My fellow music fans,

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for taking the time to peruse all that we offer at Music in Motion Columbus.

We hope that you have enjoyed the in-depth interviews, album reviews and concert reviews of local, regional and national musicians and artists. We also launched The Cat Club Podcast in March to augment our coverage of local music.

We have one simple mantra, #SupportLocalMusic. To that end, we have adhered to making sure that we are providing coverage of local Columbus and Central Ohio musicians, while also covering regional Ohio bands that play a concert in our state capital. We limit the national musicians

Hello Luna sets the evening’s tone with a tight, toe-tappin’ set at Ace of Cups in Columbus on January 20, 2017 (Photo: Music in Motion Columbus)

that we cover to two per month, as that’s not what we are about.

We also hope that you keep returning to read the latest news about your favorite band or artist, and help spread the word among your families and friends.

The idea that eventually became Music in Motion Columbus had its genesis in 2004. That was the year that I moved to Central Ohio from New York. Having been told about the vibrant and large music scene throughout Ohio, I was disappointed to learn that what information I could find was usually in the form of a weekly concert calendar.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with a concert calendar, the fact remained that it didn’t give me any information about the myriad bands locally beyond when and where they were playing.

Having grown up with music publications that covered the local music scene with band interviews, concert/album reviews and more, I was astounded to find that there was not a whole lot of attention given to the local bands in the city I chose to now call home. I found I was spending entirely too much time perusing numerous websites to glean any information I could about the local musicians and artists.

The wonderfully hypnotic Twill Distilled

After twelve years of these frustrations, circumstances arranged themselves in a way that pointed out that the time to launch a new media outlet devoted to local music was at hand.

I consulted with local media people that I knew, gauging interest and getting unvarnished feedback about what I wanted to attempt. I drew upon my experiences working in radio (both on-air and as a producer), as a touring road crew member for bands, and as a working journalist to build a media outlet that encompassed much of what I, as a music fan, wanted to see, read and hear about local musicians.

With a bit of trepidation and a lot of hope, I made the decision to launch Music in Motion Columbus on January 17, 2017. An interview with Randy Malloy, CEO/President of WWCD (CD 102.5), was the first article we published upon going “live” that chilly January day. He was the earliest supporter of what we are doing here.

With just one person on staff at its genesis, in less than five months we have grown to a staff of five. We anticipate that number will increase before we reach out first anniversary.

On the tour bus with dada (Credit Jacob Thompson/Music in Motion Columbus)

In the 142 days since we began this journey to bring you information about the local music scene, we have reviewed 48 concerts and seen well over 120 bands live. We have interviewed many musicians, as well as reviewed numerous EP’s and albums, all because we want to bring you the information that you want to see, read and hear about your favorite bands.

Within that same 142 days, we have had over 14,000 visitors to Music in Motion Columbus. While I knew there was an appetite for local music information, the sheer number of you that have discovered us and keep coming back has far exceeded my expectations.

While we continue to bring you all the information that you’ve come to expect, we do have our sights set on doing even more to expose more people to the wonderful and vibrant music scene in Columbus, and throughout Ohio.

To mark our one year anniversary in January 2018, we plan on releasing a compilation album of all local musicians, spanning many different genres, to showcase the wide range of music you can hear locally.

Bava Choco at Rumba Cafe, April 14, 2017 (Credit: Jacob Thompson / Music in Motion Columbus)

We would like to get to the point where we can have a music festival of all local talent for you to enjoy. We also have our sights set on showcasing the local music scenes of other cities and regions within Ohio as we continue to expand.

I believe Timbuk3 said it best when they sang, “The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades…”

We would like to hear from you, as well. If there is something you feel we are missing or don’t provide enough coverage of, a band or musician you feel we need to listen to and check out, or anything else that you can think of, please let us know.

You can contact us via email at musicinmotioncolumbus@gmail.com

Thank you for allowing us to be part of your musical life.

Sincerely,

Rick Gethin
Founder / Managing Editor

Timbuk3 – The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades