Recent Smile Politely Entries
- The Overture: December 1 – December 7, 200812/01/08 - Brian McGovern
- Gift Time Begins12/01/08 - Rose Marshack
- Now Hear This! Vince Guaraldi Trio — "Little Birdie" (1972)12/01/08 - Seth Fein
- Happy Thanksgiving — Regular Content Returns on Monday11/26/08 - Smile Politely Editors
- Baking Bread Is a Revolutionary Act11/26/08 - Lisa Bralts-Kelly
- Little House on the Arctic Circle11/26/08 - Lindy Wheatley
- The Polite Power Rankings: Week 1311/26/08 - Chris Maier
- Y'all Must Be Trippin': Illini Head to South Padre Island11/26/08 - Rob McColley
- Now That's What I Call a Compilation CD!11/26/08 - Brian McGovern
- How Do They Get Away with It?11/26/08 - Ryan Neaveill
About Tommy Griscom
Tommy Griscom
Tommy moved to Champaign-Urbana from Louisville, KY in 1997. He briefly studied German at the University of Illinois before realizing he didn't like sauerkraut. He delivers buckets of sheep brains at the Parkland Instruction Materials Center, runs shows at the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center, sits on couches at the Nicodemus Agency, and runs the local promoting group bleebloop.
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Beer and Chili Cook-Off Serves Up Good Times; Raises Legal Questions
This weekend hundreds of people gathered in the center of downtown Urbana for one common goal: to eat chili and drink beer. The 7th Annual International Beer Tasting and Chili Cook-off maintained its position as the second largest outdoor festival in Urbana, next to the Sweetcorn Festival. Two hours before the doors opened, almost fifty people had already gathered on the north and south sides of the downtown Urbana parking garage to secure their free 4 oz. cups. As 3:00 P.M. approached, the lines stretched around the corners of Race, Elm and Main. Julia Rietz, the Champaign County State's Attorney, had a booth to serve chili but did not attend the event, preventing us from grilling her about the possibility of alcohol-related incidents stemming from the beer tasting festival. We took the opportunity to interview attendees about the festival and bar-entry laws in Champaign-Urbana.
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Truancy Takes Center Stage in Champaign Starting Today
There have been numerous attempts to improve public education in the United States over the years. The No Child Left Behind Act has created required benchmarks for students through standardized testing with a focus on improving the performance of children in school, but it does little to help keep kids in school. In fact, it makes passing even more daunting of a task for those who have difficulty keeping up.
Marijuana Decriminalized in Urbana
You may be surprised to hear this, but it is now impossible for you to go to jail for small possessions of marijuana — in Urbana. This past Monday the Urbana City Council passed an ordinance requiring that all small possessions be handled as city ordinance tickets punishable by a fine only. This means no jail time and no state charge. There has been little to no media coverage of the drafting of this ordinance and very little public discussion. The only online reference to this ordinance is a brief mention in the September 15th City Council Agenda, as the 14th item. No minutes or any other information is provided on the website.
While decriminalization of marijuana has not been shown to lead to an increase in marijuana consumption, this ordinance does reflect a tolerance of marijuana use. Does this ordinance pave the way for wider acceptance of cannabis in the area, or is this just another case of "those crazy Urbana liberals" getting their way? And why hasn't anyone reported this ordinance in any of the local papers? I for one would like to see a healthy public discussion of this issue — not more reasons to ignore it.
1968 Revisited: Tonight at Illini Union
This evening at the Illini Union Courtyard Cafe a panel of experts will present comparisons of historically significant events that occurred in 1968 with our nation's current racial, political and educational landscape. 1968 was a crucial turning point for the United States and the World, as marked by the end of the civil rights movement and the beginning of the Vietnam War. This year also included a Summer Olympics, complete with Black Power salutes (Beijing made sure to prevent these through use of gagging clauses) and massive clashes between protesters and police at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, mostly due to reactions to the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. University of Illinois speakers include James Anderson, Gutsgell Professor of Educational Policy Studies, Antonia Darder, Professor of Education Policy Studies and Latino/a Studies and author of various books such as After Race: Racism and Multiculturalism, and Belden Fields, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, author of Trotskyism and Maoism: Theory and Practice in France and the United States, and participant in the May 1968 riots in France. The panel will begin at 7:00 and will be moderated by Augusto Espiritu, Associate Professor of History.
