…after making his first appearance stateside last fall, Dave Doughman [better known as Swearing at Motorists] will return for a series of house shows in the states. He is planning one in Dayton on March 19 and tickets are limited to 40. Currently, there are 24 left, so you’d better go here and buy tickets before they are gone…
ANNOUNCEMENT: The Buddha Den NTRO/XPO Moves in March
…after 18 months at Oregon Express, tonight will be our final edition of The Buddha Den NTRO/XPO at that location. Tonight we will wrap up our February Residency with Brandon Hawk performing a solo acoustic set and also with his band, By Way of Sunstorm. Certainly, this will be the icing on the cake of our stint at the Oregon Express. We’d like to thank Joe Bavarro and the staff at OE for providing us with such an incredibly opportunity and an amazing room in which to host this event. Thank you to everyone that came out and supported the event and thanks to all the musicians that took time out of their week to come by and play. It’s been an incredibly rewarding experience and we learned a lot about hosting shows and just exactly how much incredible talent there is in Dayton…
…as we move into March, we’ll be moving The Buddha Den NTRO/XPO across town to the cozy confines of South Park Tavern. Additionally, we will be changing the night of the week for the NTRO/XPO from Wednesday to Tuesday. The event will continue to be FREE, however, and will now also be ALL AGES. We will kick off our March Residency on Tuesday, March 9 with an amazing young band that we recently discovered, Roley Yuma.
The Utterance Project: February’s lineup
Local slam mistress Miss Purity follows up last month’s sizzling poetry/spoken word show by serving up a hot bowl of word stew on Feb. 26, at North River Coffee House.
This month’s “Utterance Project” features two accomplished poets: Ill Poetic and Huntor Prey.
Dayton native Ill Poetic is a poet and an underground hip hop artist and producer, blending rock, soul and jazz with an introspective lyrical style. His musical influences are diverse – ranging from rhythm and blues singer Curtis Mayfield to multi-platinum rapper Jay-Z.
“I never really thought of my music as thoughtful,” he says on his myspace page. “I think what I produce or write is usually an extension of me. I usually just try and let my personality bleed into a song, because that’s what instantly separates it from anyone else’s music.”
Along with his own solo releases, Ill Poetic boasts an impressive array of collaborative efforts, producing and/or providing remixes for artists including Slum Village, Lyricist Lounge emcee Wordsworth and a host of others.
Having toured nationally and internationally, with acts like Pharoah Monche, Talib Kweli, Chuck D and GZA, Ill Poetic is poised to be a major player in the music scene in 2010.
Joining Poetic is Toledo native Huntor Prey. This internationally-known poet infuses his lyrics with a funky spiritualism intended to motivate and stimulate his audiences.
“The Utterance Project” is a monthly series of showcases featuring local and regional poets, spoken word artists and musicians. The event is held every fourth Friday from 5 to 8 pm.
Admission for this all ages event is free. Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase.
Replace those winter blues with a hot night of rhythm and blues. And as always, tell ’em Dayton Most Metro sent ya!
Daytonians Sowing Big Dreams
What better topic to discuss on a bone-chilling February night in Dayton, than growing beautiful, luscious food in your own garden? That is exactly what a group of urban Daytonians did on Thursday night, in the South Park historic district. What started as a Facebook status update by Carli Dixon, South Park resident and local small business owner, quickly erupted into a flurry of dialogue on the topic. The post by Dixon referred to attending the annual OEFFA Conference (Ohio ecological Food and Farm Assn) and meeting Joel Salatin, the inventive farmer highlighted in recent documentary films, Food, Inc. and Fresh.
If you haven’t seen the movies, you may find it baffling that 10 young, talented women from the Dayton region would consider a West Virginia farmer a ROCK STAR, but it is in fact the words of that Rock Star, Joel Salatin, that ultimately united them all last night. The loosely knit group of neighbors and friends converged at Dixon’s home to hear what Salatin had to say at the OEFFA conference, as well as to share information and ideas relating to the topic of creating sustainable food systems for our region.
