Photo from Bobby Simms. On left: Sonny Ford, Joe Martin with microphone, Bobby Simms on drums John Bennet on guitar. The Good Times.
Throwback Thursday: Oregon Hill Rock’n’Roll
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Category Archives: music
GWAR Announces Brockie Memorial For Hollywood Cemetery
Richmond’s outer space metal monster band GWAR has announced that there will be an unveiling of a memorial monument to its late lead singer Dave Brockie, aka Oderus Urungus in Hollywood Cemetery at 2 pm on Friday, August 30, which is Brockie’s 56th birthday. A least a few of GWAR’s band members, including Brockie, lived at different points in Oregon Hill.
Dangerous Summer
The band Dangerous Summer is releasing a new album called Mother Nature on Hopeless Records. They are playing the Canal Club on June 15. One of their songs off the new record is called “Virginia”. Lyrics go like this and namecheck the neighborhood…
You woke me up, I didn’t know I’d fallen back to sleep
‘Cause you were alive inside my dreams
You were a freebird in the blue skies ahead
We should walk instead of driving, we we can talk and give our minds up
Watch the city line turn to goldTake me to Oregon Hill
Take me to The James River
Take me to the ocean floor
Throw me in the waterCan you let me know you’re holding on?
Let me know you’re holding on
Let me know you’re holding on for one more dayEnd the night entangled in your arms on LSD
Finding the art in everything
Even blue skies pray for thunder and rain
If I could live inside your heart, and somewhere safe next to your garden
Watch the colors burn to goldYou pick me up when I lose self-control
You gave me everything I needed to find the best of myself
The light of the opening door
Crash
Fall all around me, it’s calm now
You give me a reason to stay, I don’t want to live far away
I wish on the morning that’s outside after the moments of clarity
Yeah, after the moments with you
I’d spend every morning with you
Friday Cheers, Civil War Museum Opening, and Hollywood Cemetery Picnic This Weekend
As with Party For The Planet this past weekend, the Richmond riverfront around Oregon Hill should be pretty busy this coming weekend.
This Friday, public/private partnership, Venture Richmond starts back up their Friday Cheers concert series on Brown’s Island. They are claiming its their 35th season (though it seems like that would have to include time when there were not events on this part of the riverfront). This Friday, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real with Landon Elliott will be playing. Their photos are above. Tickets cost $10.
On Saturday, the American Civil War Museum at Tredegar will be holding a celebration in honor of its new building. The Times Dispatch recently had a sneak peak of this $25 million, 29,000-square-foot new museum, which is the result of the merger of two museums: the Museum of the Confederacy and the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar. The grand opening will include special guided tours of “A People’s Contest: Struggles for Nation and Freedom in Civil War America” exhibit, walking tours, and artifact encounters with curators. Event also features the hosts of BackStory, eight emerging scholars, and Triple Crossing Brewery, and food trucks.
Schedule highlights:
– 9 a.m.: Ribbon cutting
– 10 a.m., 2 p.m., & 4 p.m.: Cannon firing demonstration by Museum staff
– 10:30 a.m.: Live panel program with the hosts of the podcast, BackStory. (90 minutes)
– 12-4 p.m.: Emerging Scholars lightning talks, sponsored by The Civil War Monitor, also in collaboration with Emerging Civil War. (30 minutes each, beginning every 30 minutes at noon)
– 12-4 p.m.: Beer garden, by Triple Crossing Beer. Food trucks also onsite (TBA).
Cost: Free with Museum admission. Free for members.
And then on Sunday, the Annual Sunday Picnic at Hollywood Cemetery will take place from 1:00pm to 3:30pm. Pack a picnic basket, bring a blanket or chair, and join in for an annual tradition that dates back to the 1800s! Live music will be provided by the Oak Lane Band and UNCOMMON, a contemporary acapella band. An ice cream truck and hotdogs will be on site. Trolley tours will also be provided. The picnic is free to attend, but they do ask for RSVP in advance. Please email nrowe@hollywoodcemetery.org or call (804) 648-8501 to make reservations.
Hopefully, rains will hold off for these events, but the forecast is looking iffy.
Radio IQ WVTF: “At This Elementary School, Every Kid Learns the Violin”
Virginia Public Radio station WVTF aired a nice story about the Advanced Music Ensemble/violin program at St. Andrew’s School this morning. You can hear it again on 92.5 FM at 8:44am, 5:44pm, or read/listen by clicking here.
Here’s an excerpt:
The St. Andrews program was founded in 2013 by Amanda Ellerbe. Ellerbe says the violin packs a punch in terms of a musical education.
“Movement, notation, connecting music to other other art forms,” she lists.
Ellerbe based the program off El Sistema, a now global movement that began in Venezuela in the 1970’s – when one man used music education to connect with at-risk youth.
Students at St. Andrew’s also come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Ellerbe says music is a clear way for them to realize that despite systemic inequality, if they work hard they can change their lives.
Tenderizer
Found in Riverside Park:
By the way, Tenderizer was also the name of a 1990’s Richmond 7-inch record label. ‘Tenderette’ was the cassette arm of Tenderizer.
Alex Jonestown Massacre/W I S H/AJM/Soul Meets Body/Strawberry Moon at Mojo’s Friday
From FaceBook event page:
Awesome show at Mojo’s on Friday, March 15th!
Strawberry Moon
Lo-fi Bedroom Pop
https://strawberrymoonrva.bandcamp.com/Soul Meets Body
Pop Punk Bangers for the Underdogs
https://soulmeetsbody.bandcamp.com/Alex Jonestown Massacre
Agitprop Punk
https://alexjonestownmassacre.bandcamp.com/W I S H
Noisy Shoegaze Alt-Rock
https://wishrva.bandcamp.com/Doors @ 8
Show @ 9
21+
$5 suggested donation!
The Tough Sh**s / Sick Bags / Toward Space at Mojo’s Tonight
From the FaceBook event page:
Rockin’ their way down from Philadelphia to SXSW in support of their new album “Burning in Paradise” (on BURGER RECORDS), The Tough Shits are blessing us with a stop in Richmond!
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Joining us for local support will be Richmond’s favorite leather-clad shredders, SICK BAGS, and the always-ripping Toward Space.
Trust Fall (LAST SHOW) / Sibyl / Hex Machine at Mojo’s Friday
From FaceBook event page:
One More Rock N Roll One More Again
Trust Fall (Virginia; 2011-2019)
a bridge adjusting to the water
https://trustfall.bandcamp.com/album/secret-keeperHex Machine (Richmond)
alternative nosie rock that’ll blow your ears off
https://hexmachine.bandcamp.comSibyl (Richmond)
zero-gravity pop sludge
https://sibylrva.bandcamp.com———————————————————-
9pm
Opera In The New Museum On Thursday
From American Civil War Museum’s website:
The American Civil War Museum’s Board of Directors, Christy Coleman, CEO and Waite Rawls, President of the ACWM Foundation, and the ACWM’s Opening Ceremonies Committee invite you to the first opening event in the new museum –
Scenes from Matthew Aucoin’s opera, Crossing
Baritone, Rod Gilfry as Walt Whitman
Bass-Bariton, Kenneth Kellogg, as Freddie Sowers
Tenor, Mackenzie Gotcher, as John WormleyAccompanied by composer and conductor, Matthew Aucoin
The 1:30 matinee performance will be followed by a discussion and q+a session. Tickets are $75 and seating is limited.
The 7:30 evening performance will be followed by a discussion, q+a session and a reception. Tickets are $150 and seating is limited.
Program Date:
Thursday, February 28, 2019 – 1:30pm
Editor’s note: To purchase tickets, please go through the museum’s website.