Nas at The Canopy Club Aug. 30 2008
Welcome back to work.
Look for Justine Bursoni's photo review in Aww Snap! tomorrow on Smile Politely.
Error House Shut Down; Plans to Reopen in the Works
Last week, when I heard that Error House had been shut down, my heart sank. Such a wonderful and safe all ages venue, run by selfless musicians, helping fill the void that the Red Herring, Channing Murray, and many other venues and houses once filled — gone in a flash.
Scrambling to relocate their shows, they managed to put together some last minute arrangements with the boys of So Long Forgotten to move their tour-kickoff show to The Green Wolf, a farm house on the western outskirts of Champaign.
More videos after the jump.
Bid Thee Farewell: Jane Boxall Headed to Vermont
Jane Boxall has been in Champaign-Urbana just long enough to prove her worth as one of our greatest musicians and teachers. She arrived in town over three and a half years ago to pursue her graduate studies in percussion at the University of Illinois. Little did we know that she would soon go on to create some of CU's most interesting rock music, teach drum skills to half the town through local drum shop Skins and Tins and perform more marimba concerts than CU has hosted in the last 10 years combined. With a D.M.A. in hand, Jane will travel to Vermont to teach music to school kids from the first to eighth grade. Last week, Smile Politely had the chance to sit down with Jane, grab a beer and talk about her experiences in Champaign-Urbana.
Make sure to catch Jane's last performance in Illinois, tonight at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center at 7 p.m.
We wish you well, Jane!
Video Review: Bellcaster at Mike N' Molly's
Late Tuesday night, local band Bellcaster reunited for one last show after falling off the radar for roughly two years. What could bring a band back from the dead? A good friend of theirs, Bobby Northcutt, was in need of some help, so they decided to host a benefit concert complete with tattoo and piercing raffles to raise money for him. How cool is that? Solo acoustic artist Jonathon Childers, one-man band Andy V, and percussionist Jane Boxall assisted in the farewell show, as well. The audience was receptive, and one man in particular was very pleased with the show — he won not only a $75 piercing, but also a $75 tattoo.
Bellcaster:
More video after the jump...
Mike Ingram and Ryan Groff: Radiohead Cover — "High and Dry"
In case you hadn't realized already, the Mike N' Molly's beer garden is truly the place to be for live local music in downtown Champaign these days. It's spacious and inviting, the PA won't destroy your eardrums, and it's got a good beer selection to boot. This is all fine and dandy on most days, but when the weatherman cries "precipitation," everyone starts to get a little worried about playing outside.
This didn't stop Ryan Groff and Mike Ingram from performing their duet rendition of Radiohead's The Bends in support of Nashville's Parachute Musical and Heypenny last Tuesday, however. Amid reports of a storm, the two local rockers pushed all doubt aside and told the crowd just what they wanted to hear: "It doesn't matter if it rains — we're playing anyway!"
Smile Politely Exclusive: Good Night and Good Morning Video Profile
This is the first in a series of video profiles highlighting local bands, how they view the music scene and where they think it is going. The interview transcript appears after the jump. Enjoy!
Good Night and Good Morning are a band that rejects all of the stereotypes that traditionally come with being in a band — they aren't loud, they don't dream of playing in large arenas and they don't care about making money. How is it, then, that they can survive in the seemingly stagnant Champaign-Urbana music scene? We decided to sit down with them and discuss their experiences as an acoustic-ambient band, and also, as local musicians in C-U.
