again and now I haven’t heard much from them over the past few months. They are a group devoted to promoting local shows and helping book bands and according to their Myspace page, they only have shows up for St. Louis and Springfield, Ill.
INFO: www.myspace.com/bandsnfans
THE CRUX: This all ages venue was started by a punk music lover after he was given access to a building in downtown Hannibal, Mo., to hold non-profit rock shows. He was bringing in touring punk acts and was gaining in popularity until he moved to Wisconsin. Some young patrons fought hard through fundraisers to bring back the venue and had a few shows, but took a summer-long break. According to their site they plan to “come back” yet again for a show Oct. 10, 2009.
INFO: www.myspace.com/cruxshows
THE THRESHING FLOOR: This is an all ages venue in Eolia, Mo., that has brought some great punk rock, metal and hardcore acts to the area, but has slowed to one show a month. They say this is to book bigger and better shows.
INFO: www.myspace.com/threshingfloorshows
MUSIC @ THE MALL: This all ages venue in Keokuk, Iowa, was started by a punk music lover that made a name for the venue by having reliable shows every Saturday at the same place, same time and with the same cost for three different music acts. There is always at least one out-of-town act performing. After over a year of stable show throwing, the organizer finally said that the fun of the venue had left and turned in to baby-sitting disrespectful patrons. A few of the respectful patrons threw fundraisers and starting the shows back up after about a month absence. They have been doing a good job of keeping the shows steady and I hope it continues.
INFO: www.myspace.com/musicatthemall
QUINCY MUSIC SCENE: The Quincy Music Scene was an online forum on its previous site that is no longer available and a place to feature local music on their Myspace page that hasn’t been logged into since 2006. It was another interesting idea, but from what I have heard, basically deteriorated into a place for musicians and the public to bash other musicians and bands.
INFO: www.myspace.com/quincymusicscene
I hope everyone who loves music and the arts can realize that for a region this size to build a larger music and arts scene, every needs to focus only on supporting each other’s groups and projects, not on throwing competing shows and events. Please let me know if there are other groups/venues that support local music and the arts for the younger set.
As always, please support local music and GO TO A SHOW!
Jessica Martin
jmartin@whig.com
Who is the most memorable, Kurt Cobain or Tommy Lee? Also, many genres available this weekend in local entertainment
Sep 3rd
The late Kurt Cobain, top, and musician Tommy Lee.
A discussion was held in the newsroom recently about how notorious a couple musicians are now and would be in 100 years. What do you think about this?
Who is better known out of context, Tommy Lee or Kurt Cobain? Which one would people have heard of more in 100 years? (I realize that 100 years is a long time, but in several years and several generations later, who would it be?)
In case you are unaware, Kurt Cobain was the lead-singer of Nirvana before he died, and Tommy Lee is the drummer for Motley Crue.
My answer is Kurt Cobain and not just because he died in his prime. Nirvana has had a bigger impact on a generation and on music in general. They were the leader of a major genre, grunge, and influenced most of the rock bands on the radio today.
Not to take away from Motley Crue’s influence in music though and I am also aware that because of many scandals that Tommy Lee has been apart of, he may be more well-known in the mainstream at this time.
Please let me know what you think about this topic by leaving a comment.
WEEKEND SHOWS
The Jackets (comedy)
WHEN AND WHERE: 7 p.m. at The Place, 8 p.m. at the Heartland Saloon and 9 p.m. at Streeter’s Lounge, all in Quincy
HOW MUCH: Free
INFO: www.myspace.com/thejacketscomedy
Predawn Hour and NOWAKE (rock)
WHEN: 11 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Twilight Zone, Quincy
HOW MUCH: $4
INFO: www.myspace.com/predawnhour
StinkBait (metal/classic rock)
WHEN: 2 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Ikes Bar and Tavern, Dallas City, Ill.
INFO: www.myspace.com/stinkbait
Corcid, A Hill To Die Upon, In The Face Of War, The Sorely Trying Days (hardcore)
WHEN: 7:30 Saturday
WHERE: Music @ the Mall, 300 Main, Keokuk, Iowa
HOW MUCH: $5, all ages
INFO: www.myspace.com/musicatthemall
TIPS: Four bands at Music @ the Mall is unusual and quite a deal for the money!
Hillbilly Vegas (country/Southern rock), Fielder (jam) and Cheeks McGee (acoustic)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: The State Room, Quincy
HOW MUCH: $5
INFO: www.myspace.com/hillbillyvegas
TIPS: Hillbilly Vegas is gaining in popularity, but remains unsigned at this time.
Sequoia Drive (alternative/country)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: The Wood Inn, Carthage
INFO: www.myspace.com/sequoiadriveband
Justin Moore
Justin Moore (country) and Steve McLain and The Jefferson County Green Band (blues/reggae)
WHEN: Monday
WHERE: B-Bar-T Western Store, Denmark, Iowa
INFO: www.tri-state-rodeo.com
TIPS: Moore is a signed country artist with the hit “Small Town USA” on the Billboard charts.
Support LOCAL MUSIC and GO TO A SHOW!
Jessica Martin
jmartin@whig.com
