In 2005 I was teaching at Muncie Music Center, and another fine plank-spanker who taught guitar at the store, Greg Tanner, approached me with the idea of throwing together a blues/jazz/rock quintet and inflicting as much noise as possible on the local watering holes. It had been several years since I had just rocked out for the fun and free beer of it, so Tanner’s notion suited me right down to the ground.
Thus was formed ARTKA (pronounced, as best as anyone could figure, “AR-TEE-KA”), and our watering hole of choice was The Hearot Pub, a dingy, gonzo, nicotine-stained bar apparently designed for vikings, with a 40′ dragon seemingly breaking in and out of the wall, and swords, shields and stuffed wild animals adorning every nook and cranny. It was (and to this day remains) a joint where all the counter-culture types like to hang out, sample from hundreds of available brews, discuss complex topics very deeply, and play chess. During the summer of 2005, ARTKA wielded a Motown-laced set list at The Hearot with considerable volume and even more abandon. Rounding out the band were the metronomic Mike Kerrigan on drums, the late Jeff Russell pounding out the bass, and the distinctive blues-drenched vocals of Caroline Yates.
While Tanner burned up the strings of his Strat, I resurrected my beloved Turner Renaissance MIDI-Classic guitar from the closet, dialed in a clean, jazzy guitar tone, and set the Roland GR guitar synth to a bad-tempered Hammond B3 patch. The interplay of Tanner’s Strat and my MIDI-guitar rig was fast and furious when the night got deep and The Hearot was filled with folks thirsty for good beer and hungry for a good beat. ARTKA lasted a year and a half, and a brief stint in a friend’s home studio captured a bit of the band’s spark for us to enjoy today.
Dangerous Mood
Dangerous Mood
I’ll Be There
I’ll Be There
Back On You
Right Back On You
Slip Away
Slip Away
(Tunes are covers, used under Fair Use provisions of copyright law for educational purposes only)
