
Get ready to never get this one right: The Lawn at White River State Park shall henceforth be known as The Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park.
The change was announced at a press conference earlier this week. Several shows were also added to the summer lineup, in addition to a few that were already announced:
May 4: Rise Against
July 3: WZPL Uncle Sam Jam featuring Demi Lovato and Hot Chelle Rae
July 7: Umphrey's McGee
July 12: O.A.R.
July 29: Florence & the Machine
Aug. 12: Last Summer on Earth Tour featuring the Barenaked Ladies, Blues Traveler, Big Head Todd & the Monsters and Cracker
Aug. 14: 311
Aug. 24: The Dukes of September: Boz Scaggs, Donald Fagen and Michael McDonald
Sept. 30: An Evening with the Avett Brothers
Inching ever closer to star-making SXSW, we are. All right, I'm dropping the Yoda and I'll get down to festivals. MOKB recently announced their showcase, which features tacos and fifteen bands. Presented with Indigenous Promotions and Knuckle Rumbler, Bass Drum of Death, Free Energy, Father John Misty, Great Lake Swimmers, Brother Ali, Waters, Bear Hands, Prince Rama, ExitMusic, Gardens and Villa, Andy D, Rockwell Knuckles, Burnt Ones, Hotfox and Stamps will perform at Pckerheads on Friday, March 16.
But before that, they're working with Song, by Tod for a party at the Hype Machine Hotel. Blitzen Trapper, Big Deal, Micah P Hinson, The Twilight Sad, Shearwater and Brown Brogues will perform
It's officially March, and the mildest winter in recent memory is finally on its way out. That means two things to this music blogger: fresh tomatoes at farmers' markets and....music festivals. We'll be posting festival lineup roundups in the near feature, but for now, feast your eyes on the as-of-yesterday-released Forecastle Festival lineup. The Louisville festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Hometown boys and headliners My Morning Jacket are curating the entire affair.
The festival will take place July 13-15 at the Louisville's Waterfront Park.
My Morning Jacket
Bassnectar
Wilco
Girl Talk
Andrew Bird
Sleigh Bells
Atmosphere
Neko Case
Clutch
A-Trak
Galactic
Flying Lotus
Beach House
The Head and the Heart
Stax! Soul Revue
Dr. Dog
Deer Tick
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires
Beats Antique
Real Estate
Justin Townes Earle
Washed Out
Walk The Moon
Dean Wareham Plays Galaxie 500
Wye Oak
Atlas Sound
Fruit Bats
Daedelus
Ben Sollee
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo
JEFF the Brotherhood
The Features
Mike Doughty
Tanlines
Zion I
Sleeper Agent
Floating Action
Wick-It The Instigator
James Vincent McMorrow
Wax Fang
Daniel Martin Moore
King's Daughters & Sons
Houndmouth
Cheyenne Marie Mize
The Ravenna Colt
Rachel Grimes
Nerves Junior
Cabin
Scarlet Smile
Lydia Burrell
Matt Mastrangelo, the publisher of Rolling Stone, hates thinking of his magazine as a legacy. Instead, Mastrangelo argues, Rolling Stone is as influential in pop culture as ever and therefore should be considered an icon.
Rolling Stone has been an icon in music, politics and entertainment coverage for over 44 years. The magazine is known not only for its liberal coverage of current events, but also for its creativity in photography and cover art. Editor Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason founded the magazine in 1967 and dubbed it “not just about the music, but about the things and attitudes that music embraces.”
For nearly half a century, Rolling Stone has reported on America’s most compelling issues. Journalists like Hunter S. Thompson has given way to those such as Matt Taibbi, but passionate writing and compelling coverage remain.
NUVO spoke with Mastrangelo about the magazine’s first Super Bowl party, its political coverage for the election year, and his personal musical interests. Mastrangelo considers himself “classic Rolling Stone” in that he listens to everything from Kanye West to The Beatles, but he sticks to the mega-hits. And, in accordance with the magazine’s history of great writers and even greater stories, Mastrangelo shared advice for aspiring journalists. But first, we had to talk Super Bowl.
NUVO: Tell us how you got involved.
Matt Mastrangelo: This is the first time that we have done a big Super Bowl event. Michael Provus, who is our associate publisher, was born and raised in Indianapolis and went to IU. He was twisting my arm and saying, “If you are going to do a Super Bowl party, you have got to do it in Indianapolis.”
NUVO: Why is that?
Mastrangelo: Well obviously [Provus] is from here, so he is probably a little partial. He was talking about the community, talking about how it is a midsize city. It’s big enough where you have a great music scene, but it’s small enough where you’re not overwhelmed. We came out and we met with a lot of different owners and venues about five or six months ago.
There were two options that we had: we could just do what everybody else does and buy out a venue, throw the Rolling Stone party, make lots of money, pack up the bags and head back to New York. Or we could work with a venue and an owner in partnership. That’s when I got turned on to Gary and the team at Crane Bay.
