Impressions of Belmont

Belmont, Indiana

Indiana is not all flat. It is not easy to get the whole picture, but truly, it isn't just flat. Yes, the Indy 500 race track is flat, the northern corn fields are flat, and most any other stereotype about Indiana is pretty flat. If you're driving through Indiana on I65, I69, I70 or I75, you are most likely traversing flat land. South of Indianapolis, however, you'll find the south-central Indiana uplands. The Highland Rim, a region composed of the Knobstone Escarpment, Brown County Hills, and Mitchell Karst Plain makes up one half of the picture. The other half, known as the Shawnee Hills, rises from the earth in the form of the Crawford Upland and Escarpment.

If you haven't heard of these names before, it is because they are not well known. These are the Cascade Mountains of Indiana. Too often people are concerned with the destinations: Indianapolis, Bloomington, Nashville, Columbus, Martinsville (less so). In between all these places are the hills, the journey, the car ride that passes between untrammeled lands and wilderness beauty. Here, in isolation, is inspiration. Inspiration that found its way onto the canvas via the hands of artists like T.C. Steele. His impressionistic style was perfectly suited to the landscape, whose tree lined hills splash pallettes of colors in the fall and feign outlines against sunny blue skies if viewed from the forest floor. After his move to the Brown County hills in 1904, an influx of talent followed to form the Brown County Art Colony. Since then, the reputation has persisted to attract artists and escapists alike.

It is here where I now find myself, in a studio of a different kind. John Mellencamp's recording studio has called Belmont its home now for many years. He has recorded here almost exclusively since 1985, and he has a lot of tapes to show for it. Mellencamp did the smart thing and negotiated his record deals in such a way that he now owns all of his master recordings. It is common, in the record business, for the studio to controll the assets of each artist that they "own." Mellencamp, however, saw this blunder from the beginning and, after striking it big with a few hits, knew that he should be in control of his own recordings.

I could tell the story of how I came to work on this project, but I think that should be for another day. Long story short, I work for a guy who works for Mellencamp, sometimes. This guy is Paul Mahern of the moderately well known Zero Boys. For the next six months I will be digitizing and cataloging these audio recordings. It is monotonous work, but it has its perks. I'm not sure I know them now, but along the way I will expound upon them if I find any. For now, I am happy to be in the idyllic setting of the South Central Uplands. Inspiration comes in many forms, and from the valley it seems that the hills have plenty to provide.