Monthly Archives: December 2012

Well Dang, DIT – This Year In Review! (Statistics Style)

As I’ve been taking a more active role in the webpage faction of DIT, doing much of the sidebar updates and the like, I have found myself browsing about the other behind-the-scenes features of the site. This includes neat stuff like tracking how many visits we get a day, and what people search in order to end up on this site. Maybe not thrilling to you, but I thought I’d share a few tidbits about this year I like.

DITprogress

 

 

 

This here is a graph of our site views by month. I put up 2011 and 2012 to compare, as it shows that we really kicked it into high gear for 2012! While we were on a steady decline up to December 2011, we’ve been more or less trending up, meaning that more people may be using us as a resource. To simplify, we had 17,310 views in 2011, and 34,513 in 2012.

But doesn’t that mean that people could be finding this site arbitrarily? Perhaps we had something tagged with pizza or cats or something else the entire internet can agree is fantastic, and that’s where our traffic is from.

Last year, this may have been true. I believe last year our top searched item was “nerf” and still “nerf” is our all time searched item to get to DIT, topping searching “DITkalamazoo” 2 to 1. But we’re getting more relevant searches this year, or at least are heading in the right direction. If I crunch numbers of all things “DIT” “Nerf” and “DIY” related, this is what we get:

DIT-related = 1,315
Nerf-related = 206
DIY-related = 65

And finally, the top 5 houses searched for this year were:

Milhouse = 140
No Fun House = 102
Fat Guy House = 65
the Anthill = 65
Victory House = 48

Thanks everyone for looking us up and checking our site for the going-ons in town!

DIT Session #31: Gratiot Lake Road – “Letters”

DIT Session #31
Gratiot Lake Road – “Letters”

http://www.gratiotlakeroad.com/
http://gratiotlakeroad.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/gratiotlakeroad

 

DITsessions.com

It’s Officially Winter In The Midwest, 12-30-12 @ Wayne Manor

Punk rock in your eyeballs this Sunday night at WAYNE MANOR
and keep some room in yer stomach for pizza!  As if you might not.

from Fargo, don’cha know?  BALTIC TO BOARDWALK
http://baltictoboardwalk.bandcamp.com/

music to shit your pants to,  CRAB LEGS
http://crablegspunk.bandcamp.com/

to ward off the cold, ANDREW JOHNATHAN
http://andrewjohnathan.bandcamp.com/

from more of a stone’s throw away, GR’s RECORDS
http://recordsgr.bandcamp.com/

as well as the zoo’s very finest NEIL SHAH!

Show starts around 8PM!  With any luck our traveling friends won’t be snowbound, but dry roads are still traversed with gasoline powered vehicles.  Bring an appetite and some of that hard-earned dough you’re always worried about.

We survived the apocalypse, what to do next but go to a show and eat pizza?

DIT Session #30: Alex Young – “You Broke My Heart, And My Stepmom’s Fingers”

DIT Session #30
Alex Young – “You Broke My Heart, And My Stepmom’s Fingers”

 

Touchdown City bringing the mothafuckin’ ruckus tonight!!

“Citycop, like Ex Cops?”
“No, like The Police.”

484119_10151045067601390_1851577309_n
Citycop brings raw and aggressive emotion to the stage. They play hard and fast and don’t slow down until it’s done. Their EP ‘Seasons’ is one of my favorite releases from a midwest band in recent memory, and they will be bringing their brand new split with Les Doux with them. They have played in town a couple times before so I’m sure a few of you know what their live performance is like, get a friend out to the show to experience it!
http://citycop.bandcamp.com/

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On tour with CC is Shark Bait from Lafayette, LA, with their brand new album ‘Phantom Feelings’. Their style, I would say, is almost on the verge of shoegaze with the intensity of a punk band, yet reserved in a way.
http://sharkbait.bandcamp.com/

Local support for the evening will be:
The Reptilian
Statia
Bagheera (SJ/BH)

BRING DONATIONS FOR GAS!! 9pm at Touchdown City. Message a host on the event for the address. Be respectful of the house and people.
http://www.facebook.com/events/485603564796191/

 

12/16 – Wayne Manor Bringing the Brutality

sawchuk

Wayne Manor is delivering something a bit heavier this weekend. East Michigan’s Sawchuk  and Dead Church are doing a weekend from Hell around the Midwest and making Kalamazoo their last stop. Joining them will be locals That’s Blood and the band I’m Dead to Me from Chicago (not to be confused with the band Dead to Me – although if it brings more people to the show, go ahead and confuse them!).