For some, like Winter Rowley of South Park, sustainable food systems include developing a vermicompost (worm composting) site in the region, which she has started with 1 lb. of worms currently residing in her basement. Additionally, Rowley sees food as means to bridge the gap between urban dwellers that span a wide range of socio-economic terrain. For others, like Nakia Angelique and Shannon Pote, the focus is on children and healthy food; how to improve the food made available to children in our local school systems, and the positive impact that effort could have.
Inviting the participation of school children in the process of growing, harvesting and enjoying the garden is the passion of another meeting attendee, Jenn Olt. As a local Montessori school teacher, and active mom, artist and gardener, Olt sees real value in the aesthetic and educational contribution that thriving urban gardens can make to our region.
Others in attendance are actively pursuing development of visible downtown sites for vegetable and flower gardens. Kate Ervin and Amy Lee, South Park residents and active contributors to the urban creative and gardening scene, are pursuing their aspirations to start a small scale farm in the old Cliborne Manor site in South Park. They hope to invite participation from residents in the surrounding neighborhoods and encourage a partnership with the catering department of Miami Valley Hospital. And lastly, Carli & Hamilton Dixon, who recently acquired an urban lot on E. Third Street, intend to install raised beds for this season, and begin the process of small scale intensive growing on what used to be a parking lot, with a broader vision that includes leasing those plots to downtown residents and installing a summer kitchen for learning the art of canning and dehydrating.
Big dreams, by capable Daytonians, and the first seeds have been sown.
Submitted by Carli Dixon
d8n virus 1.24: We must feed our babies better, lest we be monsters
Winter Art Show at Club Vex
Club Vex presents “Winter Wonderland“, an art show featuring work from several local artists this Thursday night at 9 p.m. Thursday nights at Vex showcases art and music from regional artisans and DJ’s. Cover charge is only $5.
Peep the lineup below:
What better way to cure cabin fever than a little art gawkin’ and ass shakin’? And as always, tell em’ DaytonMostMetro.com sent ya!
Club Vex
101 South Saint Clair Street
Dayton, OH 45402-2422
(937) 222-7620
Re:Vibe Special Benefit/Art Show
From promoter/event coordinator Mary K. Burnside:
EDMOhio presents Re:Vibe, a dance party on the last Thursday of every month featuring techno, house, and other electronic music hosted by Gunner and The Snark, and featuring incredible special guest DJs.
Re:Vibe aims to help stimulate and restore the once thriving electronic dance music scene in Dayton, by providing a regular event for dance music lovers who are looking to go clubbing outside of the realm of typical top-40 music. Support electronic music in Dayton!
Based on the success of our January event, with amazing sets from our guests Tony DeSaro, Trepp, and Eric Heilman, we have decided to dedicate this month’s event to Bike & Build, a charitable organization which has contributed over 2.3 million dollars to affordable housing groups.
February has a fantastic lineup in store:
Ruckus Roboticus – When he’s not busy remixing the stars (Bloc Party, Lady Tigra, Vampire Weekend, Pase Rock), or winning “Best DJ Mix” awards from Rockstar Games, Scion, and Solid Steel Radio, this bot can be found tearing the roof off of your local dancehall, art gallery, fashion show, and house party with a fierce live-set. Ruckus has land countless shows across country, and even a few in the U.K., Canada and South Korea. He’s rocked on stage with Crystal Castles, RJD2, The Juan Maclean, Peanut Butter Wolf, Prince Paul, DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Food, The Rub DJs, DJ Premier, Mitsu The Beats, and Mr. Lif. And he has heads nodding to his beats featured on Nickelodeon, MTV, and a Progressive Car Insurance commercial… It’s no wonder his fans call him “the second hardest working man in show business.”
Matt Freeman – Matt has been ahead of the nightlife curve for 15+ years. His DJ career started in 1994 as the resident DJ at the infamous ASYLUM night club laying down top industrial & techno tunes. Along with travelling quite extensively through the U.S.,
Matt also held residencies at almost every nightclub that has popped up in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio including FOUNDRY, AREA 51, PEARL, CLUB VEX, EL DIABLO, DNA, & PARALLAX just to name a few.
