Surrounded by the modern primitive artwork of Mike Graves, local songbird Kate Lamont captivated a standing-room only audience, who packed the alternative space at Indy Hostel last night. Performing songs from her upcoming record, "After the Traffic," Lamont kept her heartfelt set short and sweet.
"I'm performing almost all of the songs from my new record," the waif-like songstress told the crowd. It's only 27 minutes long. "I'm hoping you'll want to hear it a couple of times. Plus, I ran out of time in the recording studio."
Located in a suburban SoBro neighborhood, the Indy Hostel serves as economical crash pad for world travellers of the backpack variety. It's walls, a homegrown art gallery, its living room, chairs and sofas pushed into a side room, convert into a makeshift music venue.
This is house rock. The latest thing. No need for fancy bars, just a homey way for like-minded music fans to listen to artists in a warm and informal setting.
This was Indy Social's first visit to Indy Hostel, but we'll be back.
The hits just keep on coming for super-hot ChaCha. The Carmel, IN-based free mobile search company has hired a new Chief Revenue Officer and begun the integration of Localeze local business directory listings into its search service.
Steven Goldstein joined ChaCha last week, stepping into the newly-created role of chief revenue officer. As CRO, Goldstein will oversee the company's advertising sales and business development efforts. Goldstein, who'll be based in New York, was executive vice president of Latino Interactive Network in New York. Prior to that, he managed digital ad sales for BET Networks.
The Localeze alliance will help bolster the already-popular Q&A service, and will enhance ChaCha’s website by now including in-depth information about 15 million+ US businesses. Visitors to ChaCha.com will be able to access the local business listings in a search bar and through a direct listings page, along with Google maps, directions, phone, and other contact information.
According to a company announcement, plans call for ChaCha’s listings to be integrated with its chachacoupons.com site.
Indianapolis-based free mobile and web Q&A service ChaCha this week announced the release of three Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to the developer community. Activity is buzzing around the Carmel offices of ChaCha. The API announcement comes on the heels of the launch of a ChaCha Twitter channel (@chacha) and the debut of two new apps, one for the popular iPhone and a Facebook app that allows you to ask questions to your Facebook Friends, as well as ChaCha's expert guides.
Providing for free access to ChaCha's database of questions and answers, the new ChaCha APIs will give web and app publishers an easy way for their audience to ask questions and get immediate answers by category, keyword or trends. ChaCha's database is updated in near real-time, providing an ideal way to gain insights into what other people are asking.
"Through our unique SMS- and web-based answer service, we've collected hundreds of millions of answers since early 2008. We are excited to put our API into the hands of the developer community to see all of the interesting things they come up with in leveraging our vast database of content," said Scott Jones, CEO of ChaCha. "It's all about taking our viral, popular service and giving people the ability to use ChaCha from anywhere."
"With traditional search engines, people have to enter keywords and subsequently receive pages of links that force users to further hunt, sort, sift, and digest the various destination web pages, often yielding no relevant results. With ChaCha, which is the fastest growing SMS search service, the unique power lies in the ability to ask a question and get a specific and fast answer. ChaCha's answers have proven to be a great way to reach teens and young adults across a variety of media and this launch enables developers to bring ChaCha's answers to an even larger audience," Mr. Jones said in a press release issued this week.
To encourage developer participation, the company is sponsoring a contest with three prize levels to reward the most innovative uses of ChaCha's new APIs. The winner of the six-week contest will get $10,000; second place will earn $5,000 and third, $2,000. Additionally, all will get recognition on Chacha.com. The judges will consider how creative the idea, the quality of the product, the success of its implementation and how many people interact with the program.
Developers can find detailed information about the ChaCha APIs here: http://developer.chacha.com/, and complete contest information here: http://challengepost.com/chacha. The APIs complement other newly launched applications available from ChaCha including Facebook, iPhone and Twitter, making the company's unique service accessible across multiple platforms for its loyal user base.
The Draft Mellencamp for Senator of Indiana Movement is officially underway and very much for real.
