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Sounds of Fury

GuitarBQ created for musicians,
to collaborate, eat potluck meals

Local and regional musicians
are attracted to new club

By Laura Goodwin
Contributing Writer

(May 2011) – Scott Bate is not a practicing musician but rather a promoter of musicians and their passions. He is also a music enthusiast. It was this enthusiasm for music that prompted him to create a group that he dubbed GuitarBQ. While it was started in March, its inception goes back much further.

Guitar

GuitarBQ is a group that meets every second Sunday of the month, where musicians can get together and collaborate with their music, as well as eat a potluck meal. There are no requirements, only the love of music.
Bate’s love of music stems from his extensive career in radio broadcasting, acting as a deejay and on-air personality. His experience encompasses 20 years or more. After reporting on motor sports for many years, he decided to refocus his career on a phenomenon that he experienced in Nashville, Tenn., several years prior: the passion that musicians have for their music.
“I got to see unknowns waiting for their chance at their shot at the music industry. It’s an amazing process,” said Bate, who lives in Hanover, Ind.
A music promoter named Doak Turner started what was called “Third Sunday,” where musicians gathered monthly to play, mingle and collaborate. Bate used to travel several times a year to participate. He kicked around the idea about starting a similar group for more than three years. The only trouble was that he was a music enthusiast, not a practicing guitar player. “Not yet,” he said with a grin. Bate credits Turner with the idea and the name.
This participation, coupled with a past position that he held as an assistant to the Indianapolis coordinator of a chapter of the National Songwriters Association International, gave him the initiative to start talking about the idea, as well as beginning to find a place to contain a large gathering. Friends, Stan and Peggy Attenberger suggested their two homes as a venue. They own adjoining properties and agreed to host the event.
The group currently meets at 507-509 Jefferson St., from 1 p.m. to 5 pm. Attendees are encouraged to bring their guitar, their passion and a covered dish. JoeyG’s Restaurant and Nightclub and Boneyard Grill restaurants in Madison have agreed to alternate providing the entrée for the gatherings.
March’s gathering boasted 30 participants, most of which were not local. They came from Carrollton, Louisville, Spencer, Indianapolis and many other places. April’s gathering boasted almost double that number.
Dave Dwyer, a Madison guitarist, raved about the last gathering, “I haven’t had the chance to hear everyone there, but already there’s a few that I just want to hear anything new they’ve got. It is a good time. I’m sure this will only get bigger.”
Dwyer and Bate collaborated on a song titled, “I don’t really want another job, I want a passion.” Bate provided the lyrics, while Dwyer provided the music and vocals.
When asked about the group’s importance to music and the Madison music scene, Dwyer added, “It has to help. There’s a lot of musicians that come from a long way away just to sit in and they’re gonna go back home and tell their friends what we’ve got here.”

• For more information, visit www.GuitarBQ.com.

Back to May 2011 Articles.

 

 

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