John Lennon Songwriting Contest [1]
Another reason to recognize that Dayton produces some amazing musicans- not just in the past- like the Ohio Players [2] and Zapp [3], but today. I’m lucky enough to count David Ponitz- aka David Poe [4] as a good friend, and friend once removed from Jayne Sachs [5]– who just won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.
We just had Hawthorne Heights [6] score big on the Billboard chart- fellow blogosopher David Cousino [7] has a new CD-
There is so much musical talent in this town- maybe we should be looking at music as a tool for economic development? Look what Austin has done with SXSW [8], Nashville, and even Seattle with the EMP [9]. We may be the Winter Guard [10] capital of the world already- without really trying.
I live right around the corner from a real live Rock Superstar- Kelley Deal from the Breeders [11] and see her and twin Kim Deal walking Jackson (Kelley’s Mondo Dog) past my office all the time.
Is the Gem City a Rock just waiting for a PR polish?
What do you think?
Please add your list of music stars from Dayton in the comments- lets see how big we are in the music world?
I love the music scene in Dayton. Most people I know have had a hand in it somehow—even myself to some extent. I never did much more than some recording in my basement but one bright spot in my lame musical career was playing twice at the Fraze in Kettering. Hey, it was a killer time. Dayton really could use all these bands to its advantage. It seems like Fairmont churns out a new band every other day. Let’s harness this creative power into something that will give the average self-loathing Daytonian something to feel confident and proud of.