More cool things are happening this summer in Southtown! Today we are excited to announce that our neighbors at Clay’s Popeye’s Barbecue (located 1121 South Grand Ave) will be hosting a special taste-testing on Saturday July 19th from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm (two weeks from today) for some new vegan recipes that they will be introducing to their menu. We have heard rumors that these new recipes were inspired by some of the vegan food that Apryl brought to share at Dumb Fest. For those of you who do not know, Popeye’s Barbecue is located right next door to Dumb Records. They are usually open from 11:00 am – 5:00 pm Tuesdays – Saturdays.

Check out the Clay’s Popeye’s BBQ website right here. We have also been told that there is a good chance new vegan option menu items will be debuting on Saturday, July 26th which happens to be the same day as Black Sheep Fest 2014.

It looks like the plans for a brand new waterpark in Southtown Springfield are finally coming together after many years of talk and rumors about the project. The waterpark will be called “Dumb Waterpark” and we have been told that we can expect to see construction begin as early as sometime next month. The waterpark is projected to be ready sometime towards the end of the summer, just in time for the fall of 2014.

Dumb Waterpark will be owned and operated by Jessica Knight of Looming and Asthma. Jessica says she is excited to take on this new endeavor because her family already has a good amount of experience in the waterpark business. Jess had this to say:

STOP IT NOOOOOOOOO

Thanks Jess! Black Sheep and Dumb Records owner Kevin Bradford also had a few things to say about the plans for this new waterpark:

Do you guys think this is a good idea?

You can expect to see a new page on our site for Dumb Waterpark soon. We are excited to welcome yet another business to the South Town community. We plan on keeping you all updated with the construction of Dumb Waterpark in the coming months.

Next month 11th and South Grand will be the hub even more cool things in Springfield. Empire Board Shop is going to be moving into the space right above Dumb Records. Yeah, thats right. Everything you love will be in one block. They are currently located on Junction Circle by the intersections of Wabash and MacArthur but in a couple of weeks they will be at 1107 South Grand Ave. Owner, Cory Yeager had initially wanted to be right by Skanks Skates, Dumb Records and the Black Sheep and South Town Studio.

“Our location now is not bad but there isn’t a lot of visibility and being by everyone else clearly helps everyone out,” Cory said. “When I was younger everything was spread out but over the past ten years or so it’s morphed into it’s own subculture and I just want to support that.”

With the move to the new Southtown punk hub there were a few things to think about. Mainly how a skate shop would interact with Skanks ramps.

“Skanks and [Empire] are two separate entities it just happened that they have ramps and we sell boards. So I think it will be mutually beneficial [to be so close] ,” Cory said. “And I will probably get to skate more. I may put a sign on the door saying, ‘Come to the Ramps’.”

While Empire had a grand opening just last November they should be open at their new location by mid-to-late March. Cory wants to  reassure everyone that he will still be selling everything you would go to them for regularly. He doesn’t want anyone to have to leave Southtown just to come back and skate.

You can stay updated with Empire Board Shop’s big move on their facebook page. We will also be sure to make another post once the new shop is up and running and once the shops running hours are made public.

Today we are bringing you news of yet another new installment in the Black Sheep neighborhood. It looks as if our very own Brandon Carnes (Big Storm, Looming, The Timmys) has opened up a recording studio and practice space for bands right next to Black Sheep! This also means we have new headquarters for The Black Sheep Radio Show (which airs today from our new location at 4:00 pm).

Brandon will be offering very cheap and affordable recordings and practice space rentals for all kinds of bands and musicians. If you are curious about what Brandon can do to help your band don’t hesitate to get ahold of him at brandontcarnes@gmail.com.

This is very exciting news for South Town and the Black Sheep community. With Dumb Records opening next month, South Town will soon include Black Sheep, Skank Skates, Dumb Records, and Brandon’s Recording Studio (yet to be named). Once a name for the new studio is established we will set up a new page on our site for general info and FAQ’s.

It’s always cool to see new things and changes happening in the South Town Neighborhood that Black Sheep is a part of. Some of you may have noticed the beginnings of a new mural that is being painted on the East wall of Clay’s Popeye’s Barbecue located on 11th Street East of Black Sheep. What we have pictured right now is just the beginning to a new art piece. We have been told that some of the artists involved with this new piece were also responsible for the long mural that was recently put in behind the D & J Cafe on Laurel Street. Be on the lookout for some more photos once the mural is complete!