Bubble City Meets Cloud City
When I was a kid, I loved Star Wars. I had pretty much every collectible known to man. I had the movies, the soundtracks on vinyl, the action figures, bed sheets, curtains, talking Ewoks…all of it. My first word as a baby was “Yoda.” I had a severe mental complex that had me thinking that I was actually Luke Skywalker bulls-eying womp rats on Tatooine for much of my childhood. I lived and breathed Star Wars.
I eventually grew out of my SW phase and moved on to more sophisticated movies like The Wizard and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but every now and then, my brain will snap and I’ll see the world in Star Wars vision again. This week, I took a hard look at the Champaign-Urbana local music scene and made stunning comparisons of people in our local universe to people in the galaxy far, far away.
1. Larry Gates / Master Yoda
Yoda was one of the most respected and revered Jedi in the galaxy; Larry Gates is one of the most respected and revered musicians our town has witnessed. Just like Yoda, he saw the fall of the local music scene on Green St., but returned as an unstoppable force to bring people back to downtown Champaign.
2. Krukid / Boba Fett
If you’ve never performed alongside, opened for or headlined Krukid, then you’re not a real musician. Like the most infamous bounty hunter of all time, Krukid has rubbed shoulders with almost anyone local who has talent.
3. Todd Hunter / C-3PO
Threepio is fluent in six million forms of communication. Todd Hunter is as fluent in local music trivia. For years, Todd has interviewed countless artists and has seen more local music shows than anyone. Still, no one knows what this guy does for a living.
4. Dave Dickey / Droopy McCool
Dave and Droopy actually both played for Jabba once.
5. Matt Harshbarger / Jabba the Hutt
Harsh, a business man, promoter, gangster and emcee. Jabba, a businessman, promoter a gangster and emcee. They’ve gotta be related.
6. John Hoeffleur / Han Solo
Han never wanted to be a hero, but always seems to find himself in the weirdest of situations. Just like Han, John never wanted to be known as a one of the kings of the scene. This rebel scum just wanted to smuggle his spice all day.
7. Tom Grassman / Chewbacca
Seriously, this guy has got a lot of hair.
8. Ward Gollings / Darth Vader
Feared across the city and being known for ending music careers, Darth Ward rules the local music scene with a dark hand.
9. Brandon T. Washington / Mace Windu
Well, it’s Brandon T. Washington! I mean come on!
10. Michael “Guido” Esteves / Greedo
Not because their names sound similar, but because we’re told by many women that he always “shoots first.”
11. Illini Media Company / The Galactic Empire
Let’s face it. They control what we hear, what we read, what we see and even what think. They own you, everything that you own and this town—until the Rebel Alliance forms.
8 comments
Han Solo
Who you calling scruffy-looking?
Self-serving but I like this - very, very much. Good one Nate.
Han again
Meaning it serves me so of course I like it - a great compliment to be cast as Han.
Mike Ingram
mundaywas
That is…weird. We just think alike…Mike.
bozak
please to make follow up article with more comparisons.
princess leah
jabas right had man (bib fortuna?)
jabas little pet
lando calrisian (my favorite)
mon mothma
admiral akbar
the dude with three eyes, ree-yees
that big ass monster that luke killed
the sarlack pit
liz
man that was alright. i mean, slightly one sided, and the harsh metaphor was fucking harsh. and really do you need to be boosting john hoeffleur’s ego like that, seriously???
jabba the harsh
[url=“http://a799.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/94/l_66114d7a6f0f0058f565bb3b9e2b2dce.jpg”]
forgot an important one[/url]
http://openid.aol.com/LucidLibra
Bahahahahaaaa!!!
Nice, Nate. Honestly, if someone can’t find the humor in all of this, then they really need to lighten the hell up.
Kudos to Nate for making this one good, kudos to the musicians that can recognize the humor in this, and last but certainly not least, kudos to harsh for the comparison on Nate Jones. Word.
Most Recent Music Comments
I will be at Danu this evening. And seeing as tomorrow - St. Pat’s - is my birthday, I will be celebrating with tons of green and fun!
Big Blue will actually be on 6-9, despite what is posted elsewhere. Then, hightail it over to Bentley’s!
Yeeee! This sounds so fun! Any word on covers for any/all of these? Maybe SP could spring for punch cards and some discounts if we make it to all, eh?
...and given the lack of smiley emoticons i chose to employ, that reads far more sarcastically than i ever intended (my apologies). i actually find this to be a great article and an interesting discussion, seriously : )
Once it leaves the basement, it is then called what? hmmm…....could it be mainstream? accessible? appealing on a mass-level? POP??? Quickly it will become a fad, over-saturate the media, and piss people off. Then everyone can write articles based on how that shit sucks, too. chickens are…
In general, I think music is much more interesting now than in 1995. I definitely am very glad contemporary music has expanded beyond the four-piece rock lineup that dominated much of the 90’s. The point of the above isn’t so much about a sound or an instrument…
2010 is not 1995. I’m not sure why anyone would expect a music scene to remain stationary as the world of popular music moves around it. Also, today, making popular music with mainstream appeal and being innovative and cutting-edge are usually exact opposites.
bhrama- thanks for the promo. it is true, crane and badger will be playing on friday at mike and mollys w/ the chemicals and tractor kings. we will be playing first. show starts at 10pm. come on out. rock will be had.
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As an adoptee, I can empathize—although I’m not an international adoptee, and I apologize if I’m assuming too much on the nature of your adoption. You can feel what you feel, but don’t be too hard on yourself. When I started a search for my birth family,…
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Sounds like it!
Nice, killer work pretty man…the channeled, one sided collaborated rhyming poem. An oft forgot genre. The ruckus was felt even here in my living room, which is normally a safe haven from ruckus.
wait, I was commenting on the wrong thing - sorry - he’s actually a gigantic sellout but who really knows what all this is about.
If the democrats didn’t have Kucinich, and the republicans didn’t have Ron Paul, where would both these parties really stand? These men actually mean what they say.
Joel, thank you for the opportunity to answer these questions and have them posted here. I really appreciate it! Yes, I was thrilled to see that Rep. Kucinich flipped today, so he will has committed to voting yes for health reform. I appreciated his comments which seem…
It appears to me that your reviewer did all that could be expected: she paid her money, saw the play and conveyed her impressions. The review (on the whole, laudatory) may have been rushed, in a generous attempt to publicize the production while it was still available…
Dan Schreiber’s chocolate is simply the best I’ve ever had. It’s a whole different ball-game; closer to very high-end wine than anything out of Hershey PA.
That settles it… Im going.
Vosges is pretty decent chocolate, but you should definitely try the locally-produced chocolate from Dan Schreiber, available (regularly?) at Amara, Caffe Paradiso, and Common Ground. I believe it is or will be at other places soon.
I read Kucinich flipped today. He must have read this and been convinced.
Bread Company can do some fantastic vegan dinner dishes! Several of their pastas are vegan or could be made vegan and their pizzas can be ordered (and taste great) without the cheese. I also recommend their roasted potatoes and their roasted garlic head appetizer.
General Admission? Are we supposed to camp out the night before the game to get decent seats?
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I was all set to pounce on this, but it’s the truth. There used to be bands in town I was afraid of, like I’d have a heart attack during their set. There are still some great bands, but they’re pretty and dainty and low in cholesterol. …