The Strand has officially finished our 2nd Season.

As we celebrate the Holidays, we are thankful for many things.   Thank you to the hundreds of volunteers that came out in support of our mission in 2009.   The outpouring of support in all aspects of the Strand’s operation is something to which we can be truly proud.    Many people helped in many different ways.  All is vital and necessary to bring us to where we are today, thank you.
We are working on our year-end statistics and will share that with you shortly.

From our Strand Family to yours, have a Happy, Healthy and Safe Holiday.

Rockphoria wows the Strand Theatre

A rock ’n’ roll Christmas extravaganza graced the stage at the Strand Theatre as the musicians and singers of Rockphoria  jammed –out to and for packed houses twice this past weekend.

“This was the rock show to see in Shelbyville this year,” said Joey Gaudin, of Smashed Productions , after Friday’s performance. Strand volunteer Bob Schlick agreed, and if standing ovations are any indication then the crowds on each night concurred.

“This is the best Rockphoria show yet,” Schlick said, about this the third production of the concert series this year at the Strand by Smashed Productions. The twin weekend shows featured “one hit-wonders” from the past four decades performed by local musicians and singers ranging from 18 to 60 years of age playing to an all- ages audience; from infants to the elderly.

Indeed, the crowd during Saturday’s performance had to be getting tired after repeatedly rising up and sitting down so many times for standing ovations to honor the finely-tuned musicians and rhapsodic, spell-binding singers gracing the stage.

“This is an amazing group of musicians up here and it’s a privilege for us singers to perform with them,” said Glenn Yarwood, before one song.  Each of the nine singers vocally soared and shined individually, as well as in melodious harmonies throughout the shows.

From the opening lyrics by Scott Shrader, who nailed a challenging and intricately scaled song to the closing crescendo of the entire cast jamming and singing in unison, this was, indeed, a concert extravaganza for the ages. The twin shows were exciting, often exhilarating, evenings of music by an accomplished ensemble of seven instrumental maestros, several singing divas and a few richly-toned dudes crooning, screaming and wailing songs that tend to stick in your head.

Each of five divas on stage displayed a wide range of vocal skills, from the big, often sassy, yet sweet voice of Bryanna Justice through the sultry lullaby-like voice of Amanda O’Connor to the smooth, rich, velvet tones of Aimee Yarwood.  It was, however, the final two songs of the first set that hushed, stunned and flabbergasted the crowds. First, Tre Dillman’s version of “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” captivated audience members with her voice which floats, lilts and soars across songs  like a blues-filled butterfly. It was, however, Willandra Macklin’s rendition of “I Will Survive,” which stole the show. Her rich, silky-soul- filled voice defies description. It is just the pure singing of voice that becomes an instrument in itself, a voice that gladdens brain, body and booty.

As for the dudes, we’ve already noted the younger Shrader vocal skills and it should be noted that the lead guitar work of his older brother Gary also defies description; his is a finely- honed talent that needs to be heard to be appreciated: words alone can’t do justice to his passionate play. The same inspired instrumental skills, talents and passionate play were evident in every band member. Each individually and in unison rocked supreme across the catchy song lists of Rockphoria.  This extremely rich, instrumentally sound and fluid group is made up of rhythm  guitarist Laura Harmon,  bassists Jim “Biscuit” Wisker, keyboardist Dave Rasche,  drummer Jim Whitacre,  percussionist Don Williams and the aforementioned Shrader on lead guitar. This band even morphed bigger on stage and fatter in sound as Gaudin grabbed his guitar to join the musical celebration during a raucous Chuck Berry inspired finale.

As for the crooning dudes, Bobby Toon belted out two funky, blues inspired tunes that wowed the crowd, Larry Brandt sang with a throaty, intentionally jaded voice and Glenn Yarwood’s voice echoed each song he sang, be it raining g down softly or jumping like jazz across the stage. Even the MC, Andy Erickson, got in to the act as the entire ensemble gathered on stage during the final rousing set of songs performed crescendo-like that capped each night’s show.

In short, Rockphoria lived up to the hype and delivered on its promise to gather a hand-picked all- star cast of talent on one stage.  This concert series, conceived by Gaudin, should only continue to grow in strength, skill and style during its future incarnations. As a matter of fact, anyone who enjoys quality music and singing should see any and all these performers each and every time they perform in any musical guise. There be talent in town and it enjoys, revels in and is passionate about playing for and to you.

Submitted by:  Terrance Aldridge

This independent review does not express the opinion of the Strand Theatre.