John Chapel – This well-known local in the scene has been playing shows all over the Dayton area. Our favorite Therapy Cafe resident DJ joins us to share his energetic blend of progressive and electro-house.
Warmup sets provided by event hosts Gunner & The Snark.
In addition to the music, we will be hosting an art show and silent auction, with commissioned pieces by:
Photo courtesy of clubvex.com.
Charlie Gast
Heather Lee Reid
Etch
Natasha Lee Evans
Lissa Lush
Kidtee Hello
Richard Lober’
Mike Betts
Tamra Wallace
Matt James
& More
Please join us in our cause to help boost Dayton’s dance music scene, and support this month’s cause! Cost is only $5 at the door, and the event is 18+.
Thursday, February 25, 2010 at 9:00pm
Club Vex
101 S St. Clair St.
Dayton, OH
Dayton’s National Park Offers Free Films for Black History Month
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park will showcase two free documentaries in our Dunbar Theater on Saturday and Sunday, February 20, 21 and 27, 28.
● February 20 and 21 at 10:00am and 2:00pm – “The Tuskegee Airmen”
This inspiring World War II story spotlights 450 men who fought on two fronts at once. Black American aviators, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, battled Axis powers in Europe and North Africa and then took on racism at home. Trained by the segregated military system as an experiment to see if blacks could fly in combat, these pilots made more than 15,000 sorties and 1,500 missions. Their success led to the integration of the U.S. armed forces.
● February 27 and 28 at 10:00am and 2:00pm – “Harlem Renaissance”
In the 1920s, African-American literature, art, music, dance, and social commentary flourished in Harlem, NY. This cultural movement redefined African-American expression. Music became the centerpiece that this movement was built around, launching an artistic awakening rather than a social revolt.
These movies are free and open to the public and can be viewed at the Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center, located at 16 South Williams Street.
For more information, call the National Park Service at 937-225-7705.
Running the Sahara;111 Days, 4300 Miles, & 6 Countries Across the Desert
Even the Outdoor Evangelist has his limits.
Can you imagine running across the desert for 111 Days, covering approximately 4300 Miles, and traversing 6 countries? I can’t either, so I’m excited to attend this FREE showing of “Running the Sahara,” a National Geographic film narrated by Executive Producer, Matt Damon. I hope you will too. 
The screening of “Running the Sahara” is a kick-off to the Adventure Summit weekend. The Adventure Summit is one of the largest expositions of outdoor skill, culture and experience in the Midwest. On March 4th, at 7pm, you can witness this documentary covering the amazing adventure of Charlie Engle, the Keynote Speaker of The 2010 Adventure Summit at the Wright State University Student Union. Charlie will be delivering his keynote on Friday night at 8pm.
From RunningtheSahara.com, “The Running the Sahara documentary explores the physical and emotional impact of this tremendous test of strength and determination. The film will allow us to relive the runners’ life-changing experience as we watch them brave the elements in one of the most extreme environments on Earth and meet the unique people of the Sahara, struggling with immense daily challenges. The film’s narrative follows the runners on their quest, each step toward the finish line building in great anticipation of answering the question: Can this amazing human feat truly be possible?”
The screening of “Running the Sahara” is brought to you by Runners Plus and The Adventure Summit. The first 50 people in attendance will receive a free sub and refreshments thanks to Runners Plus.
Cabin Fever Have You Fiending For Adventure?
If you aren’t a snow lover like the Outdoor Evangelist and are waiting for the weather to clear to get out and live then I have just the event for you. Come out and see just one more reason why Dayton is a great place to live, even when we are snowed in! 
The Adventure Summit is one of the largest expositions of outdoor skill, culture and experience in the Midwest showcasing Dayton, Ohio as The Outdoor Adventure Capital of the Midwest.
The Adventure Summit weekend is filled with inspiring presentations, a bustling expo, competitions and cultural activities like an art gallery, live music and beer tastings, yes I said BEER!
All for FREE. Five Rivers MetroParks and Wright State University have scheduled this weekend of inspiration for March 4 – 6, 2010 at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.
