Living on the UW-Madison campus is often reminiscent of living in a bubble - albeit a wonderful bubble where most people share the same progressive ideas.
The downside of this is we often forget that normal people live through real problems on the streets of this town, and when the word 'homeless' comes up we either think of statistics in a sociology lecture or wacky personalities on State Street who trade amusing one-off remarks for some spare change.
It's easy to forget that homelessness is a real problem that people live with in Madison every day. According to Porchlight Inc., a non-profit group that provides emergency shelter, employment services and counseling to the homeless in Madison, over 3,400 people were homeless last year in Madison at some point. Many of these numbers include families that simply couldn't afford rent anymore and were forced to live out of cars or on the street until they could once again make ends meet.
With this in mind, Jeff Burkhart helped put together the Madison Made Music Project along with Katherine Davey, hoping to raise money for Porchlight and Community Action Coalition, both of which struggle for funds in the fight against homelessness.
So, on Sept. 20, 15 local bands will hit the stages of the Orpheum, the Promenade Hall of the Overture Center, Brocach Irish Pub, Café Montmartre and the King Club, with three bands at each venue playing 45-minute sets.
For $5, or $3 if you bring two non-perishable food items, you can hop between every one of these venues all night, sampling the variety of local music Madison has to offer.
Over 150 artists submitted songs to be considered for a compilation CD entitled Madison Made Music Project 2007"" that will be available for purchase at each of the venues on Sept. 20.
""I thought it would be easy to throw half [of the songs] right away, but there was so much good stuff, I felt bad having to tell bands they didn't make it,"" Burkhart said, hoping that many of those who didn't get in on this CD/concert will resubmit next year.
Burkhart said the event will be ""a great way to see what it's all about here, see the vivacity of our art scene. We have a really vibrant music scene. This is an opportunity for people to learn about it.""
The diversity of genres at this event certainly is impressive. Aniv de la Rev contribute their song ""El Dishwashero"" to the compilation, which is a nice mix of modern punk sounds, Latin music and a Nuggets-esque sort of controlled abandon. Natty Nation, one of Madison's best bands, bring their roots reggae and danceable soul groove to this endeavor, and the Randall Harrison Trio contribute a playful blend of jazz, bluegrass and classical music.
Two of the most impressive acts associated with this event are Adem Tesfaye and Goat Radio. Tesfaye is a local soul rapper who makes a very organic kind of hip-hop, with soul and jazz music serving as the background for his flow.
Goat Radio, on the other hand, is a fantastic '70s-style hard rock group with a genuine touch of roots rock. Their riffs are memorable, their songcraft is nearly immaculate and their vocals are catchy with just-enough-tough to make sure the music still rocks.
The 12-person selection committee for this event was just as diverse as the musical line-up. The committee included music directors at local radio stations, a church choir director, a local TV producer, the editor and publisher of Rick's Café and the famed Butch Vig, who drums in Garbage and produced Nirvana's _Nevermind_.
Thanks to generous local support, the initial costs of this event have already been paid for, but volunteers to help with admissions and CD sales are still needed. If you're interested in helping raise money and awareness for homelessness, and to get a taste of diverse local talent, contact Jeff at ""jeff@jeffburkhart.com"":mailto:jeff@jeffburkhart.com or Katherine at ""kdavey@porchlight.org."":mailto:kdavey@porchlight.org
Aside from hoping the concerts raise money for non-profits that battle homelessness in Madison, Burkhart hopes to make this event an annual occurrence.
""I hope that 10 years from now you can see this first CD as a great historical document of the Madison music scene,"" he said.