From Joey G. – Smashed Productions:

Everybody should be really proud(and tired) after the 2 great shows this weekend.  I would like to sincerely thank each and every one of you for taking this to another level yet again.  I think we really did take this to new heights.

I also think we are breaking down some barriers that our local music scene has had for a long time.  We have proven that a large group of musicians can really work together with out bloodshed and that we can make rock n roll fun for all ages.  I mean think about it.  When Gary stepped upon “Still got The Blues”, he brought 3 or 4 generations of people to their feet. That was truly amazing, I for one had goosebumps.

And I can tell you that doing what we are doing doesn’t happen just everyday.  Everybody on that stage captivated the audience and we gained the attention and respect of 350 people this weekend.  From talented seasoned musicians to our newbie Bryanna we have the most eclectic group I’ve seen on any stage.  I hope everyone understand that for me you guys are the tops and part of my rock n roll family.  We did a lot of good for the Strand and for the community, but just as important we gave back to the people and showed them what a rock show should really be.  Everyone in this group has a big heart and I appreciate each and every one of you for helping make my little idea a big thing.

Rock all-stars to jam out The Strand
Four-score and few years ago the age of rock dawned as bands, singers and wanna-be’s from all-over and everywhere dreamed big and little dreams of fame and stardom, yet dreams and stars crash. The passions that fuel each usually burn hot, bright, quick and briefly before they implode, supernovae-like, in a singular flash.
Rock dreams, are indeed, littered with the smoking, stony shells of just such one-hit wonders who came crashing back down to earth after flashing in a distant sky.
On twin nights this weekend, a tribe of local musical all-stars will escort patrons of The Strand Theatre on a four–decade long tour of such one-hit wonders. It may be magical? But it won’t be a mystery! These are songs your ear will know, even if you don’t think your mind does. So pack your musical bags and spend a few raucous hours reveling in the melodious, but often, surreal side–roads of rock ‘n’ roll nostalgia.
After weeks of intense, often late -night learning curves thrashed out in a garage (naturally), the 15 members of Rockphoria are more than ready to guide crowds on a long strange, twisting trip into collective musical history. This pop-laced foray was organized by Smashed Productions and each evening’s journey begins at 8 and it will cost $10 to venture/adventure into a rather harmonious Twilight Zone-like extravaganza of songs of imaginative souls. Shirt and shoes required and fashionistas should arrive with passion.
If the hard day’s work involved in a month’s worth of nights spent in practice is any indication this should be one helluva musical jamboree, a heavy, but fluid concert, seasoned with diverse talents playing with and within the catchy riffs, rhymes and rhythms of tunes not soon to be forgotten. Memories promise to swirl like the sounds of this 15 member eclectic ensemble of driven, multi-talented musicians and singers.
In this the third incarnation of Rockphoria, a selective, sonorous song selection seamlessly meshes into a groove in the capable hands, throats and creative visions of each professional performer involved, be they singer or instrumental virtuoso. Significantly, each star who flashes onto Rockphoria’s stage at the Strand this weekend is a local phenom with multiple musical skills, talents and styles.
“They are going to turn one-hit wonders into today’s top-ten hits,” said Dean McNamara, a local rock icon, sound aficionado, music mogul-cum fanatic concert attendee.
In this all-star set the band members are also singers and the singers often usually strum, play, pound and sooth savage instrumental beasts. On this weekend, however, these local aficionados of sultry sounds will straight-jacket themselves within the sheer joy of music and their muses will be the flash-in-the-pan top of pop songs.
Instrumentally, the glittering, all-too-catchy sounds will be divided in sixths between lead guitarist Gary Shrader, rhythm guitarist Laura Harmon, keyboardist Dave Rasche, drummer Jim Whitacre, bassist Jim Wisker and percussionist Don Williams. Raucous leads, extended solos, rapacious rhythms and driving beats are to be expected; dancing and mayhem may ensue. A chance of instrumental improvisation is also possible.
Vocally, nine singers can, should and will weave onto and into harmonies, syncopations and serenades on the Strand’s grand stage. The fluid, rotating, ever flowing waves of crooning troubadours weaving into the musical mélange includes Amanda O’Connor, Aimee Yarwood, Bobby Toon , Bryanna Justice ,Glen Yarwood , Larry Brandt, Scott Shrader, Tre Dillman and Willandra Macklin. Passion, purity, pristine pipes and perfect pitch are possible and likely; screams and shrill to throaty cries and wails may be expected.
Surely, this will be a four-square multi-course meal filled with pop, rocks and rolls and to journey,, however briefly, with 15 musical mavens for ten bucks is a worthy adventure especially to see local rising stars playing the songs of once, bright, but now fallen, stars of yore. History, legends and the stuff of dreams are made of just such stardust.

