Well, after 7 good years here in Phoenix, Arizona, I'm finally finishing up my degree, and have gotten a job as a visiting assistant professor of anthropology at Notre Dame, and I'll be moving out to Indiana at the end of the month. So, while I will miss all the great MBH harp players I've met and become friends with here in AZ, I am looking forward to the opportunity to (hopefully) meet some more of you out in that area! Anyone on the board live in the area around Notre Dame? Chicago ain't too far away I hear, anyone live there?
I'll be busy for the first several months, but it would be great to know what the harp scene is like in the area so when things calm down on the move/work front, I'll have some idea of it... Any recommendations for good music venues in the area or good open mics? Anyone know what the busking situation is like? All info is greatly appreciated!
I'm a little further from South Bend than Chicago is, but Springfield has a staunch group of harp players. We get some pretty respected players here at the weekly Blue Monday event. RJ Mischo was here a couple months ago.
And dougharps lives in Urbana, which is considerably closer, though still not as close as Chi-town.
I get over to Terre Haute every few months to see my in-laws, and my wife's brothers now live in Bloomington. I'm planning on making a trip over there to see them and maybe link up with Ricci. ---------- Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Jul 06, 2012 1:29 PM
you are gonna be about 3 hours from the best blues festival. bean blossom blues fest is in nashville, indiana, which is a little south of indianapolis. tickets are cheap @ $50 for the whole deal. lots of great jams after the bands. think fast and i can get you a ticket for free. but the special ends shortly. you camp on site, which is an additional cost. there are seminars, too. ronnie shellist is doing the advanced seminar this year. for more info- http://www.bushmanmusic.com/ or email me. you still have my address?
@Hawkeye: Good to know you are in the state! I'm not sure exactly how free my schedule will be, but it sounds like a trip down to Springfield for one those Blue Mondays could be fun at one point. Yeah, I heard on FB that Jason is likely going to be staying in Indiana for the next few years... While not the best for him, if he's going to be around and perhaps giving lessons, that's a stellar opportunity for us!
@eharp: Ah man! I'd soooo love to, but I'm don't think I can make the Bean Blossom... That's literally the day after classes start, and I'm sure I'm going to be swamped! Dang it! Thank you very much for the offer of a free ticket, though! I really appreciate it! And I will definitely have to check out martha's midway tavern! That place looks really cool!
Clarification Isaac...I'm in Springfield, ILLINOIS. And Doug is in Urbana, ILLINOIS. Sorry...guess I shoulda said that before. You mentioned Chicago and I guess my neurons didn't quite fire the right way at the time.
But still...yes, Blue Monday is a fun time. It'd prolly be something you might stop in for if you happened to be passing through the area. Doug makes it over once in a while...so does Deak.
Sidenote as well....Kim Wilson & The Fabulous Thunderbirds and James Cotton are both gonna be here on February 2nd for a tribute concert to Muddy & the Wolf. ---------- Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Jul 06, 2012 2:40 PM
Hey Isaac - Listen to eharp!!!!! (you will hardly ever hear that again!!) ;-) If I was you, I would blow off school and take in the Bean!!!! Your Beatboxin' harpin' will be a big hit!!! And you could not meet more goofy harpsters than there!!! (You know you can trust me!!) ;-) ---------- If it ain't got harp - it ain't really blues!!!!
@Hawkeye: Thanks for the clarification! You can see how good my midwest geography is that I didn't catch that! :) Still, if I do get up that way, it's good to know you are there!
@Jawbone: If only it were that easy! The carefree days of being a student are now behind me, and now that I'm the professor of the class, it just ain't that easy to blow it off anymore! :) BUT, the good news is that South Bend is whole heck of a lot closer to TO than Phoenix is! So I'll likely be heading up that way a couple of times next year to drop in on some friends! And perhaps you and me can rule the stage at Grossman's Tavern once again! ;) ---------- == I S A A C ==
Isaac, I am in Indianapolis. While you are certainly closer to Chicago, Indy is straight south of you. If you need any pointers on getting by in the Midwest coming from out west, let me know. If you ever feel like coming down to Indy, let me know. Good to have you in the neighborhood.
