I love rock & roll, so put another dime in the jukebox, baby.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ lip-curling, fist-pumping, attitude-dripping song is one of the quintessential rock anthems of the early 80s. To me, it epitomizes Tucson’s spirit this month with the city-wide Tucson Rocks! photography, art and music-related exhibits and events.
It started in September with Etherton Gallery’s “Rockin’ The Desert” show, which continues through November. Though not official participants, I’d say the Oct. 1 Fall Crawl certainly resonates with the theme, as does the Tucson Film and Music Festival, Oct. 6-10.
Over 20 organizations are on the “bona fide” bandwagon, including: 2nd Saturdays on Oct. 8, which is when “Tucson Shot Rock” opens (a pop-up photo exhibit curated by Zócalo’s publisher, David Olsen); the University of Arizona Poetry Center, MOCA, University of Arizona Museum of Art, Sacred Machine and many others. The movement was initiated by the Tucson Museum of Art, which is showcasing the Brooklyn Museum exhibit “Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present,” starting Oct. 22. See pages 21-31 in the printed mag for the Zócalo scoop and TucsonRocks.org for the full calendar.
The coolness of Tucson Rocks! is in the stories behind the music, featuring everything from who the photographers were, what the instrument makers do, to the poetry of high profile celebs. The coolness of October is not only the declining temps, but also lies in the awesomeness of the 38th annual Tucson Meet Yourself event. Talk about stories! During the three day festival, Tucsonans are exposed to the eclectic, ethnic folkways of this town. As “Big Jim” Griffith says on page 44, it’s about “viewing each other as part of a kind of an ‘us’ rather than a large and possibly scary bunch of ‘thems.’”
