Hustle Belt is, of course, a blog devoted to Mid-American Conference sports. But there's more to the MAC than just sports: there are 12 (+1) universities turning out thousands of students a year. And some of those students go on to careers of (at least mild) renown. So to shine a spotlight on some MAC success in the world of entertainment, we're running a weekly series, "Music of the MAC." So, without further ado, this week's acts, from Ball State:
Before this week's edition of Music of the MAC begins, I have to give a shoutout to sometime Hustle Belt commenter Papa Lou BSU, whose knowledge was invaluable in putting this together. I googled Ball State musicians six ways from Sunday and never came up with anything, but Papa Lou gave me some great ideas. So a tip of the cap to him.
THE WHY STORE. In the late 1980s, Ball State students Greg Gardner and Michael David Smith met up with a drummer from Indianapolis, Omar Adams. They started playing together, and soon added another Ball State student, Chris Shaffer, to sing for them. And thus The Why Store was born. The Why Store operated very much in that hippie-jam band-rock-alternative mode of the mid-1990s, and they parlayed their midwestern success into one major label release, a self-titled effort released by MCA in 1996. Their biggest single, "Lack of Water," doesn't appear to have a video. But the video for "Father," another song on the album, shows you just what Chris Cooper and Beverly D'Angelo were doing in 1996, in case you were wondering.
The Why Store - Father (via butchdingo)
Another Ball State act after the jump.
LYNYRD'S INNARDS. The members of Lynyrd's Innards grew up in Chesterton, Indiana, by Valparaiso, and two of them went to Ball State. Nevin Peters, Karl Eifrig, and Jay Castfaldi (I'm not clear on which two are the Cardinals) have been a staple of the DIY punk scene in Chicago since 1988. And they have an incredible name. Here's their cover of Adam and the Ants' "Stand and Deliver":
Lynyrd's Innards - Stand And Deliver (Adam And The Ants Cover) (via TheCoverHeaven)
And that does it for this week's installment of Music of the MAC. Next week: Bowling Green.