Johny Socko brings tour to close in Bloomington

Band, people, beer. It was a typical night at the Bluebird. And that's what made it so atypical.\nThe bands were part of the Hoosier Original Music Tour, a five-band, seven-show tour that highlighted independent Indiana artists.\nThe idea began with Dylan Wissing, drummer for the Indianapolis band Johnny Socko.\n"We decided as a band -- Johnny Socko decided -- we wanted to tour with other bands," Wissing said.\nAfter asking a number of bands, the HOME Tour was narrowed down to five bands because of scheduling: Johhny Socko, Mudkids, Wonderdrug, Schaffer Street and Blue Moon Boys. \nWhile all the bands represent independent music from around the state, they play different genres.\n"The diversity has helped us a little bit," Wissing said. "We were trying to make it a pretty inclusive tour. The thing we were trying to concentrate on was Indiana bands writing, making and performing music."\nJohnny Socko, who has long classified its music as ska, now considers "big rock" a better description of their original style. Wissing said the wide variety of genres gave the bands a chance for exposure to new audiences.\n"The really nice thing about it and the original plan was to get these bands in front of everyone else's crowd," he said. "That was one of the main reasons to do this tour: exposure."\nEric Johnson, bassist for the rock-alternative band Wonderdrug, said the tour's variety also helped show diversity of music coming from Indiana.\n"When people think of Indiana, they usually think John Mellencamp," he said. \nThe bands hit seven cities on the tour, starting in Fort Wayne, Louisville, Ky., Columbus, Ohio, Evansville, Muncie and Indianapolis.\nDuring the tour, Wissing said the bands played to more than 2,500 people. \n"Being on the road together: there's something about strength in numbers," Johnson said.\nThe tour wound up at the Bluebird, 216 N. Walnut St., with all bands proud of the product.\n"There are great bands in Indiana and great music," Wissing said.\nWissing and Johnson said they would like to see another tour in the spring or summer. Wissing said he will begin organizing the next tour, where he hopes to feature seven or eight bands.\nJohnson said he hopes the tour takes them to New York or Los Angeles. No definite plans have been made. Russ cHoc Soreel, member of the hip-hop group the Mudkids, paid tribute to the idea of the tour and his fellow bands Saturday night.\n"Here's to Indiana music -- the legacy, the tradition," he said.