Get Your Move On
At the last meeting of Parkville’s ad-hoc economic committee, participants in the discussion listed various things that Parkville could do to improve the economic climate around town and, maybe surprisingly to some, live music was near the top of the list.
Music is recession proof. Whenever you’re needing to get up, put on your favorite album and get down – at least that’s what I do.
Yeah, I know, Mr. Hip over here. I just can’t get into the download thing yet. The other day, I was talking to a friend who told me that he downloaded some software off the Internet and it enabled him to obtain every single song, off every single record, by all the bands he thought he should have had.
See, I just don’t get that sort of instant gratification that the Internet affords. Back in my day, we used to go down to the record store and hunt for music. It was part of the fun. Today, I visit antique malls and hunt through stacks of albums, looking for gaps in my impressive collection. (One day I will finally find “The Four Seasons vs. The Beatles” and I will dance as if I have a burning love inside.)
And don’t say E-bay. That’s cheating, too…although, I will admit, when I won my Ernie Pyle action figure auction the other month, I was pretty ecstatic. That was a steal. Little guy comes with a rolodex and typewriter, too.
And it’s not just the music – it’s the machines, too. I am a proud owner of one of the first Edison Diamond Disc players – the Betamax of its day to the Victrola’s VHS. Edison built his machines to last, and I still crank it up every now and then and I still purchase Diamond Discs whenever I can. It was in New York, Matt Umanov’s Guitars on Bleecker Street, to be precise, when I came across a 1963 Paul McCartney-style Hofner Violin Bass in perfect shape. I bought it for 2,000 boxes of ziti and learned how to plunk out the first 14 notes of the bass line from “Dear Prudence,” much to the delight of Carmine Street. After a few studio hours of doing that, it lay against the aforementioned Edison where legions of drunken visitors would make like Pete Townsend on it. Two years later I sold it back to Matt Umanov, who graciously agreed to give me $1,000 for it. It was like Aaron Rents. I still regret selling it and look for it every time I go back for a visit.
Getting back to Parkville – there’s a whole summer of live music coming our way and it’s a great thing. The owner of 9 Lives, Mrs. Melissa Robbins – one of the brightest faces in downtown Parkville these days – has been having a lot of fun, staying open late at her Friday Night Flea. Last week her husband Nate, who is in the seriously up and coming on a national scale The Wilders, and a few friends had a jam session and I sat in to help sing “Rain” with them. Afterwards, I strolled by The Power Plant and watched Laura Lisbeth sing a few songs over A Beer Named Sue. Then, I checked up on Marc Kline tickling the ivories at 100 Main and then performed a freestyle rap to L.L. Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out” with Frank McCall in the Pocket Park. Good times.
More good times are to come. As we reported last week, the Power Plant and Bentley’s Guitar are sponsoring the season long “Parkville Acoustic Festival” which will feature the bands I’ve mentioned above and Kasey Rausch – a real fave. Then, the mother of them all, the Parkville RiverJam Jazz and Blues Festival arrives. Sooner or later the Guitar Pull will re-emerge at English Landing. Live events are also in the planning stages at Parkville Commons. Stay tuned for that.
So make like a kid – laugh and dance and shake your bones this season – it’ll make those recession blues fade, guaranteed.
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I know that column’s not going to be enough for my base, so let me say that it was good to see Charlie “Raging” Poole back in action last week. For those that missed it, the former Ward 1 Alderman and twice-defeated candidate for the Parkville mayor’s seat took great umbrage with the fact that Mark Young – who nailed it in his Luminary op-ed (read it on ParkvilleLuminary.com)—dared voice an opinion on the Dusenbery E-mail forwarding incident, and wrote The Kansas City Star to voice his opinion against opinions. This isn’t the first time he’s done so – regular readers of The Luminary (who, incidentally, read of the 2004-05 election season as it happened) remember his shock and astonishment over this newspaper’s opinion page back when he still held office.
Dusenbery – who, by the way TROUNCED Poole in the last mayor’s election – had (and still retains) the right to rebut any charges made about her administration in Hutsler’s campaign materials as the mayor in title – and, according to the complaint, she didn’t even do that! Hutsler’s take on the ordinance is not only wrong, it’s dangerous. It weakens legitimate cries against wrongdoing. Naturally, Poole’s take was even more ridiculous: that Tom Hutsler, Dave Williams and Kathy Dusenbery “would probably best serve Parkville if all three packed their bags and moved out of Parkville.”
Really? Leave town? This from a guy who brags about his near part-time residency in South Carolina (which, as we all know, is a state famous for its tolerance). Big words from a guy – unlike Williams, Hutsler and Young — who has zero investment in the downtown business sector and never came remotely close to serving the public as effectively as Dusenbery did.
I’d say I’m proud to be the only newspaper publisher in the Kansas City region defending the first amendment but it’s actually incredibly sad. Either way, The Luminary shall continue to shed light on matters of public interest with an unflinching look towards reality and common sense. There is not money enough for any other way.