Since the notion was introduced by The Nation Editor Katrina vanden Heuvel earlier this week on an MSNBC morning show, and later in greater depth on The Nation's web site, thousands have joined impromptu Fan Pages on Facebook, and voices ranging from rock fans to professional politicians have signaled their support.
As of yet, no official comment from the Mellencamp camp. His web site's news section is promoting an upcoming performance headlining Rock Fest 2010 in Cadott, WI on Saturday, July 17th, and makes no mention of any senatorial aspirations. Rock Fest is four day music festival.
The controversial leftist editor's proposal that the scrappy Hoosier Rocker might actually make a viable candidate, and a palpable alternative to big-business-friendly Dan Coats, who is widely believed to be the Republican candidate.
Every newspaper in the country, from the New York Times to USA Today, and hundreds of blogs large and small have endorsed the notion, and the idea of a 'real populist' Senator, someone with impeccable Indiana roots and a long history of using his power as a popular musician to stand up for the common man. John Mellencamp has long worked with fellow musicians like Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Ben Harper, Dave Matthews and others in support of causes important to the working man, the farmer and local communities. His best known effort, Farm Aid, has been helping small farms -- a cause near to his fellow residents and potential constituents in Indiana -- since 1985.
As one of his songs says, John is all about the small town. Not a bad place for a politician to be these days.
With the unexpected announcement by Indiana Democratic Senator Evan Bayh that he will not be running for re-election, Hoosier Dems are furiously trying to field a serious replacement.
The editor of The Nation has a suggestion: country rocker and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Mellancamp. In an interview on MSNBC talk show "Morning Joe," Katrina vanden Heuvel suggested he would make a great Senator. "He has had a long track record with working for farmers and demonstrates true populist politics, " she said. "But beyond Mellencamp, the true problem with the country must come from deep structural changes in the Senate, that must focus on the working middle class."
Indy Social wants to know what you think of John Mellencamp for Senator. Drop us a note at: indysocial@gmail.com, or feel free to comment below.
Here's a reason to venture out onto the snowy roads. This Thursday evening, Indy Film Fest will be showing a biopic about the radical civil and political rights activist William Kunstler.
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe, a product of the infamous attorney's two filmmaker daughters, is a wild ride, examining the life and times of one of the civil rights lawyer who was center-stage in some of the biggest, most controversial cases in American History.
Centerstage during some of America's most significant trials, Kunstler's client list includes the likes of Martin Luther King, Lenny Bruce, Malcom X, The Black Panthers and SDS and Yippie activists "The Chicago Seven."
The event begins at 6:30 PM in the lobby of the Toby Theater at the Indianapolis Museum of Art with a cocktails hour. Show starts at 7:30.
The Indianapolis Businsess Journal today reports that IBJ Media President Chris Katterjohn will leave the business publication at the end of February.
With more than 30 years at the august business publication, two decades of which he served as publisher, Katterjohn, 59, was the first employee hired by founding publishers Jim and Nancy Cotterill in 1980.
There is no immediate word as to who'll assume his presidential duties.
Good time to stay home and do some blogging. For the second time in a week, Central Indiana was rocked by a snowstorm, resulting in between 4 and 8 additional inches, most of it blowing across, and drifting on top of the similar amount which fell this past Super Bowl weekend. The heavens have not been hospitable to the Hoosiers.
Oh well. Now for some photoblogging:
Captured above, Indiana's famous grey skies, this time seen poignantly paired with slick icy roadway, as seen through the lense of a dirty windshield wiper, smeared with road salt.
And the Groundhog says only 6, now 5, more weeks of winter.
The game today may come down to a battle of the quarterbacks. With no disrespect, some say the Colts Peyton Manning may just be the best QB of all time. So just how do the best arms of the NFL stack up? The IndyStar takes a look:
What would our roundup be if we neglected the fantasy side of football. Anyone who has an Xbox 360 and a Big Screen TV knows that there is nothing more fun than going HD with Madden Football.
And if any game is fun, imagine how much fun it is to watch the Colts beat the Saints in Super Bowl 44. Go Colts!
Continuing our theme of highlighting the best, funniest or just plan most amusing Super Bowl 44 videos, Indy Social presents:
Crank Dat Colts Fan by Black N Mild