I’m hoping that when Rolling Stone leaves, we aren’t taking the money with us. What I hope is that when people put their money down, they are going to put it down for an Indianapolis group like the Crane Bay as opposed to a promoter from L.A. or New York. We are helping to employ five or 10 people in permanent jobs and we are helping bring in 200 hundred jobs just for our event. That’s what really turned me on about it. It’s about community and that’s so much what we [Rolling Stone] are all about.
NUVO: Talk about the selection of the talent.
Mastrangelo: That was a fun couple of weeks (laughs). If there is one thing that people like to discuss, it’s music. What we wanted to do was blow the doors off and have multiple acts on a bill. We also wanted to get multiple acts in who were chart-toppers. We have LMFAO; right now, [“Party Rock Anthem”] is the number one song and [“Sexy And I Know It”] is the number nine or number eight song. You have Cobra Starship, who right now I think is the number 17 song. Gym Class Heroes have two top ten hits; they have another one that I think right now is in the Hot 100. Lupe Fiasco has three Grammy nominations. We wanted to put together a selection of artists that are not duplicative, so it’s not the same type of music.
NUVO: Are you a personal fan [of these artists]?
Mastrangelo: Am I a personal fan? I think they’re all fun. Like I was saying, you turn the radio on and LMFAO is on and you’re boppin’. It's party music. Cobra Starship — great pop, I don’t want to say bubblegum, but great pop rock. Lupe — I love Lupe — I think he is so underrated; he is under the radar. We like him because not only is he a great artist, he is a really great guy.
NUVO: What are you listening to right now?
Mastrangelo: I’m classic Rolling Stone; I listen to everything. There are a couple bands that I’m really into right now. One that I really like is Das Racist. They are fantastic. Honestly, I love a lot of what the women are doing right now. Florence and the Machine, stuff that she is doing. I think Gaga is great; she’s bigger than life. She’s got this total attitude.
NUVO: Take me through a typical day in your job at Rolling Stone, I imagine it’s pretty surreal.
Mastrangelo: Because we are published every two weeks, it’s a constant flow of high energy at the maximum level. Obviously Jann Wenner, who is our owner and founder, is working everyday and editing. Keith Richards will come in, or Bruce Springsteen will come in and play his new record, or you have the guys from the Black Keys coming in. Actually, tomorrow, Cobra Starship will have lunch. It is a highly creative, high energy type of environment, but the environment and the job doesn’t end when you leave the office. I will probably be going to two, three, four shows a week, going to small clubs, listening to great music, going out with clients, going out with agents, going out with managers, until one o’clock in the morning and then you’re back in at 7:30 a.m. You have to have this passion.
NUVO: How involved are you on the cover path? How far are the covers planned?
Mastrangelo: Some covers are planned out well in advance, others are done spur of the moment. The covers themselves [are a] total editorial decision. Mr. Wenner is the master in the editorial team.
NUVO: Any plans from your esteemed political guys for this new presidential election?
Mastrangelo: Oh, yeah! The thing that we have always had a very strong connection to is our political coverage. Matt Taibbi writes for Rolling Stone and most people say he is doing the best political [and] Wall Street reporting than anything today. As we go into the election year [political coverage] will be an important part of our package. It is about youth and empowering them with the knowledge and information that allows them to have an intelligent conversation about politics.
NUVO: Who is your key demographic right now [in 2012]?
Mastrangelo: It hasn’t changed much. It is still that 21 to 35 year old that is usually passionate about music, entertainment, and pop culture. The magazine was founded on the premise that its not just about rock and roll, it’s about everything that rock and roll impacts and affects. That’s where we layer in the politics, the movies, all of the national affairs pieces as well.
NUVO: So as a legacy print product, how involved are you in the music blogosphere?
Mastrangelo: What we have been able to create is we have this — I hate to use the word “legacy,” let’s use the word “iconic.”
NUVO:Why do you hate [the word] legacy?
Mastrangelo: Because “legacy” seems like your time has passed. An iconic brand is a brand that has been able to stay current and relevant. And I think that this brand is an iconic brand because it has stayed true to its core value for over 44 years. It hasn’t wavered from that commitment. Fads and trends have come and gone, but our core value proposition to our reader has not changed. With that being said, we have our print property. Print property is really great investigative journalism, feature writing, great photography, great record reviews. Circulation is at an all-time high; audience is at an all-time high.
NUVO:And that has come under you —
Mastrangelo: Well, that has come under the editor, from a circulation standpoint. We have had to give away some of the things that would be in the magazine to our digital property, because they can do it better. Things that are happening right now in music and entertainment — like when Cee Lo Green changed the lyrics to John [Lennon’s] song at the New Year’s celebration. If that had run in the magazine, it would have been too old.
NUVO: Where did you think you would be when you were starting out, graduating from college?
