Bloomington area musicians create networking group for Hoosier musicians. It's HooMac

Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct information about J.C. Blankenship and Nicki Stewart Ingersoll.

Musicians can't beguile us if they’re not connected: to us, each other, studios, business managers and agents. That's why this past summer J.C. (Jennifer) Blankenship (of J.C. Clements Band) founded her nonprofit HooMac, Hoosier Original Music Association.

"We are networking Indiana musicians," Blankenship said on a December video call, "and we just got three new members this morning!"

HooMac is a networking organization that connects the (mostly) Hoosier music scenes. The group won't reject you, though, if you're not from Indiana.

Join Indiana's "insane level of creativity"

Vice president Nicki Stewart Ingersoll describes herself as a "musician ally" if not an actual music performer, and she noted Indiana's "insane level of creativity."

"Joining HooMac is an investment in our music community," Ingersoll said. For $10 per year, members gain benefits, such as being listed in the member directory, connection to other music industry professionals and a discount to attend FARMette 2024, HooMac's one-day music networking, educational and showcase event coming April 13.

The changing music world

"The gates are open now," Blankenship said, contrasting the music business of today with that from 20 years ago. Blankenship has degrees in both adult education and the music business.

"In 10 minutes I can now record a song, register it and release it, like CD Baby." (CD Baby, based in Oregon, works online to distribute independent music. Its parent organization called CD Baby "anti-label.")

Producing videos also is easier now, Blankenship said, thanks largely to digitalization.

"Look at my song 'Hello Heartache,'" she said. "It got 12.4 thousand streams." She wrote it, sang it, played the guitar, recorded, produced and released the music video.

Ingersoll hopes HooMac can help other musicians do the same. "Part of our mission is to educate and empower musicians," she said. Ingersoll has recommended courses by Ari Herstand.

According to AriHerstand.com, Herstand founded and serves as CEO of the music business education and artist advocacy organization Ari’s Take. He works with independent musicians in the field of new music.

More: Emerging pop star, and past Indiana University Jacobs student, releasing 'Growing Up Sucks'

HooMac to host FARMette music conference

Blankenship started HooMac to satisfy a need. "I wanted to host my 'FARMette,'" she said. FARMette is her tiny version of the much larger, widely respected FARM, Folk Alliance Region Midwest. FARM is an Illinois-based organization promoting folk, acoustic and roots music throughout the Midwest.

"HooMac is a major partner of FARM," Blankenship said. FARMette is in the process of choosing its location, to be announced soon.

How all great songs begin

Listening, said Blankenship, is how all great songs begin. "Listening to other people's music inspires us."

It used to be that musicians spent the bulk of their budgets on the recording side. "Now, 70% goes to marketing the song.

"I had great mentors." she said. "I'm paying it forward."

Bloomington's Ron Kadish, bass player, public relations specialist (owner of Dog Ranch Music PR) and music columnist, plans to present a panel on music at April's FARMette. He'll also peruse showcase entries.

Kadish has played bass with the J.C. Clements Band, one of Blankenship's other endeavors, on and off for about a year.

Kadish's next Bloomington gig is 9 p.m.-midnight New Year's Eve at Sahm's at Eagle Pointe. "It's actually the first in-town New Year's Eve gig for me in about 15 years, I think," he said. "I'm looking forward to not driving home on New Years Day."

Kadish studied composition with David Baker at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, but he's reluctant to take the title of songwriter.

"The stuff I write generally works best in an instrumental context, falling primarily into what you'd call 'jazz.' Some of it is 'through-composed' for specific instrumentation, some of it is very open and improvised. All of this basically means no one ever hears it. But it gives me something to do." Through-composed music keeps progressing through new compositions instead of repeating phrases.

When Kadish started writing his column for The Ryder he noticed all the work happening behind the scenes "by people like Jeff Shew and Robert Meitus." Kadish hopes the music action around Bloomington will evolve into regional audiences appreciating the area's numerous choices in quality music. It's nearly nightly, whether from a touring band or local favorites.

Bloomington music scene no longer a "lost cause"

"It's good to be witnessing a groundswell of more music-business minded people in Bloomington," Kadish said. "I was starting to think Bloomington was a lost cause for music."

But as Blankenship too believes, the music industry has leapt the crater.

"Back in the day," Kadish said, "there were a few highly visible venues. Post-pandemic, the music scene has been scattered around quite a bit more and thus lacks visibility. We need the city to step up and get involved more even if they just post a calendar of musical events, but ideally through sponsorships and partnering with local musicians beyond the concerts in the parks."

Although Kadish appreciates the opportunities offered by the parks system during summer seasons, he hopes the city will pay for bands at more city sponsored events.

Brown County musician Chuck Wills is a HooMac member and serves on a committee there. He helps build the relationship between HooMac and the recently expanding Brown County Playhouse.

"I'm all about music in Brown County," Wills said. "I can be a musicians' advocate — and advocate more closely —because I'm here (in Brown County)."

Wills said HooMac's goal as he sees it is networking among audiences, arts groups and musicians. For that small ($10 per year) membership fee, he said members receive tangible advantages. For instance, at many gigs, the audience chats and eats while seeming to ignore the musicians.

Finding audiences who care: "More people can hear your stuff"

"HooMac takes those same musicians and connects them to an audience who cares about that specific type of musician," Wills said.

Previously, a typical songwriting sequence consisted of writing a song, performing at an open mic and putting the song on Spotify.

Wills became enamored of HooMac when Blankenship asked him to "come out and play with us. Jayme Hood and New York City's Jan Bell will be there." On a December evening, Wills played with HooMac at Sleeper's Bar in the Cascades Inn.

"The audience was the best you could imagine," Wills said. "They wanted — to listen — to good music. This crowd cared about music."

Some of the attendees even quoted Wills' lines back to him after he played.

That's the kind of audience a musician fantasizes about.

If you go

WHAT: FARMette 2024, HooMac's one-day music networking, educational and showcase event for musicians and music lovers, particularly new music.

WHEN: April 13

WHERE: In Bloomington, at a venue to be decided. Visit www.hoosieroriginalmusic.com or facebook.com/search/top/?q=HooMac for updates.

Editor's note: The reporter for this story is a board member of the Brown County Playhouse.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington area musicians create networking group — HooMac