New "Midwest Underground" web series captures Midwest house-show vibe

A passion to promote the arts caused Andy Beargie and Kevin Winkler to start a local web series, “Midwest Underground.”

The series, currently published sporadically, was created to reach college students in the Midwest, especially in Bloomington, where the show originated.

Writer Gabriel Wallace plays host Archibal Prodgers, who takes viewers to venues to present local bands from the Midwestern area to capture the “Midwest ‘house-show’ vibe.”

Episodes feature humorous segments written by the show’s host and include breakaway scenes to musicians while they perform their pieces.

“This whole thing isn’t just for us,” Beargie said. “We’re really trying to make this a community thing.”

How it All Began

After meeting at a mutual friend’s party, Beargie and Winkler realized they both had a love for music and local arts and that they possessed the skills necessary to promote that world.

Beargie was the audio guy, and Winkler was the video guy.

“I think we’re very complementary with our skills,” Winkler said.

Beargie, who had been in multiple bands prior to the start of the series, said that, after being a performer for 12 years, he understood the detailed aspects of the local arts industry.

He said he realized that artists needed the ability to put their work out there for people to see.

Thus, Beargie proposed to Winkler the idea of creating a web series.

“Andy was like, ‘Let’s do a show,’ and I was like, ‘A show?’ The following week, Andy had a stage built,” Winkler said.

“We made it an outlet to put (the art) all together,” Beargie said.

The Series

The show is currently filmed in a party setting for the viewers. Beargie and Winkler said the party atmosphere has been both positive and negative for their show.

They said they have grown with the series to the best of their ability.

Once, during a performance by Bloomington band Hotfox, an episode was cut short when a patron stepped on the cord and left them with only two songs from the band’s performance.

“Now we have everything plugged into a place no one could reach,” Beargie said.

The arts advocates said they are trying to make the most of their situation and grow as a series.

“We are slowly investing in advertising and facilities,” Winkler said. “It’s a labor
of love.”

Winkler and Beargie used Kickstarter, an online company that uses crowd funding to raise money for creative projects, to give the series a financial boost.

The campaign reached its goal of $10,000 on March 16 with help from 41 sponsors.
They said the campaign funds will help them provide a space for bands to perform and to promote the artists in the Midwest.

Additionally, the campaign funds will help Beargie and Winkler invest in advertising for their production company, Winkler said.

The Future of Midwest Underground

“It’s really something special about arts in Bloomington,” Winkler said.

Winkler and Beargie said as of now, they are completely dedicated to their show and production company. After the campaign, they hope to make their shows more frequent and expand their fan base and the artists they work with.

“We’re coming into the game at a really good point,” Winkler said.