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A few years ago the Springfield Parks Foundation, in
cooperation with the Springfield Park District, began producing
“Music in the Parks,” featuring live music by area bands once a
month, May-September, in various city parks. Local sound guru Ric Major
— a stalwart of the central-Illinois music scene since the 1970s and
owner/operator of Middle Option Music, a recording studio and
live-sound-reinforcement business — helped develop the shows, providing the sound system,
booking bands, and basically serving as the contact between district
officials and musicians. He recently signed on with the district to help
expand our live-music park experiences.
Besides Music in the Parks for 2008, Major has helped
come up with Alive After Five, a new event that features bands in the
Douglas Park band shell, 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays twice a month during
the summer, starting on June 11. Much to Major’s delight, at least
two Saturday showcase concerts for high-school and twentysomething bands
have been added as well. “I’ve been waiting for this opportunity
for many years, especially to work with young bands,” Major says.
“It gives these guys a chance to perform on a real stage with a nice
sound system.”
Derek Harms, the new director of recreation for the
Springfield Park District, contacted Major, asking him to choose the bands,
produce the shows, and make everything come together. From his years of
experience on the local scene, Major knew what bands to get for the adult
shows, but finding the youth groups took some searching. “I went out to the battle of the bands at
Lincoln Land [Community College]. It was an eye-opening experience,”
Major says. “I passed out some forms and let the bands know we were
doing this showcase concert.”
Then using the most popular form of communication for
today’s young musicians, he hopped onto MySpace and contacted
Indecision, one of the bands from the college concert whose members
expressed interest in performing at the showcase. From there the word
spread to other local groups in the MySpace network, and soon Major and the
park district had enough performers for two shows. The first concert is at
5 p.m. Saturday, May 17, after the Springfield Park District-sponsored
Summer Jamboree at Centennial Park. The second is slated for 4 p.m.
Saturday, June 14, in the Douglas Park band shell. In keeping with the youthful sentiment of the showcase
series, most of a band’s members must be under 24. Both showcases are
filled, but the possibility of another concert exists. Any band interested
in performing should contact Major at ric@ricmajor.com or at
www.myspace/middleoptionmusic.
“We’ll be walking a fine line working the
rules as we go along the first year,” Major says. “I see it as
a great opportunity to connect the community with the local music scene
— and that’s what it’s all about.”
Performers scheduled to play in the Showcase in the
Park, 5-8:15 p.m. Saturday, May 17, in Centennial Park include Brandon
Carnes, Go Away Orange Pogo Stick, Gingerbread Throwdown, Five Oh Four
Plan, and Indecision. For more information, go to www.springfieldparks.org.
Contact Tom Irwin at tirwin@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in May 8-14, 2008.