For a complete schedule visit www.theadventuresummit.com
The 2010 lineup of featured personalities is one of the best in Adventure Summit history led by Charlie Engle. Charlie is a renowned ultra endurance athlete and humanist. His signature adventures are a 4,500 mile trek across the Sahara Desert and a run across America. We are kicking off the weekend on Thursday March 4th with a Running the Sahara screening at 7:00 pm highlighting Charlie’s Sahara adventure. Charlie will give a keynote presentation chronicling his life of adventure on Friday March 5th at 8:00 pm in the Wright State University Apollo Room. Learn more about Charlie at www.charlieengle.com
Saturday’s lineup of speakers is just as star-studded with Andrew Skurka (Long Distance Hiker and Backpacker), Jon Dorn ( Editor in Chief Backpacker Magazine) and Philip Nagle (local resident who complete a 48 state in 48 day bike ride).
How can you get involved?
- Enter a competition: Triathlon, Bouldering, Indoor Triathlon
- Explore the expo: visit local, regional and national outdoor related exhibitors
- Attend a outdoor culture event: beer tasting, artventure gallery, party with the pros
- Attend an inspiring presentation, workshop or fitness session
Mark your calendar for March 4-6th for Adventure Summit weekend at Wright State University
The Dayton Police Department Clock-In Controversy
He stood tall by sitting down: A noted civil rights protagonist vists Dayton
Fifty years ago this month, four African-American college students entered a Greensboro, North Carolina Woolworth’s retail store, walked up to the segregated lunch counter, and calmly sat down in stools reserved exclusively for white patrons.
Although they were refused service (blacks had to stand and eat) and the police were called in, the students sat quietly for the remainder of the day until the store closed. The men returned to the counter for the next three days – each day facing increasingly difficult, often violent, opposition from many who attempted to disrupt their efforts.
By the fourth day, over 300 students from area colleges and high schools had joined the demonstration, protesting the segregation practices of the department store, and asserting their rights to equal treatment for African-Americans. Tensions escalated between black demonstrators and many white citizens and a bomb scare resulted in the closing of the store for two weeks. The store desegregated the lunch counter several months later.
Inspired by the Greensboro sit-in, neighboring towns throughout North Carolina initiated their own sit-ins. The Woolworth protest had attracted national media attention, and ignited a trend of non-violent collective activism against racial injustice, particularly in the southern states.
Franklin McCain, Sr., one of those “Greensboro Four”, will present “He Sat Down So That We Could Stand Up,” an intimate retelling of his memories of those historic days that ignited a movement.
McCain will speak on February 15, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., at Wright State University, Millet Hall Atrium. The event is free and open to the public.
“He Sat Down So That We Could Stand Up,” is sponsored by Wright State University’s Bolinga Black Cultural Resources Center and Office of Enrollment Management, Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, and the Greater Dayton Baptist Pastors’ and Ministers’ Union.
For additional information about this event, please contact Bolinga Black Cultural Resources Center at (937)775-5645.
Thanks to Lefty, the Gems Play Today.
The Dayton Gems pt. 2
The Dayton Gems were originally established in 1964 by local business man Edgar “Lefty” McFadden. Discussing the team of that day may sound an awful lot like describing them today, for many similarities exist between that team and the one that now plays for Dayton. The Gems played then where they play now, at Hara Arena, which also opened its doors for the first time in 1964. The original team also played in the International Hockey League. The IHL similarly folded (though much later), but has been re-established as a new entity carrying on the same name. Though eventually growing to immense size, the IHL was considered a bus league for mostly Midwestern teams who could easily ride a couple hours to each game, which is again true today. The IHL in its current incarnation was once the Colonial Hockey League, a smaller league that adopted the IHL name in 2007.
Blade warms up the crowd before the game.
It’s a wonder all the similarities that exist between the two, but if it has any bearing on the future of the new franchise, it may bode well for the Gems. In the 1968-69 and 1969-70 seasons, they won back to back championships, and again in 1976. They produced several NHL players in that period as well, and frequently filled Hara to capacity for games, with local fans dazzled. The Gems did eventually fall on hard times, as we all know, and folded in 1980, but exactly thirty years later they play for Dayton again.
