Down On The Corner

By Paul Moffett

• Thank goodness Spring has arrived, even though this winter wasn't really all that bad, at least not around these parts. Still, when the crocuses stand up, can Derby be far behind?

• The Louisville Music News website ( www.louisvillemusicnews.com) has undergone some changes and will continue to shift and change over the next couple of months, so log on and check it out.

One of the features is the addition of a signup form for those of you who want to get an email version of the paper direct to your mail box. We promise not to flood you with any spam, thought there'll be ads in the stories - we hope.

For folks who have been receiving LMN as a complimentary subscription, please note that, thanks to the recent and continuous postal increases, we will be phasing out complimentary copies immediately. If you wish to continue receiving the articles in Louisville Music News, you'll have to sign up at the website. We apology for this but costs are up and revenue is reduced, thanks to the recession and the after-effects of September 11 and this step is necessary.

• For heavy metal/hardcore artists and record labels, both local and national, I am in the process of putting together a Louisville-area television show. No name has been suggested as yet (suggestions are welcome.) To this end, I have been and continue to seek and solicit music videos. The preferred format is ¾" (broadcast quality cassettes) but I can use SVHS, Beta and, as a last resort VHS. I'm not set up right this minute to deal with DVDs but soon enough. If you have a video in these formats and are interested in having it in the show, please mail a copy to: LM.com, 3705 Fairway Lane, Louisville, KY 40207.

• In case I didn't mention it, Paul and Grace of Another Colour finally got married. I didn't hear about it for a loooo-ng time, until I happened to call Grace about a show. And I bet you thought they were already married.

Also, I think I already mentioned that our own Miss Muffy is now Mrs. Muffy. She snuck off and got hitched back in the winter.

• Tek World on Preston Highway is holding a "Battle of the Bands 2002" on April 5 & April 6 2002, Tek World is at 8663 Preston Highway Louisville Kentucky, across from Southern High School. The Winners/Judges Award Performance will be held on Saturday, April 13, 2002. The competition is open to public.

• Utopia Café has moved out on Shelbyville Road and is now actually open during the day. They've taken over the bulding formerly occupied by Jerry's Restaurant at 4220 Shelbyville Rd. They'll be serving lunch and dinner and will have music on Fridays and Saturdays. The new/old number is 897-7011

• Jamey Aebersold's Summer Jazz Workshops 2002 have been announced. As always, you can go and learn pretty much any instrument in a variety of styles of jazz. In addition to the week-long workshops, Aebersold is holding three mini-courses around the country: June 20-30 in Louisville; August 10-11 in Pleasant Hill, CA and August 14-15 in Seattle, WA. For information, log onto www.jazzbooks.com/workshops.

• The folks who run Bowman Field has decided that they need a festival there, so they've scheduled one for Memorial Day weekend, on Saturday, May 25. In addition to the usual array of arts and crafts, they're mixing in an showcase of music plus theater and children's arts and topping off the whole thing with a Louisville Orchestra performance. They call it an "Arts Jam" and have hired Ott Communications to put it all together. Needless to say, they're looking for exhibitors and, perhaps, one or two more musical acts (they already have a slew of them). In case you want to get on the stand-by list, contact Carol Dines at Ott Communications at 267-6999 or email to cdines@ottcom.com.

• According to our metal columnist Eddie Metal, the Crunchzone, located in the building that was formerly the site of Uncle Pleasant's and Flashback, has lost its liquour license and will soon close. We'll follow up on that and let you know. Around here, we hate it whenever another venue goes belly up.

• I'd be interested in hearing music fans' opinions about the proposed and in-progress redevelopment of the Galleria, particularly with respect to the nightclubs they are planning to install. Would you go downtown to the Galleria for a franchised set of clubs, including a blues club, a comedy nightclub, an Irish music club and an ESPN Sports bar? If so, why? If not, why not? Drop me a line at: LouMusNews@Louisville.net and let me know what you think.

Down in Lexington, the Long Island Recording Company has established a new record label, Tranquillity Record, to record and, presumably, release Christian music. For more information, contact them via the internet at WWW.LIRCO.COM or by phone at (859)  224-2071

• A few tidbits about Louisville recording projects have accumulated in the "Future" file. Romeo Laureano has been wrapping an EP CD with Todd Smith producing. Peter Searcy has added cello to some of the five songs, all written by Jay Goldstein. Look for a release any day now.

Olive Trees, the duo cum band lead by Dr. Stephen and Karen Spanbauer, has finished recording the twelve-song CD, Water Vision, which they have been working on for some time now. They're working on finding a place for a CD release party, perhaps at the Rudyard, perhaps elsewhere. Keep an eye out for them and what they call anti-inflammatory alt rock. Sounds like a doc named that to me.

• For you blues fans and players, news that Kelly Richy, she of the blazing fingers, is offering guitar lessons down in Lexington should excite you no end - or terrify you, depending on your assessment of your ability. For more info, send email to mailto:Y4rucrazy@aol.com.

• For those of you who don't know, the Kentucky Center for the Arts has mostly finished the renovations, at least enough to re-open the lobby and take down all the barricades and dust covers. All in all, it should be a much more pleasant experience to there, although it wasn't all bad before. They have sent the smokers to an exterior smokers' Coventry space, which will make life more pleasant for those who don't indulge. The Center immediately announced that the lobby would be the perfect place to view Thunder Over Louisville, which you can do for a mere $175.

• The Bellarmine University Music Department will stage a jazz concert featuring Bellarmine faculty and friends on Monday, April 1 at 8 p.m. in the Amy Cralle Theater at the Wyatt Center for the Arts. The lineup includes Director of Jazz Studies Jeff Sherman, Hunt Butler, Chris Fitzgerald, Mark Tate, Todd Hildreth and Michael Ferraraccio. The concert is free and open to the public.