Songwriter’s Showcase puts local talent on display at Player’s Pub

A quiet revolution is brewing Monday nights in a pub on Walnut Street. \nAt the Player’s Pub, 424 S. Walnut St., local songwriters gather to share their music and create a unsual listening atmosphere for the audience. \nGreg Hill, owner of the two-year-old pub, said music has healing power, and it’s why he opened a music-focused pub. \n“It’s the Player’s Pub for a reason – we are musician-driven. We’re aiming for adults in a college town, and that’s kind of unique,” he said. \nEach Monday night for about two months, songwriters have been coming together to play. The Songwriter’s Showcase, led by Dave McConnell, local songwriter and carpenter, is composed of four different local songwriters. \nMcConnell, vocalist for the band The Lopers, said he sees a great potential for local songwriting. \n“I think there are a lot of good songwriters in the area, and I don’t think a lot of them are prone to get out and play on their own, and I don’t think there’s a forum for that. I think that’s a main reason (The Songwriter’s Showcase) has a chance of succeeding, because it’s a unique format,” McConnell said. “In all my time in Bloomington, I’ve never seen anything that happens on a regular basis like this, once a week, all the time, so I would like to hear every good songwriter in the area.”\nMarc Haggerty, another local songwriter, said one of the aims of the showcase was to raise the quality and quantity of the audience, and he’s already seen an increase in audience at the Player’s Pub. \n“The truth is, you couldn’t make it in Bloomington because of the attitude here. We’re changing that little by little. The owner (of the Player’s Pub) has respect for local musicians and for people who respect it,” he said. \nDan Fontaine, news director at WIUX radio, who is also a part-time waiter at the Player’s Pub, said he thinks it is already one of the best places in Bloomington for local music. \nHe listed Rhino’s, Bear’s Place, the Bluebird and Cheeseburger in Paradise as other good venues for local music. \nOne of the problems with raising the quality and quantity of the audience is defining the audience for local music in Bloomington. \nThe audience is mostly composed of people interested in the process of creating music and the friends and family of the musicians performing, McConnell said.\nHaggerty said he thinks that an adult audience is more likely to be loyal to a local songwriter’s scene because he believes the media has “brainwashed” young Americans. \n“It doesn’t matter who the audience is, they’re completely barraged by the media, TV, radio on one speaker and an iPod on the other. So we’re dealing with an audience that is so brainwashed by the concert setup that they forgot what the real reason for songwriting was,” he said. \nMcConnell said he thinks it’s important when establishing the core audience to start with the local audience, but that doesn’t exclude younger people interested in local music. \n“To be honest with you, I don’t care who comes out,” he said. “I think everybody who cares about good music should come.” \nHowever, Fontaine said he thinks there’s an equal amount of disdain of the students by the local audience. \n“There’s definitely a disconnect between the students and the community, but the community has to be willing to reach out,” he said. “The people in here sometimes don’t want students in here because they have a bad idea, thinking about the people they see on Kirkwood.”\nHe said WIUX tries to play a lot of local music, but it focuses on local students rather than some of the bands of nonstudents. \nAs well as working to create a recurring venue for local musicians, the Songwriter’s Showcase is working with the Bloomington Area Arts Council and the Bloomington Economic Arts District to promote Bloomington’s image as a good place in the Midwest for music.\n“There’s a chance we could have a respect for talent and not for fame,” he said. \nMcConnell said he thinks there is a fair amount of time and work before Bloomington can be considered a music destination. \n“I like the idea of it being a music destination. ... I don’t think it’s impossible by any means. I think we need to get going here on a local level.” \nFontaine said he thinks it is unlikely that Bloomington will become known as a music destination because the types of bands and musicians in Bloomington and surrounding cities are so different. \n“It would be awesome,” he said. “I think the problem is the local music in Bloomington is not the scene in Chicago, not even in Indy or Evansville, so I don’t think it’ll work.” \nThough Bloomington may be far from being considered the next Nashville, Tenn., Fontaine said at least at the Player’s Pub, there’s a healthy appetite for local songwriting. \n“There’s some Monday nights people really come in for the music,” he said. \nFor more information, visit www.theplayerspub.com.