In their first year they have proved themselves to be competitive in the league. Struggles are expected as the team learns to play together, but they stand only one spot out of playoff contention, with plenty of games left in the season. With John Marks coaching the team, hopefully for years to come, it seems a very likely possibility. Coach Marks left the ECHL as the winningest coach in the League, with 523 wins, and 3 championships to his name since 1993*. Prior to his time there, he coached in the former IHL, with another 240 wins. Most of coach Marks’ professional hockey career was with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he started as a defenseman but eventually changed over to the left wing position, where he scored 129 goals.
During last Saturday’s tribute to Lefty McFadden, Coach Marks spoke in front of a crowd about his own experiences in the NHL and how he coaches his team. He thanked the loyal supporters in Dayton and those who work so tirelessly for the team before discussing how they are fairing so far. He acknowledged they still have some work to do, and discussed in quite a bit of depth how he likes to train his team, giving those present a crash course in basic hockey strategy. Teamwork, he said, was the key to any team’s success. Discussing some of the Gem’s heartbreaking losses this year, which have frequently been only by a difference of one goal, he explained how a team playing together and playing their role can come out victorious. Later on in the evening he recalled that when he was playing in college, a friend of his, who played basketball, discussed the similarities of the games with him. He said the principles of protecting the net were the same; a good defense will make the opposing team shoot from the perimeter. Likewise a good offense can dissect that defense, get in close and make the shot; but only, he stressed, when working together.
The Gems played good defense in last Saturday's 4-2 win against Port Huron
The night continued on the ice with a pre-game ceremony that honored Lefty McFadden with a banner that will now hang in Hara Arena, as well as distribution of a plaque and flowers to his family members who were in attendance at the game. After the Star Spangled Banner, the Gems came out fast against Port Huron in the first period. They struggled for the first five minutes to keep the Icehawks away from their own net, but Dayton then flashed down the rink and scored two goals in less than one minute. John Ornelas, with an assist from Preston Briggs and Pierce Norton, fired the first shot past the Port Huron goal tender, and only 19 seconds later, Joe Van Culin slipped another one by with the help of Corey Courturier and Matt Auffrey. Keeping the aggressive pace going, Mike Olynyk scored yet again, with assists from Preston Briggs and Justin McCutcheon.
Following a late first period goal by Port Huron’s Adam Maccarone, the Gems went into the second period up 3-1. An increase in penalties as well as no score on either side, showed it was heating up between these teams, and it could be felt in the crowd whose cheers, despite their lack of numbers, echoed loudly throughout the entire arena. It wasn’t until the third period that things really got interesting though, as Port Huron scored again to bring the game within one goal. A fight broke out between Matt Auffrey of the Gems and Daniel Tetrault of the Icehawks in the middle of the period, and 28 minutes of penalties were wracked up between both teams in the 3rd as well.
Justin McCutcheon sealed the game however with a late goal that brought the final score to 4-2. Coming from the Johnstown Chiefs in Pennsylvania, McChutcheon has only been with the team for about a month. He has proven himself a valuable player already, scoring 3 times in the 9 games he’s played with the Gems, including 2 in the difficult loss to the Quad City Mallards last Wednesday. Having a quick word with him, I asked how well he was adjusting to Dayton. He smiled and laughed a bit, saying he was enjoying it so far but hasn’t had a lot of down time since he’s been here, as their schedule has kept the whole team rather busy.
I embarassingly stutter through some questions with Wingman Justin McCutcheon
This weekend the Gems will take on the Muskegon Lumberjacks Friday at 7:30pm and also also play the Quad City Mallards again on Sunday at 5:00pm. The Lumberjacks are first in the league right now, having only lost 10 games all season, but the Gems are responsible for 3 of those losses earlier in the year. Don’t forget $10.00 adult tickets and $7.00 tickets for children 12 and under, makes for a cheaper night of entertainment than going to the movies, and on Friday nights, beers are only $2.00 a piece.
