Those of you who check the Illinois Times every week may have caught a slight mention of Black Sheep in this past week’s issue. We were mentioned in a short article about “dead drops” which are USB memory sticks embedded in city walls. Black Sheep was mentioned because there is a dead drop in the alley by our building. There is no article posted online but if you scroll down you can read a scanned in image of the article.
Tom Irwin, writer for the Illinois Times and Springfield musician, talked about the recent surge of venues in Springfield in his “Now Playing” column for this past week. In the column he mentions venues Catch 22, Donnie’s Homespun, and Boondocks. From the article:
The only problem seems to be whether Springfield can or will support venues on the level necessary to sustain the budgets that come with booking national touring acts and maintaining the facilities needed to support the larger groups. What does an owner or manager do if a DJ brings in the same size crowd at a fraction of what it costs to book a big act? No business can survive without business, no matter the strength backing the desire behind the dream. We sure are happy to have the nice new venues, now let’s go show our support.
– Tom Irwin
You can find the full column in this past week’s issue of the Illinois Times or online here.
Henry Rollins will be performing with his spoken word tonight at the Hoogland Center Downtown. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time here. The event starts at 7:30 pm and is $32 in advance and $35 at the door.
You can also find an article the Illinois Times did on Henry Rollins coming to Springfield here. From the article:
Henry Rollins is no Abe Lincoln. But that doesn’t stop the 51-year-old punk rock icon, TV personality, author and blogger from incorporating sections of the 16th president’s 1838 speech to the Young Men’s Lyceum in Springfield as part of “Capitalism,” his current spoken word tour of all 50 state capitals, which touches down at the Hoogland Center for the Arts next Thursday, Oct. 11. “I talk a lot about Lincoln, just because he’s a very meaningful American to me,” says Rollins in a telephone interview. “I just like the way the guy thought.”
The Illinois Times has been taking votes for the Best of Springfield 2012. The long list of stuff you can vote for includes local businesses, restaurants, bands, people, schools, and the list goes on. You can head over to the Times’s website and fill out an online ballot if you give your name, email, and the town you are from. You can find a lot of Springfield music related polls in the “entertainment & nightlife” category. There you can vote for best rock band, best new band of 2012, and best music venue *wink wink*. Voting goes until Sunday, September 23rd. The winners will be announced on Thursday, October 25th in that issue of the Illinois Times.
We have made it to the newspapers this week! Be sure to pick up a copy of the Illinois Times, which you can find for free at many local businesses around town.
Our friend Tom Irwin was kind enough to dedicate his “Now Playing” column to us to help celebrate seven years of Black Sheep running as an all ages music venue in Springfield. Thanks Tom! Kevin, Brian, and Cory talked to Tom about how the Black Sheep operates and what our place in the community is.
“We are part of the community, a part of urban renewal in a DIY ideology that supports the communal aspect of accomplishing a good thing,” explains Kevin. “We do this because, to us, it’s just the right thing to do, building an organic place for art to grow together for all of the community.”
-Excerpt from the Illinois Times article
Be sure to check out the full article HERE.
A lot of you may have noticed that Jeff Williams of the long running Springfield punk band NIL8 was featured on the cover of last week’s issue of The Illinois Times. If you missed the article or didn’t get to pick up an issue last week, the article is still available online. The well written and lengthy article talks about NIL8’s journey as a band as well as Jeff’s hobbies of bicycling and painting. From The Illinois Times:
Rock musician. Fine artist. Cycling champion. If lifelong Springfield resident Jeff Williams does not qualify as a genuine renaissance man, he’ll have to do until one comes along. In addition, these disparate areas of interest have built on each other throughout a 30-year career, in often unexpected ways. Williams and his band, NIL8, have come into contact with an extended parade of leading national and international alternative music acts. More recently, a crossover between a love of both bicycling and painting uncovered an undreamed-of niche market, landing his canvases in numerous galleries as well as on the cover of a national magazine.
You can find the rest of the article here. If you are at least 21 years of age you can also see NIL8 perform later tonight at Bar None on 5th and Monroe. If you are under 21 or any age at all and can’t make it to see NIL8 tonight then keep a close eye out on the site for big news involving an upcoming all ages NIL8 performance later this fall.
Dumb Records 