Grand Rapids musicians to rock dodgeball tourney for Well House; Waldron closes as public bar and jazz hot spot

This mid-August music news update takes a gander at Do-It-Together Grand Rapids’ first-ever dodgeball tournament being held on Aug. 28, and the conversion of a restaurant/bar/music venue into a rental space.

 

What if a bunch of musicians and their fans played dodgeball to raise money for charity?

It would look like Do-It-Together Grand Rapids’ first-ever benefit — a dodgeball tournament planned for noon-4 p.m. Aug. 28 at Belknap Park that will pit band vs. band in everybody’s favorite game from elementary school. Proceeds will benefit Well House, a nonprofit that works to end homelessness.

Heading up the event is Garret Cabello, a member of the band Oliver Houston, founder of the fawning records label and part of DITGR, a fledgling organization of local musicians who hope to have a positive impact on the community.

“The idea came from the realization that my band hasn’t really done much to give back to the community,” Cabello said. “I considered just doing a one-off donation to a cool organization, but decided that it could have a much bigger impact if we turned it into a community celebration.”

Participating dodgeball bands include The Cardboard Swords, Moses, Ghost Orchard, Cheap Emotion, Oliver Houston, Peach Faygeaux, and June Earth.

“We’re not sure if live music will be allowed yet, but we’re definitely going to have a PA out there to bump some party tunes during the whole event,” Cabello said. “This will be a great time to connect with like-minded people who you’d otherwise only see in the context of a concert.”

The dodgeball tournament will be the first DITGR community fund-raising event as well as Oliver Houston’s first as a band, though members have individually contributed time and money to other events and organizations.

Funds for Well House will be raised through donations from the bands participating in the tournament at $5 per person and the sale of $5 raffle tickets. Local talent in teams of four will hurl colorful balls — narrowly avoiding contact — and inevitably get hit in the head. Expect a few pickup games available for willing spectators.

Those who purchase raffle tickets have the chance to win shirts and other merch from participating bands, as well as drink vouchers from Lightfast Coffee.

Well House, founded in 1978, works to end homelessness by providing low-cost, shared housing for rent, prioritizing those who cannot access other housing for those experiencing homelessness. The organization purchases houses that are vacant, boarded up or abandoned and revitalizes them into suitable living spaces. Well House focuses on recycling, gardening, energy-conservation, gathering, sharing and respect.

Cabello said he was bothered by the recent closure of Heartside’s Propaganda Donuts, which the owner blamed on the congregation of the homeless that discouraged customers. ”Well House puts homeless people in homes. That’s a real solution that I can get behind,” Cabello said.     – Jordan McNaughton

WALDRON CONVERTS TO EVENT RENTALS, ENDS JAZZ NIGHTS

Just six months after opening in the space once occupied by McFadden’s Restaurant & Saloon, The Waldron Public House on Ionia Avenue SW in downtown Grand Rapids has closed as a restaurant, club and bar.

Instead, the renovated space — which had been hosting jazz on Friday nights, spearheaded by Randy Marsh’s Marshland Express — will now become “a special events venue” available for rent.

Chris Knape, vice president of marketing and communications for BarFly Ventures which owns the Waldron, said company officials “are focusing all of our efforts on making the Waldron downtown’s best, most active special events venue. That means the Waldron will no longer have regular hours as a restaurant, club and bar.”

Knape insisted there’s “tremendous demand for event spaces downtown and our BarFly Events business continues to grow each year. The Waldron is now positioned to offer a full-service, high-quality, affordable events venue on all three floors for groups of 50 to 500 people.”

For jazz devotees, it’s yet another Grand Rapids jazz venue that’s come and gone over the years. Indeed, many decades ago, the Waldron building at 58 Ionia Ave. SW was known for its jazz club.

In a posting on Facebook, Marsh — who still hosts a jazz jam every Sunday night at SpeakEZ Lounge — gave a shoutout to the management and staff at the Waldron for their support and put out a call to other venues which might be interested in hosting jazz on Fridays.

“I’m gonna miss that beautiful room and the fish and chips,” he conceded.

Knape noted that The Waldron would continue to host the annual Irish on Ionia event downtown.     – John Sinkevics

Copyright 2016, Spins on Music LLC