Much of 2009 has found me working with various musical artists to host shows in Cincinnati, more specifically in Northside at Covenant. I have had to do a lot of it myself but I put myself in that situation so please don't think I am complaining.
So why would I put my time, money, and energy into something like this?
This week the reason came to show itself much as it did the first show. I have a vision to build community with the artists and the people who enjoy the live music experience and since the first show in January with Jonathan Hape (who has played with us three times already) I have been doing that. I knew Jonathan Hape when I lived in Mansfield. We met at CD Jungle where I wore my Tooth & Nail jacket and I may have gone in there to try to sell a DvD I no longer wanted but Jonathan and I had a great conversation about the old Tooth & Nail artists that made the label so unique when it began (only a few remain) and from there he informed me he'd be playing a show in Mount Vernon with Discover America. I caught his show and became a fan instantly and so from there I attended a number of his shows in the area over the few years I spent in Mansfield and caught one in Dayton a while back after I had moved to Cincinnati.
After moving to Cincinnati, I honestly wasn't entirely sure what I was really supposed to do but I knew I needed to leave Mansfield and the open door was open to Cincinnati and to Covenant Church with my friends the Brandyberry's. Once Covenant moved into our current location I saw a greater potential for outreach through live music due to the large room with a stage. We had a few concerts (actually most of them before I ended up being a part of Covenant) in the old storefront location but it seemed those were difficult because we had to get everything back in order for the Sunday Service and there just was not much room to maneuver. I am still working out the details of how this will all work in the long run (details like proper funding, keeping the sound equipment in good condition and acquiring all the pieces I need to improve the quality, etc) but I feel this is what I am supposed to do and where I am supposed to be. It is a ministry of Covenant and its greater organization still unnamed (Covenant is the church, there is also an after school program, a youth program, and a gardening program that are all a part of the organization so we are trying to settle on a name and I think I will keep the "Covenant" name as part of the live music events and the Church will be called Covenant Church still as well). Because it is part of the ministry, there are certain standards of conduct and presentation I feel an obligation to adhere to that I am still trying to establish. I do not know what it means necessarily but what I have felt is that the artists who take our stage should refrain from being profane and vulgar and absolutely should not promote hate in their message through their music. I do not care necessarily if an artist is a Christian but I do not want their message to be contradictory to the ministry of Covenant Church. In recent weeks I have had bands contact me who do not have Christian affiliation to my knowledge so I figure that should I book a show with them at some point then I will make this known to them prior to confirming the show.
It is a lot of hard work to try to get the word out about these events. Working alone at this point I have a limited area where I can get flyers put out in the area. It also can be a bit overwhelming to try to work the door while running the sound. My hope is that soon a few friends will be willing to donate a few hours of their evenings now and then to help me out with things to help the show happen. Maybe in time we can add more things to make these events more enjoyable. In the meantime, if you want concessions please visit one of the nearby convenience shops for your soda or junk food needs.
When I first moved to Cincinnati, I had friends involved with the Underground venue. I also decided to volunteer my services for a short time (the reason for my leaving as well as many others is a long story I don't chose to get into here) at that venue. It was a little more work that I expected but I enjoyed most of the experience. The friends I came away with to add to the friends I had who were already there that I knew before my move are great and I enjoy the times I spent with them. A few of those friends have had a chance to attend a few of the shows I put on at Covenant.
In the last week, we had a couple of shows that were not well attended. Both were shows I would have put on even with the knowledge that there would not be much of a crowd because I enjoy the music that was played. The first show was Jonathan Hape's tour and his third appearance at Covenant. As stated before, Jonathan is a friend of mine and any time he asks us to play that we can have him I will do what I can to make it happen and hope that eventually he will begin to develop a Cincinnati fan base. This time he brought Sing For Company (Mansfield) and The La De Les (Michigan) on the tour and after the show they stayed at Covenant for the night. I tried to take that evening off of work and ended up working all through the day making me a bit stressed and I did not have as much time to get things ready before the show as I would have liked including a meal for the artists (though I ran home and found some fried chicken patties that may have fed a few of the folks). After the evening ended, we all went to Skyline Chili and had a great time of fellowship and conversation together. The next day we also had some fellowship and conversation while we set things back up in the hall for the week and loaded out the artists.
Friday, I had my first ever punk show. I love punk rawk music and I will do more punk shows as long as I can afford to make it happen and we have the space availability to do the show. The bands were The Last Hope, Revolution Radio, and Girlfight. There were only 6 or so that showed up and a local band had to drop off the show at the last minute so it wasn't the most ideal way for things to go but the show was a lot of fun. Afterwards, once again, I took the bands to Skyline Chili (Girlfight decided not to go) and had great fellowship and conversation.
If nothing else comes from hosting concerts, I am grateful for the opportunities to call these artists I have worked with so far and those I will be working with in the future my friends and to have fellowship with them. I really have enjoyed the times of going out after the show to share a meal and conversation with people from places that aren't here and get to know who they are as people, not just an entity on a stage performing. These conversations and fellowship are well worth the costs of putting on the shows and I hope that these friendships grow through future opportunities to share events together and who knows what else. This is why I do what I do.
