Music of Indiana
Encyclopedia
The music
of Indiana
was strongly influenced by a large number of German
and Irish
immigrants
who arrived in the 1830s.
Indiana was one of the first places where jazz
music became popular outside of New Orleans and Chicago. In the late 1910s and through the 1920s the state had numerous bands of young musicians playing the new style for dancing.
Richmond, Indiana
was home to the Gennett Records
, known for recording a wealth of jazz, blues
, and country music
in the 1920s.
Indiana-born musicians and composers include John Mellencamp
, Michael Jackson
, Janet Jackson
, John Hiatt
, Harry Von Tilzer
, Rich Mullins
, Kris Roe, the Bill Gaither Trio, Albert Von Tilzer
, Bobwheat Long, Cole Porter
, J. Russell Robinson
, Eddie Condon
, Hoagy Carmichael
, Wes Montgomery
, J. J. Johnson, Henry Lee Summer
, Axl Rose
, Izzy Stradlin
, David Lee Roth
, Shannon Hoon
, Calvin Crabtree, Carrie Newcomer
, Janie Fricke
, Lonnie Mack
and David Baker.
Though born in Oklahoma
, gospel singer Sandi Patty
began her musical career in Indiana at Anderson University
.
Country music
is very thick in Southern Indiana
, an area considered part of the Upland South
.
, a vibrant 1970s punk rock
and New Wave
scene existed, including Latex Novelties, Joint Chiefs of Staff and Dow Jones and the Industrials
(from West Lafayette). Probably the most influential Indiana punk band, however, was The Gizmos
, from Bloomington, Indiana
- who spawned a thriving local alternative scene that included the likes of Amoebas in Chaos and Dancing Cigarettes. Later, a hardcore punk
and alternative rock
band from Indianapolis called the Zero Boys
made some local waves. The Zero Boys started trying to make a local hardcore scene after seeing the Dead Kennedys
in Chicago. Paul Mahern of the Zero Boys led the effort, and founded Affirmation Records, releasing several compilations and recordings from Articles of Faith
(from Chicago) and local band Killing Children
before going out of business. Today, local bands, such as The Glory City Disasters, Phoenix Bodies, Bushwhacked, Up! Scumbag, boLth, Cheap Bastard Squad (C//B//S), Mobocrat, Daisycutter, Dead in Marseille, The Five Second Cummings, The Displeased, Toxic Reasons, Wait til Wednesday, Axis & Allies, CounterActive , Wombat and Friends/Oilsnakes/"_____", The Mediocres, Sludgepacker, In the Face of War, Venable, Opponents, We The Hunters, The Life We Had, The Contortionist, Stone Throats, Pessoa, and others can be seen playing at The Emerson, The ES Jungle, Barley Island, The Melody Inn, The 1511 House, The Halloween House, Moria, The Firehouse Theatre, 1624 N Harrison St., Fort Wayne Hip Hop and Dance, Jam Crib, and Locals Only.
Currently in Indiana the music scene has changed with bands such as Blood In Blood Out from Northwest Indiana playing harder and more "hardcore" music than in the past. The local scene such as in Whiting,Hammond, and The east side of Chicago have almost all followed the scremo-post hardcore-and hardcore scene. Additionally, in Lafayette/West Lafayette, The Enders have emerged as a post-punk/hardcore band, and played their debut show to a crowd of over 300 people, illustrating the impact of punk and punk-influenced music in Indiana. There is also a small following in pop punk in the area led by bands such as Reclaim the Streets, Cardboard Cutout, and The Brave Day. Lafayette is also home to punk rock record label "Oi! the Boat Records" who's roster includes bands from around the US and Europe, notably including Sweden's Perkele who headline many punk festivals throughout Europe, Lars Frederiksen
's (of Rancid (band)
) side project band The Old Firm Casuals, seminal UK punk band Peter and the Test Tube Babies
along with many other internationally acclaimed punk and ska groups.
and Continuance
, and Haste The Day
have come out of central Indiana. Hardcore music is a growing scene especially in Fort Wayne, IN. AXP
is a hardcore band from Warsaw, Indiana who toured the Midwest, East-Coast, and parts of Canada. The Face Of War
is a hardcore/ pop-punk band from Kokom, Indiana. Bands such as AblesLaughter and The Day is Our, and In Silent Ruin have come from Warsaw and Fort Wayne respectively. Both gaining a large local fan base and are quickly becoming hometown heroes.
