Thunderclap Record Studio and Towle Theater team up Oct. 9 for the fourth and latest installment of their popular ongoing "Local Music Showcase" series, which this time focuses on singer/songwriters, rather than bands.
Performing will be Dana Lynn and John Prestipino of the group Lynxwail (formerly Veda), Mark Mybeck (of Nomad Planets), Mark Adrian (of The Liars), Kelly Campos, and Collin Magdziarz.
Magdziarz, a multi-instrumental, composer, performer and multi-media artist is the only talent to make a return appearance from a past showcase line-up.
"We received such great feedback about Collin's performance at the last showcase, we decided to bring him back for this show," said John Carpenter, owner and chief engineer/producer at Thunderclap Recording, a frequent sponsor of area band battles and talent contests.
"This will be my first time performing a solo acoustic set in front of people in probably 15 years. I won't have the rest of the band to hide mistakes behind," joked Mark Mybeck.
The series is the brainchild of Carpenter and began last year as an experiment.
Carpenter realized most of the area's clubs book only or mainly covers bands and artists. He believed area fans would support live original music if only given the opportunity to do so and a venue willing to present it.
He found support from the management of Towle Theater.
"Based on the success of our past shows, we have decided to make this an annual series of concerts," Carpenter said. "The June show we recently did was very special. The artists meshed well and were very well received by the audience. This is the chance to see a new group of diamonds in the rough," he said.
"The opportunity to see and hear original music in Northwest Indiana is very limited at best," said Mybeck. "Patronizing this event and this series proves that there is an audience who appreciates, wants and supports it."
The Towle Theater is located at 5205 Hohman Avenue in downtown Hammond. All ages are welcome. Admission is $10. FYI: (219) 937-8780 or localmusicshowcase.com
Music notes
* Chicagoland gets a double dose of actress/rocker Juliette Lewis tonight. After a long absence from the big screen, Lewis ("Cape Fear," "Natural Born Killers") returns in a new major motion picture about women's roller derby called,"Whip It." opening nationwide today in theaters.
Lewis also appears live tonight at Chicago's Bottom Line (1375 West Lake St.) for the kick-off of a 22-city national tour to support her new indie-rock album, "Terra Incognita," showcasing her new backing group, The New Romantiques.
* Nicole Garza and The Oh-Geez do a full band set at 9 p.m. today alongside the Innervisionists and Sidewalk Chalk at Goose Island Wrigleyville (Addison and Clark) for a 21 and older audience. On Saturday, younger fans can see them at 7 p.m. at the all ages Oktoberfest in the parking lot of White Rhino Bar and Grille. FYI: nicolegarza.com
The opinions expressed are solely the writer's. Reach him at beatboss@aol.com.
