I have a certain admiration for Rob Gordon, John Cusack's character in the 2000 film High Fidelity. Although flawed by a heavy case of snobbery, living by the maxim that the more you like something, the more you insult the majority of it, he had such a strong passion for music that he had to make it his life's work.
It seems as though the Quad Cities have their own Rob Gordon (rather, a duo) who have made their passion also their business, making it a must-visit for any music fan in this area. To be fair, Jorge and Amber Tapia, owners of Mixtapes located at 830 15th Avenue in East Moline, carry a different disposition than Cusack's character; they leave the elitism at the door. It seems as though they have developed their own maxim: the more you like something, the more you want to share it with as many people as possible.
Jim the Mule started recording its second studio album, Last Solid Ground, in March 2007, and a rough mix was finished in August.
It
has been a furious two days, as late this Monday we confirmed what is
just one of a number of flood-benefit shows that we're looking at
staging here in the Quad Cities over the next month. We've been
talking with some great bands about coming in here and donating their
talents to help out those who lost a lot in the recent floods here in
Iowa. All door proceeds for the show will go to local flood victims.
The Ani DiFranco appearing at the Capitol Theatre on Saturday might not be the same Ani DiFranco who became something of a legend over the past two decades.
We're
busy as always this week, bringing in a number of bands that will be
playing this week's Pitchfork Festival in Chicago. The sessions
that we'll be recording here in Rock Island include visits by
Candle, Bear Country, The New Year, The Icy Demons, Jennifer
O'Connor, Secret Machines, The Dutchess & the Duke, the Prairie
Spies, Ani DiFranco, and Supergrass.
Natalia Zukerman might as well have been born on the road. She is the child of two classical musicians who traveled a lot. (Her father is violinist, violist, and conductor Pinchas Zukerman.) She said last week that she got on a plane for the first time when she was six weeks old, and "I've learned to pack and unpack since I was a little kid.
It's
a relatively calm week at Daytrotter headquarters this week, but the
few things that are happening are exciting.
Three
years ago, the Black Banjo Gathering was held in North Carolina to
celebrate "the African American heritage of the banjo, which has
not only a historic past, but also a resurgent present, and a great
future," according to the event's Web site
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