AN IDEA...

Fellow who owns the recording studio (and is still looking for a place in Phoenix to relocate to) visited me at City Hall to bring it up, about the same time I was thinking of it. (This is probably coincidence, rather than serendipity.) The idea? Put on a concert as a benefit for the City, which as everyone knows is strapped for cash. An application of the old Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney movie theme—“we’re out of money, they’re foreclosing on the farm, so let’s put on a show!”

Of course, his idea is a little different from mine; he’d like to bring in one of the big-name bands he knows personally, and has recorded in the past (who would charge money, but not much, and he’s thinking corporate sponsors would cover the cost), and I was thinking of just local folks like me, in an application a lot like the “Moograss” Bluegrass Festival, where everybody does everything for free because it’s a benefit for the school. Same venue, though—the City’s Blue Heron Park, 27 acres kinda of out of the way along the Bear Creek Greenway. The place could take some improvement, though—right now, it doesn’t even have grass. And a semi-permanent stage, like they have in the park in Central Point, would be a good idea.

And of course, we’re both thinking of something that could be an annual event. Phoenix doesn’t have any local festivals of any kind, and I maintain a small town needs one (or some), to provide a sense of community for residents who might otherwise not ever know each other. An extended block party, as it were. The date—and the excuse—are really unimportant. It’s more a question of whether we could have the park ready to handle the event by late next spring (say).

Why a concert? My “interface,” I guess, with the town I’d like to call home. I’m a musician; it’s what I do. If I’m going to use my talent to benefit the community, that’s the talent I’m going to use, because I think it’s my best shot at attracting people. I just may know enough people to be able to put on a decent show. And if no one comes? (No, SOME people will always come. There may just not be many.) Well, we’ll all have had fun. With luck, enough fun to want to do it again.