The "Other Paper" Columbus On Myke Rock & MultiFestival 100! ~ 7-14-05

This article appeared in Columbus' News & Entertainment Weekly The Other Paper in the July 14 - 20, 2005 issue just prior to MultiFestival 100.

THE OTHER PAPER / PAGE 17 / JULY 14 - 20, 2005:

Column Cusp O' Fame - The Continuing Saga of Cap City Songsters

See a bit of everything

By Brian O'Neill

Myke Rock wears a lot of hats. He came to prominence as a gateway to getting Ohioans on the trashy daytime talk-show circuit, but he's always been more interested in local bands than Jerry Springer. He is currently doing a Beatles set on bass, but you're more likely to see him at a MultiFestival Showcase.

The 100th series event is Friday at Tommy Keegan's. Rock has played "about 96 of them," he said. "The only one's I miss are when we have 2 going on at once."


"The club owner really has to be someone very
special to understand what I do": Myke Rock

Rock started the MultiFestival Showcase Series nearly 2 years ago. This one will be just like the other 99 of them-a bevy of talent from all across the musical spectrum gets together on one stage to impress and sometimes confuse concertgoers.

"Originally, I went out and posted information on community websites throughout Ohioto get musicians who were interested," Rock said. "That was so successful. I got a hige base of musicians throughout the state of Ohio, and that was pretty much the entire first year. The way it worked was I get a list of bands and soloists and then go to the club owner and say that I could have a nice line-up from these artists."

According to Rock, that can be the hardest part.

"The club owner really has to be someone very special to understand what I do," he said. "Not many club owners would say to me, 'OK, book this Friday in a month and a half even though you don't know who's going to be on the bill right now.' That's a big leap of faith. Someone has to buy into the process to trust me."

This is especially true give the eclecticism that Rock tries to book for his events-it isn't unusual to see a line-up featuring a dozen acts, none of whom sound remotely like the rest.

"I remeber one show we did in Covington, Ky.," he said. "We had a jazz guitarist and a female piano player, and there was a punk band in between the two. It was neat. Maybe we lost a person or two throughout the evening, but, at the end of the night, people came up to me and said, 'This is a great idea. I can come and see everything.'"

INFO:
The 100th MultiFestival is Friday at Tommy Keeagan's, 456 S. Front St.
Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $3 ($1 before 8). 221-9444