Well Isaac, nothing to say about Indiana but a big congratulations on the new career at Notre Dame. Now, just a You Tube channel on playing harp, start a harp forum and you'll be in similar company. All kidding aside, getting an opportunity at Notre Dame doesn't hurt the resume. Good Luck with it. I hope Mrs. Isaacullah is Ok with it all. ---------- "Keep it in your mouth" - XHarp
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME DR. JONES? REALLY? you're kidding me right? YOU are moving to Indiana? I guess that's where all the great archeologists live.
Um... on the Harp scene, Jason Ricci is in Indiana - alone, he would create an awesome harp scene.
---------- David
____________________ At the time of his birth, it was widely accepted that no one man could play that much music so well or raise that much hell. He proved them all wrong. R.I.P. H. Cecil Payne Elk River Institute for Advanced Harmonica Studies
"I ain't gonna sing no 'Home on the Range.' No. sir. Not if it means I rot in here another month. I'm gonna sing what I'm a gonna be! A free man in the morning!" Andy Griffith (as Lonesome Rhodes, "A Face in the Crowd).
Last Edited by on Jul 06, 2012 7:26 PM
Of course the Slippery Noodle, one of the oldest blues bars in the country is in Indy. You name it, they've played there. Chicago is less than an hour from South Bend, congrats on the job. eHarp is right, if you can get away for saturday you'll be back every year! I'm pretty sure Eric has room in his cabin for one more. Of course, half the park shows up to jam there so don't count on getting much sleep!
isaac- do me a favor, please. when you get to notre dame- look up my brother. you will find him in the microbiology/genetics labs, usually. dr. hyde with reddish-grey hair. give him a sob story and tell him i said you could get a free meal from him and his wife, laura. she's a great cook!
Wally Peterman lives in that part of indiana... on Jason, wherever he is, is an awesome harp scene. ---------- David
____________________ At the time of his birth, it was widely accepted that no one man could play that much music so well or raise that much hell. He proved them all wrong. R.I.P. H. Cecil Payne Elk River Institute for Advanced Harmonica Studies
"I ain't gonna sing no 'Home on the Range.' No. sir. Not if it means I rot in here another month. I'm gonna sing what I'm a gonna be! A free man in the morning!" Andy Griffith (as Lonesome Rhodes, "A Face in the Crowd).
Last Edited by on Jul 06, 2012 11:04 PM
I think Wally told me he moved to Shelbyville, IN. Shelbyville is about 40 minutes east of Indianapolis, not really close to South Bend. Last year there was a meet-up of Hoosier harp players in Indy, organized by a terrific chromatic player who works for and sometimes plays with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Wally was there, along with some other great longtime players. Kingobad, Allan Stratyner and myself were the only diatonic players. We had a ball jamming with those legendary players. We have some great player in Indy. Tom Harold (Gordan Bonham Blues band) is a huge player, Tad Robinson used to live here and I think and still plays here often. Jay Thompson, another steller player, gigs all around town. I'd like to see more get-togethers here. Allen brought Joe Filisko in for a seminar a few years back. Maybe I need to start an Indy harpers facebook page. Ok, done.
Ten four on the Noodle! And if your in Bean Blossom Bloomington is 20 minutes away where there is the Bluebird, and Bear's Place was doing a thursday blues jam when I left there. But what you're really going to get a kick out of is the artifact hunting. I have found pieces from the Paleo period up to the Mississippian period. As far back as we know mankinds existance there right up to the end of the stone age. You can still pick up pieces from the fields. The spring and the fall after they turn the fields over the rains come more artifacts can be found. I've never hunted northern Indiana but they don't call it Indiana for nothin. The Ohio valley is loaded. The piece I never could find was a weighted banner stone for an Addle Addle but I have buddies that've found them.
Hey @Isaacullah congratulations and lucky you. Ever since I was a kid I always wanted to be a professor. All the kids used to call me prof when I was young, always fiddling with electronics and gunpowder. We always think of a professor with bald head, sticky-out white hair and tiny glasses on the end of the nose. I'm pleased you don't fit that description. Good Luck with your move to Indiana. Will be following your progress.
thanks everybody for the info and well wishes! I've got a lot going on this weekend, but I'll try to chedck back in tomorrow with a longer response to some of the particular things y'all have mentioned in your posts. thanks again!
