[MCN] News Alert// This Town Is Full Of Ghosts: Missoula's Underground Music , 1960s - 2000s

[Bram Moore]

August 19, 2019

*THIS TOWN IS FULL OF GHOSTS: Missoula’s Underground Music, 1960s – 2000s*



Deranged Diction. Initial Shock. Ein Heit. These were some of the bands
that haunted Missoula’s music venues over the years. A slice of that music
history will be on display this year at the River City Roots Festival in a
pop-up exhibit, featuring two tents and a telephone pole displaying concert
flyers, newspaper clippings, photos, magazines, album covers and other
ephemera. The exhibit, *This Town is Full of Ghosts*, focuses on a few key
bands from the Top Hat, Jay’s Upstairs and the Badlander between 1960 and
the early 2000s. It heavily spotlights Missoula’s vibrant and storied
underground punk scene in the 1980s and 1990s centered on Jay’s Upstairs.



The artifacts will provide a sketch of Missoula’s intriguing music past,
from psychedelic bands such as Initial Shock (which featured the late owner
of the Top Hat Steve Garr) to punk outfits such as Just Ducky, started by
now-famous producer and Hellgate High School alumnus Steve Albini; and
Deranged Diction, Pearl Jam bass player Jeff Ament’s first band. It offers
a peek into the rise of the electronic music scene, which began at a house
in the lower Rattlesnake called The Badlander before becoming the name of a
major downtown music space.



*This Town is Full of Ghosts* is the first step in a larger project on
Missoula’s music history that will be developed into a larger exhibit and
incorporated into walking tours.



Collaborators include the Downtown Missoula Partnership and Unseen Missoula
walking tours, Missoula Historic Preservation Commission, Jimmy Grant of
Historical Research Associates, historian Leif Fredrickson’s University of
Montana class “Exploring Public History,” and Dave Marten’s Lost Sounds
Montana project. The exhibit will also call attention to the development of
the Downtown Heritage Interpretative Plan for Missoula, part of the
Downtown Master Plan, which will include aspects of Missoula's arts and
music history.



More than 25 artists from the Pacific Northwest participating in this
year’s Art Show, will feature paintings, photography, pottery, sculptures,
jewelry, and textile art, all front and center on Main Street during both
days of the festival from 11 am to 7 pm on Friday, Aug. 23 and Saturday,
Aug. 24. This component of River City Roots Fest creates an all-around
experience for those who appreciate fine arts, both visually and musically.



For more information about the exhibit, please contact Leif Fredrickson at
leif.fredrickson at gmail.com and for more information about the River City
Roots Festival Art Show, please contact Lincoln Mansch at
lincoln at missouladowntown.com.



*Bram Moore*

*Customer Service Coordinator*

Downtown Missoula Partnership

218 E Main | Missoula, MT

406.543.4238 | missouladowntown.com <http://www.missouladowntown.com/>
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