Music

Yo, Kansas City! It's time to rock the vote!

By Jason Harper 

This is all for you, baby.

What, you think we've been busting our asses all summer researching, writing and editing, gathering band photos, booking, promoting, hyping and wrangling sponsors to pay all the bands performing at the Showcase and awards show this Thursday and next Friday, not to mention counting all your votes and having trophies -- trophies, man -- made for the winners ... you think we do that just because we have nothing better to do? Or maybe because we have friends in these bands? Ha! (OK, I do owe Mac Lethal for that time he saved me from being ravaged by a herd of chimpanzees hopped up on Viagra.)

See, folks, you are the reason for the season. Musicians come and go like cells generating and dying in any living organism (and most of the sons of bitches never even read the Pitch). But the body of Kansas City's scene remains, which means that folks like you must be fed a steady, diverse diet of good music, lest you wither into boredom and despair and move to someplace like Des Moines and listen to nothing but smooth jazz for the rest of your short, miserable life.

But that's just me being cynical.

What I'm really excited about is ... the excitement. Look at the lineup Thursday. I can't wait to hit Westport at 9 p.m. for the first sets by the Wilders, Forrest Whitlow, Millage Gilbert and Olympic Size, then run from club to club -- the Beaumont, the Hurricane (two stages, one inside and one outside), McCoy's and the Dark Horse Tavern -- encouraging people to drink and vote and drink some more, until the last drop of sweat falls from the noses of Abileen, Paul DeMatteo, the Litigators, OnJaLee and the Gaslights and it's time to find the one musician who rocked the hardest and take him home and trap him in a giant glass jar with holes poked in the lid and listen to him play, letting him out only when his jar needs cleaning real bad.

But that's just me being insane.

That's kind of what the nightlife in this town's been doing to me since I became music editor here at the Pitch back in March. I've become a fan. Several lifers from the scene -- reliable sources all -- tell me that in all the years they've lived here, never have so many good musicians been active all at once. And by the way, I'm the first to admit that not even half of all the good bands in this town and Lawrence made it onto the ballot.

But trust me, everyone who's on the ballot is deserving, and the important thing is just for you to rock the motherfuckin' vote. A vote for any of these artists is a vote for them all -- and that's not just me being precious. Any local music scene absolutely thrives on fans who are willing to go out and partake.

So I'll see you at the show.

Then I'll see you at the other show, the one at the Uptown Theater next weekend.

At 8 p.m. Friday, August 12, we all get to see whom you've deemed worthy of our annual Pitch Music Awards. And we get to enjoy sets by Flee the Seen, the Supernauts, Roman Numerals, Ron Teamer & the Smoking Guns, and others who have been nominated but have no guarantee that they're going to win anything. That depends entirely on you. (Make sure you turn in your ballot by the end of Showcase night -- OK, early the next morning, before you leave the clubs.)

And despite cover boy Brodie Rush's plea that you vote for him, the Be/Non frontman (and host of the city's most outrageous karaoke night) is not a nominee this year. Rather, he's the MC for this year's awards ceremony. But like we said: A vote for anyone is a vote for everyone.

Contributing writers: Robert Bishop, April Fleming, Geoff Harkness, Jason Harper, John Kreicbergs, Aaron Ladage, Megan Metzger, Andrew Miller, Lorna Perry, Sarah Smarsh, Andy Vihstadt, Mike Warren.

(Special thanks to Sheri Parr for allowing us to photograph Rush at the Brick.)

Best Blues
Ron Teamer
Teamer's recent win in the KC Blues Society's annual Blues Challenge this past November -- the day after Democratic voters began singing the blues of four more years of fear and loathing in the White House -- was a remarkable feat. By making potentially depressing national news seem like a fairy-tale sing-along in comparison with his home-brewed brand of blues, KC born-and-bred Teamer proved that he could turn even the cloudiest day from gray to black -- the hallmark of a bluesman who knows his craft.

Scotty Boy's Steady Rollin' Band
Alas, this, the incarnation of the Steady Rollin' Band that brought cool, peppy jump-swing blues to Kansas City over the past year, is no more. Top-billed harp player Scott Daniel and drummer Jerry Riccardi have parted ways with fellow Steady rollers, and all we'll say about that is even blues bands get the blues. Fortunately, upright bassist and singer Bill Morlan and ax slinger Mark Rollings have teamed with former 12-bar grinders from Shannon and the Rhythm Kings to make sure the band keeps rollin' on. (www.steadyrollin.com)

Billy Ebeling and the Late for Dinner Band
Veteran music man Billy Ebeling's career spans three decades and much of the globe. The Lawrence native's foot-stompin', genre-hoppin' catalog has roused audiences in Hong Kong, Fiji and Australia. From rollicking zydeco to traditional R&B to children's folklore, Ebeling has churned out 12 albums and shows no signs of stopping. The world-weary guitarist and singer-songwriter hangs his hat in KC for now, where you can catch him just about any night either as a soloist or with the band. (www.billyebeling.com)

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