]
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
of Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
was strongly influenced by a large number of German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
immigrants
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
who arrived in the 1830s.
Indiana was one of the first places where jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
music became popular outside of New Orleans and Chicago. In the late 1910s and through the 1920s the state had numerous bands of young musicians playing the new style for dancing.
Richmond, Indiana
Richmond, Indiana
Richmond is a city largely within Wayne Township, Wayne County, in east central Indiana, United States, which borders Ohio. The city also includes the Richmond Municipal Airport, which is in Boston Township and separated from the rest of the city...
was home to the Gennett Records
Gennett Records
Gennett was a United States based record label which flourished in the 1920s.-Label history:Gennett records was founded in Richmond, Indiana by the Starr Piano Company, and released its first records in October 1917. The company took its name from its top managers: Harry, Fred and Clarence Gennett....
, known for recording a wealth of jazz, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, and country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
in the 1920s.
Indiana-born musicians and composers include John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds...
, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
, John Hiatt
John Hiatt
John Hiatt is an American rock guitarist, pianist, singer, and songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including New Wave, blues and country. Hiatt has been nominated for several Grammy Awards - although he has never won- and has been awarded a variety of other...
, Harry Von Tilzer
Harry Von Tilzer
Harry Von Tilzer was a very popular United States songwriter.-Biography:Von Tilzer was born in Goshen, Indiana under the name Aaron Gumbinsky which he shortened to Harry Gumm. He ran away and joined a traveling circus at age 14, where he took his new name by adding 'Von' to his mother's maiden...
, Rich Mullins
Rich Mullins
Richard Wayne "Rich" Mullins was an American Contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter born in Richmond, Indiana. He had two sisters and two brothers....
, Kris Roe, the Bill Gaither Trio, Albert Von Tilzer
Albert Von Tilzer
Albert Von Tilzer was an American songwriter, the younger brother of fellow songwriter Harry Von Tilzer. He wrote the music to many hit songs, including, most notably, "Take Me Out To The Ball Game"....
, Bobwheat Long, Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
, J. Russell Robinson
J. Russell Robinson
Joseph Russel Robinson was a United States ragtime and dixieland jazz pianist and a composer of jazz, blues, and popular tunes....
, Eddie Condon
Eddie Condon
Albert Edwin Condon , better known as Eddie Condon, was a jazz banjoist, guitarist, and bandleader. A leading figure in the so-called "Chicago school" of early Dixieland, he also played piano and sang on occasion....
, Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagy Carmichael
Howard Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
, Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...
, J. J. Johnson, Henry Lee Summer
Henry Lee Summer
Henry Lee Summer is an American rock singer, songwriter, musician, and Record producer from Brazil, Indiana best known for his hit singles "I Wish I Had A Girl" and "Hey Baby".-Career:...
, Axl Rose
Axl Rose
W. Axl Rose is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and only remaining original member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he enjoyed great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before disappearing from the public eye for several years...
, Izzy Stradlin
Izzy Stradlin
Jeffrey Dean Isbell , known by his stage name Izzy Stradlin, is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and former rhythm guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, which he left at the height of its fame in 1991. Following his departure, he led his own band Izzy...
, David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
, Shannon Hoon
Shannon Hoon
Richard Shannon Hoon was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He was the frontman and lead singer of the band Blind Melon until his death from a cocaine overdose in 1995.-Early life:...
, Calvin Crabtree, Carrie Newcomer
Carrie Newcomer
Carrie Newcomer is an American singer and songwriter.-Early life and education:Carrie Newcomer was born in Dowagiac, Michigan, and raised in Elkhart, Indiana. She attended Goshen College and received a B.A...
, Janie Fricke
Janie Fricke
Janie Fricke is an American country music singer, best remembered for a series of country music hits in the early to mid 1980s....
, Lonnie Mack
Lonnie Mack
Lonnie Mack is an American rock, blues and country guitarist and vocalist....
and David Baker.