Sawchuk plays some pretty straight-up, honest-to-goodness hardcore that is tough as nails and compliments well their tourmates Dead Church who play a much faster, more frenzied take on the genre.

I’m Dead to Me play a style of heavier music that fits quite appropriately but on this bill, but are perhaps the most adventurous band of the bunch, exploring slower tempos, sampled dialogue, and more atmospheric elements akin to post-rock.

And if you’re not familiar with Kalamazoo’s That’s Blood, now would be the perfect time to check them out in their element – among similarly styled bands in a gnarly Michigan basement. These hometown boys are about the only local offering of Screamo we have to offer; fast, angular, aggressive. But they also just love to party.

Check it out if you like your punk rock shows heavy and full of energy. This is something Kalamazoo doesn’t get to see too much of and is sure to please.

In Kalamazoo, We Like Both Kindsa Art 12/15

The Corner Record Shop is trying their hand at being an Art hop venue. Or at least they would if they weren’t so far off the beaten path to be considered for the actual Art Hoppenings. However, to turn this bummer into a good thing, they’re hosting a similar sort of deal in the middle of the month!

Some Sid

This time around, they will be exhibiting the visual works of local Sid Redlin. Sid creates warped, intense and sometimes very large paintings, which will fit well with the musical stylings of:

Forget The Times (your local one-stop-shop for all things guitar driven noisy improv)

Brown Company (Newcomers featuring oldschoolers who really know their stuff when it comes to heavy, gutsy psychrock)

Saxsquatch Experiment ( Experimental saxy honks)

This show is FREE! But of course line your pockets with dough to take some records home. There will also be free wine and snacks provided, just like Art Hop! Showing all day, music at 9PM.

12/14: Folk You – Cold Mountain Child, Elisabeth Pixley-Fink, & Lobo Marino.

It’s the weekend. Maybe you just got out of work. Maybe you just got done with finals. Maybe you’re thinking about hitting the bar, or a coffee shop to get head start on work. Regardless of what your week looked like, your ears need rest.

Look no further on this fine Friday night, because No Fun House is hosting the folk artists your ears need.

Cold Mountain Child is a collaboration between Tyler Bradley and David Spalvieri-Kruse, and after a few years the duo expanded into a full band. While the duo paint minimalist soundscapes through piano and guitar, their live ensemble includes a drummer, a bassist, a violinist, and a vocalist providing harmonies. After releasing a full length album and an EP, look for their new double album soon, or click here for a free download.

The local artist Elisabeth Pixley-Fink grew up exploring the depths and range of her voice, finding its way into her current songs. She has earned herself a name among the state’s populace, collaborating with musicians from Breathe Owl Breathe, the Red Sea Pedestrians, Fiona Dickinson, and many, many more. Seeing her perform live becomes a unique participation between audience and performer, and she often plays outside. In fact, she toured from Minnesota down to Mexico via public transportation where she collaborated with artists in Mexico City. Pixley-Fink was awarded with the competitive Artistic Development grant by the Kalamazoo Arts Council this past April in order to support her upcoming album.

While there is no cover charge at house shows, please bring money for our touring duo, Lobo Marino. Members Jameson Price and Laney Sullivan created this group after encountering “el lobo marino,” the Patagonian sea lion, during their spiritual travels spent in South America for a year. Lobo Marino released their most recent album this past June, which was recorded in front of an audience.

lobomarino

These artists love the live music experience, and you live in a city that is a gold mine for music. Situated between Chicago and the Detroit, Kalamazoo gains many touring artists, along with the bounty of local artists help create shows every night. According to the Atlantic, Kalamazoo ranks number eight (8) in terms of the “concentration of musicians and music-related businesses.” Compare Ann Arbor at 40, or even Albany, New York at 14.

This is going to be a special night, spent in a special city, during a special season.

You know the drill: respect the artists, respect the audience, respect yourself. Contact ditkalamazoo@gmail.com for location, questions, and inquiries.

Kalamazoo Classic #2: Brook Pridemore

I’m not sure why I didn’t just post this with the first set as a double header, but here is Brook Pridemore live at Rocketstar 4/6/08. Brook was born in Lansing and took his licks here in Kalamazoo before moving on to his current life as a brooklynite. He’s one of the headiest lyricists i’ve encountered in my musical encounters and dynamic in his delivery. Download it here.

DIT Session #29: Math The Band – “Guts”

DIT Session #29
Math The Band – “Guts”

http://www.maththeband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/maththeband