Submitted by:  Terrance Aldridge

This independent preview does not express the opinion of the Strand Theatre.

The Strand was thrilled with this past weekend’s show.  Tim Spradlin and his performers did a wonderful job on stage.  We had one audience member sobbing during Cindy Houpt’s rendition of “Ave Maria”.  It was very moving.   Along with the wonderful entertainment our live feed from Iraq was a success.   Channel 13 reporter (and now Strand volunteer) Emily Longnecker was pressed into service to do the interview on Friday night.  Saturday night our own Cindy Houpt did the interview.   You can watch the Saturday night version on our web site, just click on the VIDEOS tab.

The Strand would like to thank Staff Sgt. Les Newport, Staff Sgt. Jeff Lowry and all the military crew that helped make this happen.    We also need to thank Comcast for being a leader and helping us out when we needed it.   There is a graphic on our web site that explains the technology behind the event.   We look forward to having the Indiana National Guard participate in future events at the Strand.   We also want to thank WTHR Channel 13 & WRTV Channel 6 assignment editors for noticing what we are doing and helping get our story out.

Did you drive by the theatre at night this week?  Notice anything?   Steve D. and Darin M. spent the whole day Tuesday wiring our marquee.  For the first time in over 40 years all 5 marquee panels are lit.  We are still working on the sockets for the chase lights.  Once it is completely finished we will have a big ‘ol lighting ceremony.   This is something that will impact our downtown landscape for decades to come.

This weekend the Strand presents the final performances of the 2009 Season.   ROCKPHORIA – ONE HIT WONDERS will be onstage Friday and Saturday night.  This marks the 145th & 146th performance of the season.   If you love Rock & Roll, you will love this show.   This is the third time the Rockphoria band has formed.   The show, conceived and directed by Joey Gaudin, is the largest funding show the Stand has in its lineup.   If you want to support the Strand, attendance at this concert is an easy way to do it.   We need your attendance, and we need your support.  The musicians have been rehearsing for many weeks to make this the best possible performance.  These are all performers that have performed on the Strand stage with their various bands.   They come together specifically to give us a financial boost (and have some fun to boot).  The Strand receives 100% of the proceeds.

As we head into the New Year we look forward to all the great things that 2010 will bring.

Your support and encouragement are greatly appreciated.   We look forward to seeing you at ROCKPHORIA!

Christmas cabaret celebrates music of the Season

“‘Tis the season” and to commemorate and musically celebrate the holidays, The Strand Theatre hosted a Christmas cabaret; “Stockings by the Fire” performed by Tim Spradlin and friends twice this weekend.

“This is an outstanding facility and I’m proud to be here,” Spradlin said opening Saturday night’s concert, which he promised would be like an old-school Christmas variety show.

Indeed, Spradlin kept his word during this evening of rousing vocals of the three distinctly talented singers and the inspired play of the lone musician on stage, Jeff Kunkel. This eclectic celebration of songs ran a harmonious gamut from cabaret music to blues, funk, and jazz-inspired tunes to two stunning operatic performances by local singer, Cindy Houpt,  that hushed the house.

I don’t generally like, nor listen to, Christmas songs or musical theatricals but Saturday night’s  show was a very entertaining and lively show that fulfilled Spradlin’s pledge to create a seasonal variety show.

Spradlin, who earlier this year performed a “Beatles Show” at the Strand, seemed a lot more at ease in the spotlight of cabaret music and within the format of stage musicals.  He was especially strong in songs building from soft refrains to rousing passions associated with Broadway productions. His vocal range and style of presentation seems suited to both belt out show-tunes and then to sing soft nostalgic laments of remembered love, gone wrong.

One thing that especially caught my mind’s eye Saturday night was the joy and enthusiasm of Spradlin’s willingness to share the spotlight with talents different and more diverse than his own.  His unpretentious stage manner was made obvious by the first guest singer he ushered into the limelight of the Strand Theatre:  Denise Sherman of Indianapolis.

This rather short woman with a deep- barrel of voice repeatedly channeled up spiritual reincarnations of Bessie Smith, Aretha Franklin and other female blues legends in the course of the evening.

However, for most people in the theatre and even for Spradlin the unexpected highlight and the spotlight of the weekend of performances by Houpt, a singer from Shelbyville.

“If you don’t already  know, after tonight you will know what a  treasure this community has in Cindy,” Spradlin said introducing her.

