When did Sweet Hickory start?

Sweet Hickory started January of 2006.

Who was involved in getting it up and running?

It was started by two members of the band Defiance, Ohio — me and Sherri Miller.

What was the motive behind it?

Sweet Hickory started and is a volunteer run art space and record store. We wanted to provide an environment for both local and out of town artists and musicians to display their efforts here in town. We do not intend to compete with any other business in town and try to keep prices and commissions as low as possible.

Did you always intend to hold live music shows there?

Yes. There was some live music at the opening, in fact. But it is not our main focus as there are many other spaces in town, plus we like the idea of doing only few shows—ones that we are very excited about so that they feel special and important. How has it changed since it started? We have more of everything—but, most importantly, more volunteers and more ideas from more people on ways to make it a viable space for the community. Sherri has since moved on to other things and Sara(h) Downey now helps me run the store. We are very excited about what the next year will hold.

Why the name Sweet Hickory?

It just seemed to fit. Many of the walls inside were wood panelled. Our friend BZ was telling us how she really loved a brand of “Sweet Hickory” bbq sauce. We found her enthusiasm funny. Somehow it lead to a name. I think sometimes ideas just make themselves known and just stick—you really have no choice but to live with them.

Where do you get the merchandise that you stock?

Most of it is ordered through (music) distributors. Sometimes we seek out art from artists if we feel really strongly about it. A lot just walk in the front door in the hands of local folks or touring bands/artists. We enjoy being a space for that.

Who and what are some of the artists/installations you have hosted?

Edible Secrets, a tour based around declassified government documents, several printmaking shows of various artists, a stencil art show (we covered the gallery in cardboard and had serious and amateur stencil artists put up work all month), photography shows of both university students and locals, many group shows of three to four local and national artists (painting, sculpture, grafitti work, etc.). We have had about 20 one-month shows at this point.

What musical acts have performed there?

Madeline (Ga.); Defiance, Ohio (Ind.); Ganglion and Hex (Minn.); Tiagaa (NYC); Acht(en) (NYC); Margaret Thrasher (Canada); Les Louise Mitchels (France); Matty Pop Chart (Ind.); Yo Man Go (Penn.); and lots more — however, we only do shows about once every two months.

Talk about what makes a musical performance there special for both the performers and the audience.

Well, first, we try to sit down and have a large meal with the bands in the space before the show. We try to make it overall a good experience for the people traveling and ourselves. Since Sherri and I spend several months a year on tour, we know what are some things that are really amazing to find waiting for you when you get to a new town. It is also quite a small space—but people get pretty enthusiastic about going to a show there and we get excited about putting them on. So there seems to be a lot of energy at the shows. It can seem totally packed with only 40 people. We try to only put on shows that we are very excited about and know we can put a lot of ourselves into.

How should someone go about trying to set up a performance — either musical or visual art?

Just stop in and talk to me or a volunteer or write us at sweethickory(at)gmail(.)com.

Bubblegum Nightmare is a four piece band currently consisting of Jason and Tre on guitars, me on bass, and James drumming. Other members included Dave Parker on guitar and Drew playing bass if you’re interested.

How long have you guys been together?

We formed back in April after Dave, Jason, and I wanted to play three chord sing-a-long punk in the vein of the Riverdales and Teenage Bottlerocket. James was recruited to play Tommy Ramone-like drum beats — and there we were.

How did you come up with the name?

If I remember correctly, we wanted something to do with the bubblegum pop nature of our songs in the name of the band. Nightmare seemed like a good juxtaposition, and most importantly, there were no other Bubblegum Nightmares in existence. We jumped on the domain name Bubblegumnightmare.com immediately after deciding upon that very name.

Do you have any recorded material available?

We recorded a demo with Scott Rod last May before I departed for Los Angeles. Laid down most of eight tracks in eight hours fueled by crummy white bread and mustard sandwiches and Miller High Life. We haven’t officially released anything…yet. You can listen to that session on http://www.bubblegumnightmare.com/.

Have you done any touring?

The band has yet to do any touring. We’ve played a variety of locations in Indianapolis and Bloomington, but that’s been it so far. We’d like to expand our horizons, as they say, and do out of town gigging in the not so distant future. I only hope Jason’s van will hold out long enough to make it on the road.