We were featured in the Rockford Register Stars Go Section and on their website. Check out the piece they compiled here http://go.rrstar.com/music OR you can read the entire piece below. Notice the nuance and the attributed quotes in the piece below. Then take a look at the watered down and controversially devoid interpretation on their site. Not that there’s anything wrong with it but they took all the juicy bits out. Thanks to Lisa Glowinski and the staff at rrstar.com for featuring us.
Podcast name:
Sock Monkey Sound Music & Culture Podcast
Web site or contact info:
www.sockmonkeysound.com
Members:
Hosted by Brandon Lutmer, Chip Copeland, and Patrick Delehanty. Recorded at M.I.A. Studios by Mark Gustafson.
Started in:
August 2009
What is Sock Monkey Sound?
Chip Copeland: We’re a podcast and website that you can find online. A podcast is similar to a radio show, but we’re not under the same rules as terrestrial radio stations in terms of content and time structures. We talk about music and pop culture, and play songs by local, regional, and the occasional national artist or band. In addition to Rockford we also cover the Midwest region as well and have a large following in the Atlanta area. Due to the Internet and iTunes we’ve been able to cultivate an audience that extends beyond our little corner of the world.
Patrick Delehanty: Along with that aspect of the show, we also interview local artists and musicians in a loose and uncensored talk show format where the guest can relax and be themselves. Not only do we give them the opportunity to promote their upcoming shows or projects, sometimes we’ll just talk about breakfast cereal, TV shows, or random silliness; nothing to serious. It enables us to have fun with the guest, they can be themselves and not have to worry about constraints; and I feel like the listeners can really connect with the guest in a way that they can’t in a more “mainstream” media outlet interview.
Mark Gustafson: We’ve also done topical, roundtable style shows on local issues that matter to us, as musicians and fans of music, such as the current state of the On the Waterfront Festival in Rockford. We feel as if a certain segment of the population of music fans in Rockford are under served by how the festival has been run and what acts have been booked. While we’re certainly not experts on the subject of how to successfully organize or run such a festival, we do have opinions as to what we think a vibrant and relevant music festival could look like in downtown Rockford. It surprises me when people tell me that they listened to that episode and enjoyed our loony, coffee fueled ramblings. We’re planning a RAMI episode that I’m sure will ruffle some feathers.
What’s the inspiration for the name of the show?
Brandon Lutmer: We really were trying to come up with something that would be lighthearted, but also reflect and identify the fact that we’re a show based in Rockford. We didn’t want to try and play on the name of the town and tie it into rock music. It’s been done before and it seemed like a lame idea to us.
Patrick Delehanty: The Sock Monkey on the other hand is Rockford’s equivalent to Mickey Mouse. It has universal cultural appeal, but seems totally Rockford at the same time.
How did Sock Monkey Sound come together?
Chip Copeland: Blame me. I’m a podcast junky because I work in front of a computer all day. On one of those days I was listening to the Sound Opinions podcast and Jim DeRogatis, pop music critic at The Chicago Sun-Times and co-host of Sound Opinions, said in his review of the Cheap Trick record ‘The Latest’, and I quote, “Cheap Trick, a band from Rockford Illinois, not exactly a hotbed of rock and roll”. When I heard that I cursed at my computer for 10 minutes. I guess his comment fired me up a bit. While Cheap Trick is a Rockford institution and I respect them and enjoy their music, they are not the only talented band around these parts.
Brandon Lutmer: There are tons of great underground bands of all genres that play original music in the area. And it seemed to us that these groups just needed a voice to get out there. All four of us play in local bands that perform original music and each one of us understands how difficult it is to try and get the word out to people.
Chip Copeland: I called up Mark and told him my initial idea to do a “Rockford Invasion” episode on a podcast recorded by my friends Walk to Run Records based in Atlanta. I knew Brandon had done a radio show in college and thought he would add a little more polish as a host, as well as the fact that he’s huge music geek. Initially Brandon and I would be the hosts and Mark would record the show. On the night of recording the fill in episode, Brandon brought Patrick along and just for kicks we threw him on the microphone as a guest.
Mark Gustafson: Surprisingly, it was a blast. We had so much fun with the three of them hosting and me behind the recording console that the four of us decided to do a weekly show. And Sock Monkey Sound was born.
Who are some of the guests you’ve had on so far?
Patrick Delehanty: Dan McMahon, guitarist for Miles Neilson and Cameron McGill; Marky and Heather Hladish from the band Venna, Jason Beatty, Arik Jenkins from Guzzardo’s Performance Music, Warren Franklin, White Moose, Joe Reina, Kevin Schwitters, and Dave Pedersen; just to name a few. All heave been great guests.
What does the future hold for Sock Monkey Sound?
Brandon Lutmer: Well, I think we want to build our listener base, and our online community. At the same time we want to continue to improve and refine the show. We recently have started posting articles by contributors on our website, such as Alex Danger Stewart. He’s a trip and Danger really is his middle name.
Mark Gustafson: Another idea is to incorporate more shows about the local culture, in addition to the local musician who play original music. Rockford does have a good size art scene and cultural entities such as theater groups. Not many towns our size have a symphony orchestra.
Chip Copeland: Yeah, we think branching out beyond just local musicians as guests will help draw attention to a rich cultural scene in Rockford that many area residents seem to ignore or don’t know about because it’s not on the east side of town.
Brandon Lutmer: At the same time we realize our show probably won’t be for everybody. Still, hopefully we can show both local residents, and the wider global audience, another side of Rockford that they never knew existed.
Where can people find Sock Monkey Sound?
Sockmonkeysound.com is the place you can listen and download weekly episodes. You can also subscribe to and download the show through iTunes or on pod catching websites such as podcast.com, podcastalley.com, or podfeed.net. Leaving a review on any of these sites also helps us to reach a wider audience.