Houpt’s first song during the opening set was a sassy, semi-vampy version of “Santa Baby,’ that evoked the jazz-age   tone, style and persona of Helen Kane, better known as the voice of Betty Boop.

It was during the second set that Houpt stole the show, first with a sweet sonorous psalm- like version of “Oh Come all ye Faithful.” It was, however, her next song which hushed the crowd and sent chills up –and- down the collective spine of the crowd, according to audience members. In this extended operatic variant of “Ave Marie,” she displayed a divine voice to sing a divine song.

It was a mystical journey into the high art of an unbelievably sweet, rather angelic voice. A voice alone that reaches deep down inside you  and grabs your soul and transports it to another world… a bright, resonant world of pure, un-distilled artistry.

Spradlin, in fact, was so impressed by Houpt’s talent that he arranged, rehearsed and then performed a duet with her which brought the crowd to its feet for standing ovation.

Walking in to this seasonal concert I wondered how Spradlin could fuse the often bawdy style of cabaret music with traditional Christmas songs.  Later, as I walked out of the Strand Theatre, this didn’t seem to matter; even my inner Grinch was satiated and just happy to have witnessed and enjoyed an exceptional night of magic and music.

Submitted by:  Terrance Aldridge

This independent review does not express the opinion of the Strand Theatre.

Twice this weekend, the glaring spotlight of Indianapolis media shone down upon the city of Shelbyville, and each evening the focus was a poignant reminder of a community reaching out to support its soldiers overseas.

On consecutive nights (Friday and Saturday) family, friends and music lovers gathered at the Strand Theatre to enjoy a Christmas musical and thank, talk with and send holiday greetings to local members of the 38^th Combat Aviation Brigade serving in Iraq.

An especially moving moment came as Saturday night’s moderator Cindy Houpt and the crowd sang a heartfelt rendition of “Wishing you a Merry Christmas,” to the  local soldiers gathered in a desert across the globe.

“I felt blessed to play a part in connecting out hometown soldiers with a little bit of home,” said Houpt, a local, featured singer during the weekend’s Christmas Cabaret at the Strand.

This impromptu serenade was a decision made on stage during the live feed, she said. “I thought it would feel good for them to hear hometown voices sing to them.”

The 140 members of the 38^th Combat Aviation Brigade began their year-long deployment in August as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The unit is based out of the Shelbyville National Guard Armory and provides air-to –ground support such as “med-vac flights and battlefield circulation,” among other operations.

“I would like to thank all Hoosiers for their support, especially the people back home,” Staff Sgt. Jeff Lowery said, during Saturday’s live internet feed from the darkened, pre- dawn desert of Iraq to the Strand’s movie screen.

On this night, the magic moment of the evening arrived locally at 9:30 as six- soldiers sitting in a military base half-way across the world were about to begin another day in a combat zone, a long way from home.

The internet connection to the battlefield was provided by Comcast and enabled local soldiers like Spc. Scott Wells, to talk in real-time with family members sitting in the theatre.

“My most rewarding experience is probably getting the opportunity to fly around in the Blackhawk helicopters around Iraq,” he said in response to a question. “It’s quite a sight up there.”

As they sat huddled in the darkness each of the six local soldiers also spoke of missing simple pleasures like “real pizza, home-cooked food and family gatherings during the holidays.”

Friday night’s conversations connecting Shelbyville with Iraq was moderated by Emily Longnecker, a reporter from WTHR in Indianapolis.

These moving images of soldiers sitting in a combat zone and chatting with family and friends choked up the weekend’s featured performer Tim Spradlin, who presented the holiday musical “Stockings by the Fire.”

‘’I couldn’t be more honored to help these soldiers connect with their home,” Spradlin, a 20-year veteran of the stage, stammered as the live –feed concluded and the Christmas cabaret resumed.  In fact, Spradlin appeared both awe-struck and reflective on stage after the event which seemed to influence the mood and tone of his next two musical choices: “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen ,” and “Someday at Christmas.’

It was a difficult thing to follow up on the emotions of seeing soldiers in the field putting their lives on the line and spending often lonely holidays away from home, but Spradlin and company pulled it off in professional and poignant way.

As both a veteran and a rather unsentimental dude who spent many holidays abroad, I think it is safe to say that the six soldiers huddled in a cold, distant desert –at- dawn were probably very moved to hear hometown voices singing “Merry Christmas” to them. It was a damn nice touch to a rather emotion-filled weekend for the community and its soldiers, especially those who know first- hand the pain and hollow loneliness of duty-filled holidays spent away from friends and family.

Submitted by:  Terrance Aldridge

This independent review does not express the opinion of the Strand Theatre.