* information taken from hockeydb.com
**All photographs courtesy of Andrea Ivey.
Future Land Use Policy in the Dayton Region
The Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC) is seeking public input for the second phase of the Going Places Initiative – an exploration of future land use opportunities for the region.
Phase II of Going Places – An Integrated Land Use Vision for the Miami Valley Region will build future land-use scenarios and evaluate scenario impacts. MVRPC will host seven upcoming community-based workshops in Montgomery County.
Workshops will be held at the Centerville Police Department on February 18; at the Englewood Government Center on February 25; at the Huber Heights Board of Education building on March 4; at the West Carrollton High School Auditorium lobby on March 10; at the Fairmont High School commons area on March 18; at the Center for Regional Cooperation on March 31; and at the Friendship Village Convocation Room on April 7. All these meetings will run from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM.
Julie Black, a regional planner for MVRPC, said the aim of the workshops are to engage the general public in the future land use themes and scenarios development project.
Please visit www.mvrpc.org/rlu or www.facebook.com/GoingPlacesMV for additional information.
PROFILE: Title Tracks//John Davis: Part I
…Over the last decade, DC native John Davis earned an impressive reputation within indie rock circles with his bands Q and Not U and Georgie James. While the former channeled much of the DC music scene’s storied musical legacy into its records, the latter seemed like a radical departure for Davis into electro-pop territory. With his unrepentant desire to follow his muse wherever it may call, Davis seems to have maintained something that most who follow fleeting trends have long since surrendered: integrity. With his new outfit, Title Tracks, Davis leaves behind the sounds of Georgie James for a vintage guitar pop sound that could have easily landed them on the roster of Stiff Records circa 1977. We recently spoke via telephone with John Davis from his DC home as Title Tracks prepares to release their debut album, It Was Easy, on Ernest Jennings Record Company and head out on tour in support of the album…
The Buddha Den: Following the demise of Georgie James, to what degree did you seek to depart from or retain elements of that band? What did you feel would be the defining feature of Title Tracks?
John Davis: I think that when we started working on these new songs, I wasn’t really…I didn’t have an agenda. I think it was just that I was gonna write whatever I wanted to do and not worry about anyone that I was collaborating with because it was just me. It was good for me to just be able to do whatever I wanted and not worry, “Well, we’ve got this song and I don’t hear keyboard or piano in it. How are we gonna do this?” Or, “I don’t hear a second vocal.” Maybe things that I had to worry about in the past. In this case, I just didn’t care about that. I’m just writing whatever I want. I knew it was gonna sound fairly different from Georgie James, though not dramatically, not quite as big a difference between Title Tracks and Georgie James as there was between Georgie James and Q and Not U. As much as I like Georgie James, there were things about it that I was never that comfortable with, so I was kinda happy to be able to move on, dump some of those things, and just do something that was completely on my own. I really like collaborating with people within a band and other writers and stuff, I think it’s something I’ll definitely do again. Just for now though with the album I did and the album I’m working on now, I’m still really enjoying just doing things by myself.
TBD: So you’re already working on something new for Title Tracks on your own?
JD: Yeah, I started writing more songs again. I’m finishing up some of the different parts and fragments I’ve had floating around for a little while that I didn’t use. I’ve had a fair amount of off time like from the road and such for the past six months to a year. I had sorta hoped to use that time a little better, meaning that I’d hoped to write more songs but I just didn’t really spend as much time as I should have. Now I finally started focusing and getting some songs finished and I’m really excited about the stuff I’ve been able to finish so far and the direction the songs are taking now. It’s something that I’m even more proud of.
TBD: Title Tracks started out by putting out the “Every Little Bit” 7” single on Dischord Records. How did that come about? Did you feel that connection with Dischord helped raise the profile of the band at such an early stage?
JD: I’ve worked with Dischord before, with my old band Q and Not U, three records and a bunch of singles, it’s an easy label for sure. I’m friends with Ian [Mackaye, Dishcord Records founder and leader of Fugazi] and the people there. I knew I wanted to get a single out first and have something available out there. I recorded those two songs and talked to Ian about it over a period of a couple of months, he was willing to do it. That was pretty much it: I know them, I’m friends with them, and wanted to work together again on that single and we did and I’m really glad that it came out on Dischord. I just really wanted to get a single out and have something out for this new project that would be available to people because I knew it would be a little while before the album was gonna be out. That was pretty much it. It was just a really natural fit working with them again.