Though born in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, gospel singer Sandi Patty
Sandi Patty
Sandra Faye "Sandi" Patty is an American Christian music singer. For many years she was known as Sandi Patti. She has been dubbed "The Voice" by critics, because of her wide range and flexibility.-Early life:...
began her musical career in Indiana at Anderson University
Anderson University (Indiana)
Anderson University is an accredited private Christian liberal arts university in Anderson, Indiana. The college is affiliated with the Church of God . Anderson University is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, and the society. In 2010, U.S...
.
Country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
is very thick in Southern Indiana
Southern Indiana
Southern Indiana, in the United States, consists of the 33 counties located in the southernmost part of the state. The region's history and geography has led to a blend of Northern and Southern culture distinct from the remainder of Indiana. It is often considered to be part of the Upland South...
, an area considered part of the Upland South
Upland South
The terms Upper South and Upland South refer to the northern part of the Southern United States, in contrast to the Lower South or Deep South.-Geography:There is a slight difference in usage between the two terms...
.
Punk rock
In IndianapolisIndianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, a vibrant 1970s punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
scene existed, including Latex Novelties, Joint Chiefs of Staff and Dow Jones and the Industrials
Dow Jones and the Industrials
Dow Jones and the Industrials were a punk band from West Lafayette, Indiana from the late 1970s until about 1981. During this time, they released a split LP with The Gizmos, entitled "Hoosier Hysteria", and a self-titled 7" EP...
(from West Lafayette). Probably the most influential Indiana punk band, however, was The Gizmos
The Gizmos
Gizmos were a proto-punk band that formed in Bloomington, Indiana in 1975. Both leading members, Eddie Flowers andRich Coffee would move to Los Angeles in the late 1970s and becomeactive in the post-punk, underground rock scene there...
, from Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
- who spawned a thriving local alternative scene that included the likes of Amoebas in Chaos and Dancing Cigarettes. Later, a hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
and alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band from Indianapolis called the Zero Boys
Zero Boys
The Zero Boys are a hardcore punk quartet from Indianapolis, Indiana fronted by Paul Mahern. Other members include bassist David "Tufty" Clough, drummer Mark Cutsinger and guitarist Vess Ruhtenberg....
made some local waves. The Zero Boys started trying to make a local hardcore scene after seeing the Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....
in Chicago. Paul Mahern of the Zero Boys led the effort, and founded Affirmation Records, releasing several compilations and recordings from Articles of Faith
Articles of Faith (Band)
Articles of Faith were a Chicago-based hardcore punk band notable for songwriting in a class above most of their contemporaries . The band's later work, the posthumous In This Life LP in particular, either founds or foreshadows the emo sound...
(from Chicago) and local band Killing Children
Killing Children
"Killing Children" is a short story by Orson Scott Card. It appears in his short story collections Capitol and The Worthing Saga. Card first published it in the November 1978 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact.-Plot summary:...
before going out of business. Today, local bands, such as The Glory City Disasters, Phoenix Bodies, Bushwhacked, Up! Scumbag, boLth, Cheap Bastard Squad (C//B//S), Mobocrat, Daisycutter, Dead in Marseille, The Five Second Cummings, The Displeased, Toxic Reasons, Wait til Wednesday, Axis & Allies, CounterActive , Wombat and Friends/Oilsnakes/"_____", The Mediocres, Sludgepacker, In the Face of War, Venable, Opponents, We The Hunters, The Life We Had, The Contortionist, Stone Throats, Pessoa, and others can be seen playing at The Emerson, The ES Jungle, Barley Island, The Melody Inn, The 1511 House, The Halloween House, Moria, The Firehouse Theatre, 1624 N Harrison St., Fort Wayne Hip Hop and Dance, Jam Crib, and Locals Only.