Mastrangelo: Well here’s a funny story (laughs). I went to school at a small little school in West Virginia, Bethany College. I was the music director at the [radio] station, I was a station manager, I was a huge music fan. Then I had my internship at MCA Records doing local promo, so I did promotion for them. Then, I was in the ad business, so I worked at BBDO.
I interviewed at Rolling Stone for a direct response sales job and I didn’t get the job. When the publisher told me that I didn’t get the job, I said to myself, “I will have your job someday.” I was so pissed and I knew that at some point in my career I would get back into the Rolling Stone offices. I have been with the magazine now for 10 years and I started off as the advertising director. I have done a number of jobs within our company and started a couple of divisions. I was a publisher at Men’s Journal for a while and then took over Rolling Stone.
So, when I think about back in college or what I thought I was going to do, I think I’m doing what I always had a passion to do. I am just incredibly grateful.
NUVO: It’s a discouraging time to be studying journalism and English [literature] in college, so what advice would you give people that want to be doing what you’re doing?
Mastrangelo: I have always said to [interns] that the key thing is about forgetting your first job, because your first job gets you your next job, and your next job gets you your next job. When I first got out of school, I took any job that I could get. My mentality was that the only way I am going to get the job I want is to have the job that I don’t really want. This generation right now has gone through so much —wars, recession, and practical depression. The strains and the struggles that they’ve gone through is setting up for a generation that has the potential of being hugely successful, because they have to work really hard.ν
Halloween, Devil’s Night, the Eve of All Hallows — whatever you call it, October 31 is pretty much the natural holiday of the gothic-industrial scene. So it’s no surprise that the Melody Inn saw a healthy crowd of the creepy-crawly, black-clad and generally dark on Halloween, courtesy of the Climax event hosted by goth-industrial veterans Copper Top and Krazy Karoline and featuring half a dozen DJs from around the region.
Things didn’t actually get moving in a big way until after midnight, which also comes as no surprise — the Goths come out to play at the same time Sammy Terry is just about to call it a night. But once the Mel started to fill up, you had your pick of sights — the main floor where DJs provided tremendous thumping beats for dancing enjoyment, the quieter atmosphere of the PBR lounge, which was characterized by quieter but still appealing industrial rhythms, and the outdoor beer garden where fire dancers and jugglers warmed up the night.
And on the main floor, the dancing itself was the primary attraction — there’s nothing quite like watching the intricate gyrations a field of dancers can apply to the likes of Apoptygma Berserk or whatever the latest remixes of perennial anthems such as “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” and “Dead Man’s Party” can bring, everyone putting their own unique spin on the sounds.
This is a scene known for its elaborate costuming, and Halloween just tends to bring out the most exotic and elaborate of them. So the costume contest was quite competitive — and gory — bringing out Dead Snoopy, Half-Decapited Marie Antoinette and Zombie Cheerleader among others. The big winner of the night, though, was Prom Queen Dumpster Baby, nominated by near-unanimous applause and acclaim. Ah, this is a scene that will never let me down.
We had two photographers on call to catch the rumbling, bumbling, stumbling zombies shambling through the streets of Broad Ripple Saturday night. Catch the first set of Zombie Walk photos here and take two below.
According to event organizer IndyMojo's Jason King, more than 1,000 zombies raised 5,349 lbs. of canned food for Gleaners Food Bank, which - as far as we know - doesn't yet offer brains as nourishment to the undead.

"Nathan [Byrd], who was killed, and the three other guys who were hurt all rode the truss in; they all fell with the lights and the roofs and everything," Lee explained Monday. "They were working truss spots [or, in layman's terms, they were assigned to operate spotlights above the stage]. I’ve been a truss spot at least a hundred times; I’ve been a house spot 300 times; and I’ve been a deckhand over a thousand times. It totally could have been me had I been working for the Local 30. It was a pretty shocking thing for a lot of people.”
The concert, which will run from 2 to 11 p.m., will feature plenty of local talent, including Healing Sixes, Why On Earth, Threat Level, One-Eyed Dog, 3:1, Jay Stein, Minksy Kinks burlesque troupe, The Remedies, Smoke Ring and Radio FX.
Lee managed to score donations from several big names who played his workplace for the benefit's silent auction. Both Darius Rucker (formerly, Hootie) and Avenged Sevenfold donated autographed guitars. Jimmy Buffett signed a hat. Elton John inked a tour program. Blink 182, Bullet For My Valentine, Tom Morello and The Romantics also contributed signed items.
All bands are volunteering their time and talents free of charge, and 8 Seconds has donated the space for the day. Donations will go towards a memorial fund for Local 30 stagehands. Lee notes that proceeds will largely benefit three stagehands who were seriously injured in the collapse, with other stagehands who sustained less serious injuries also receiving monies. Parts of the proceeds will also be allotted for the family of Byrd, the sole stagehand killed in the collapse.
Tickets are available from Ticketmaster, The Dugout and the Local 30 headquarters. Bands for Hands is still accepting donations from area businesses for the silent auction; e-mail bandsforhands@hotmail.com for more information.