Hoagy fans create new programs

If Justin Timberlake had a 1920s counterpart at IU, Hoagy Carmichael would be it. \n“It’s like if Justin Timberlake was among you and he was one of the students and was going to your classes and eating in the cafeteria,” said Daniel Reed, director of the The IU Archives of Traditional Music and an assistant professor of ethnomusicology.\nThe Archives of Traditional Music, as part of a monthly lecture series, is holding a rock ‘n’ roll storytelling of Hoagy Carmichael’s life this Friday. It will take place from noon to 1 p.m. in the Hoagy Carmichael Room, Morrison Hall 006, which holds memorabilia from his life and career. \nThe event is open to the public free of charge. It’s a “brown bag” series, so people are encouraged to bring their own lunches. \n“It’s going to be a combination of storytelling and music, more music than storytelling,” Reed said. \nKid Kazooey, a local musician, will be playing the Oscar- and Grammy-winning Carmichael’s old pop songs in rock format. Between each piece, he’ll tell stories about Carmichael’s life.\n“People can expect to hear familiar and obscure tunes played in a more contemporary rock trio setting, meaning guitar, bass and drums,” said Kazooey, whose real name is Kevin MacDowell. “It’s like Eric Clapton and Cream, the prototypical rock band, if they were to play Frank Sinatra songs.”\nWhile MacDowell was wary of giving too much away, he did give a few hints at the types of stories he’ll tell during the session.\n“There is a story behind Hoagy’s classic song “Rockin’ Chair,” how he wrote it one night in a Bloomington jail,” MacDowell said. “I’m also going to be relaying in general some stories about his crazy college days at IU. Another is a story about how he tried to purchase a Hawaiian island.”\nMost of Hoagy Carmichael’s songs are already stories, he said, like his favorite, “The Monkey Song,” about a witch doctor’s moneymaking scheme from a monkey who plays drums.\nThe event was planned through an effort between Hoagy Carmichael’s son, Hoagy B. Carmichael, and the Archives of Traditional Music, located in Morrison Hall. Both parties had one goal in mind: to reach and educate undergraduate students about Carmichael’s legacy. \n“People 50 years and older seem to know all about him, but undergraduates do not,” Reed said. “We were thinking, what kind of programming can we do that will appeal to undergraduates?” \nThe answer was a rock ‘n’ roll storytelling of the famous musician and renditions of his work.\nReed and MacDowell believe Carmichael is an important part of Bloomington and IU history, an icon who undergraduates should know.\n“I live in Bloomington, Indiana, and not only do I love Bloomington, but this world-famous songwriter loved his hometown,” MacDowell said. “Even after he became rich and famous, he never stayed away. He made many contributions to the town and IU and visited often.\n“He was very passionate about Bloomington, and much of his music reflects our sort of idyllic, small-town charm,” he said. “I’m attracted to anyone who loves his hometown that much, especially when I make it my home. ... Because Hoagy Carmichael is from Bloomington and an IU student it makes it all the more personal for students today to know about his history.”