Currently in Indiana the music scene has changed with bands such as Blood In Blood Out from Northwest Indiana playing harder and more "hardcore" music than in the past. The local scene such as in Whiting,Hammond, and The east side of Chicago have almost all followed the scremo-post hardcore-and hardcore scene. Additionally, in Lafayette/West Lafayette, The Enders have emerged as a post-punk/hardcore band, and played their debut show to a crowd of over 300 people, illustrating the impact of punk and punk-influenced music in Indiana. There is also a small following in pop punk in the area led by bands such as Reclaim the Streets, Cardboard Cutout, and The Brave Day. Lafayette is also home to punk rock record label "Oi! the Boat Records" who's roster includes bands from around the US and Europe, notably including Sweden's Perkele who headline many punk festivals throughout Europe, Lars Frederiksen
Lars Frederiksen
Lars Erik Frederiksen is an American guitarist and vocalist, most notably for the punk rock band Rancid, and as the frontman of Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards and The Old Firm Casuals. He was also briefly a member of the UK Subs in 1991...
's (of Rancid (band)
Rancid (band)
Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California in 1991. Founded by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, both of whom previously played in the ska punk band Operation Ivy, Rancid is credited—along with Green Day and The Offspring—for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the...
) side project band The Old Firm Casuals, seminal UK punk band Peter and the Test Tube Babies
Peter and the Test Tube Babies
Peter and the Test Tube Babies are a punk rock band that was formed in the small town of Peacehaven, England in 1978 by Del Strangefish and Peter Bywaters. Due to their humorous tongue-in-cheek lyrics, they have been considered part of the Punk Pathetique subgenre...
along with many other internationally acclaimed punk and ska groups.
Hardcore
The Hardcore music scene has been flooding Indiana since early 2000. This is due to the constant influence from Chicago, Detroit, Columbus, Cincinnati, and other large cities in the Midwest bordering Indiana. Bands like Gwen StacyGwen Stacy
Gwendolyn "Gwen" Stacy appears as a supporting character in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 ....
and Continuance
Continuance
In American procedural law, a continuance is the postponement of a hearing, trial, or other scheduled court proceeding at the request of either or both parties in the dispute, or by the judge sua sponte. In response to delays in bringing cases to trial, some states have adopted "fast-track" rules...
, and Haste The Day
Haste the Day
Haste the Day was an American Christian metalcore band signed with Solid State Records that was formed in Carmel, Indiana 2001. Their band is named after a lyric in the hymn "It Is Well With My Soul." The band released their debut release, an extended play titled That They May Know You, in 2002,...
have come out of central Indiana. Hardcore music is a growing scene especially in Fort Wayne, IN. AXP
AXP
AXP may refer to:*In Telecommunications The Cisco Application Extension Platform: Doing More with Less*In computing, as an abbreviation associated with the DEC Alpha instruction set architecture...
is a hardcore band from Warsaw, Indiana who toured the Midwest, East-Coast, and parts of Canada. The Face Of War
The Face of War
The Face of War is a painting by the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí. It was painted during a brief period when the artist lived in California....
is a hardcore/ pop-punk band from Kokom, Indiana. Bands such as AblesLaughter and The Day is Our, and In Silent Ruin have come from Warsaw and Fort Wayne respectively. Both gaining a large local fan base and are quickly becoming hometown heroes.
Urban music
Hip Hop/ Soul with a style brought from New York, Texas, New Orleans, and Chicago the Indiana hip hop scene has birthed some of the bravest talent in music. In 2008, we were introduced to two new anthems of hope in the Symphonics' "Commencement", which blazed with vocals by Brendon "Bishop" Garrett, and poetry by John "Juan Blanco" White and the ever present "Dream Again", which was produced by ManDog Productions. For more info on the Hip Hop/Soul scene in Indy try artists such as BPN, Black Box Ent., Ku-Dos the Kid, Z00 Krew Band, Trip Trae; and Calvin Crabtree with his South Central Indiana style of rap.]
References
- Blush, Steven (2001). American Hardcore: A Tribal History. Los Angeles, CA: Feral House. ISBN 0-92291-571-7.
- Goshen, Larry, with Shaw, Mark (2002). Let the Good Times Roll: An Anthology of Indiana Music. Mentzer Printing. ISBN 0-9717596-2-6.
- Schiedt, Duncan P (1977). The Jazz State of Indiana. Indiana Historical Society. ISBN 0-9603528-0-5.
- Oi! the Boat Records website: www.oitheboat.com