THE SPARK, as a venue, existed from November 6, 2007 until July 28, 2008. It was opened hastily by a couple of very impassioned musician/artist types who saw the great potential that the building had as a place to have bands play. Despite a prolonged, profound effort put forth by a lot of dedicated and talented people, the limitations of the building finally resulted in the place shutting down. You can only drag a dead horse so long before you realize you just have to drop that thing and move on to find another one, one that's got its own energy and can push itself a little bit.
THE SPARK is now a MOVEMENT. It is a MOVEMENT towards OPEN MINDEDNESS, POSITIVITY, and RESPECT. It is NOT an exclusive, snobby, competitive, cliquey, fashion-driven platform for vanity, which many music scenes tend to lean towards. The Illinois Valley has been a fertile ground for musician/artist types in the last decade, we say, because there has been a large number of incredibly talented people that share this attitude of ACCEPTANCE and ENCOURAGEMENT of originality and adventure in creativity. The most standout bands of the area exemplify this attitude. Their energy is more pure, they are easy to talk to, they are supportive of anyone doing anything creative. This is how our music scene differs.
THE SPARK MOVEMENT is YOU and EVERYONE WHO CHERISHES THESE IDEAS.
We strive to unite the strengths of our local creative people to build this community up with positivity, creativity, and acceptance of people for their uniqueness -rather than resentment against what you wish was more like some ideal you've chosen or had chosen for you by subconscious, long-term mass media brainwashing.
We encourage YOU to set up shows at NEW PLACES, show art, show movies, throw parties,...give more opportunity for people to mingle and be exposed to new ideas...and opportunity for new friends to be made.
The more connections we can make, and the more trust, support, and respect we can build up in the community, the cooler it will all be. We hope you will join in the process in your own way.