TBD: So you did the single with Dischord and now you’re going to be releasing the full-length album It Was Easy on Ernest Jenning Recording Company. How did the materialize?
JD: I actually didn’t really know them at all before this album. My booking had suggested I send them the record after I’d finished it. He thought they would like it. So I said, “OK” and sent it to them. They did like it and they wanted to put it out. I talked to them and it turned out that the guy that works for the label was somebody that I interacted with repeatedly over the years in various ways. He used to do a webzine that I knew and he used to work at CMJ and he had promoted a show that I had played, so it was just kinda funny there was all these ways that we had already interacted in the past. The more we talked and hung out, the more I go to like him and the people at the label. They’re really, really enthusiastic about the record and about the band. It’s probably the most enthusiastic response I’ve ever had from a label in my years of putting out records. It was just really nice to feel supported that way. I’ve always felt supported by the labels that I’ve been on, but these guys in particular just seem really, really excited.
So yeah, I didn’t really know them, but we’ve gotten to know each other over the last six months or so and I’m really glad I’m working with them on this record. I feel really lucky to have met them and be able to get to work with them. I’m really satisfied so far with the way it’s been.
TBD: So I’ve seen three different release dates for the album. When does it actually come out?
JD: We’ve had to change it repeatedly because there’s been some issues with the distributor. I the vinyl and the digital will be out on February 9 and then the CD will be in stores on February 23. We’ll be selling it at shows though and I think DC stores will have [the CD] on February 9.
TBD: The timing of this tour is impeccable hitting the road really hard right as the album is released. How much coordination on your part and with your label and your booking agent to get the timing of the tour right as the album was coming out? Was there a plan to maximize the impact of that?
JD: Definitely. There was definitely a plan. We hadn’t really been playing many shows over the last few months because it was like, “Let’s just wait until the album is available.” With Georgie James, we toured a lot before we had an album out. We worked really, really hard for like a year, year-and-a-half, before the album finally came out in terms of touring and flying out to the West Coast and playing shows, all this stuff where we had no album to sell. So if somebody liked us, they still couldn’t really go buy anything. It put a real strain on the band because we spending a lot of money to go do all these things, but we weren’t really bringing in much money. We decided [with Title Tracks] to just hold off until we had the full-length available. We can sell it at shows, it will start getting around. I think that’s something we learned from the Georgie James experience.
[This tour] was definitely a coordinated thing. We knew the album was coming out in February, so we knew we could hit the road and start playing because we’ve all been very excited t about getting out and playing again. We haven’t toured in at least a year-and-a-half, and that’s pretty strange for me considering over the previous nine or ten years, I would tour for a lot of the year. It’s been really awesome being home, having this amount of time to spend at home, but I do miss playing music every night and that’s what tour provides you. It gives you the chance to be playing music every night in different places, and see places, and there’s a lot I really like about that. So yeah, it was definitely a plan to get this album out and hit the road right at the same time.
…tune in tomorrow for Part II of our interview with John Davis. Have a listen now of the track “Black Bubblegum” from the Title Tracks debut, It Was Easy…
MP3: Title Tracks “Black Bubblegum”
Download audio file (Black_Bubblegum.mp3)
Parks Employ More People Than Walmart!!
I recently ran across this article on TheDailyGreen.com and wanted to share it with the DaytonMostMetro readers. Following the elections last fall I found my projections were terribly inaccurate as they included a gloomy future for regional school and park levies. Well, I was totally wrong. Nearly all the parks and local school levies passed, in both conservative and liberal areas. I have my own opinion as to how and why this happened but below is an article that may make us all feel like we really are making more of an impact then just preserving open space and natural areas (which is still great).
idge into a dramatic park. In its first two months of operation, it attracted 400,000 visitors, while local restaurants have enjoyed a spike in business;