Statement
MK
Statement
MK
Statement2
Statement2
“
Don't forget to leave a trail,
in case them party lights ever fade…
”
1974–
Matt Kelley
Born on a cold, early morning in east-central Fort Wayne.
2000–
One lucky guitar, inc.
Boutique Creative agency
Born on a cold, late night in east-central Fort Wayne.
w. Jonathan Barker, Jasmine bejar, Erin blair, Olivia Fabian, angie hoffman, Michelle Love, bridget malinowski, Jake Sauer and zoe weaver, along with a talented set of old friends who started new chapters.
Reference: Ask Anyone
2012–2024
THE B-SIDE AT ONE LUCKY GUITAR
performance venue
BORN ON A hot, late night in downtown FORT WAYNE.
2012–2016
THE good ones clothing
Apparel company
BORN ON A HOT, early afternoon IN DOWNTOWN FORT WAYNE.
w. Denise DeMarchis, Sam McDonald and the aforementioned and wonderful OLG team.
2018–
skyline ymca
Fort wayne, IN
Burpees ‘n’ beats: group fitness instructor (bootcamp, hiit, queenax).
1992–1996
INDIANA UNIVERSITY
BLOOMINGTON, IN
ENGLISH LITERATURE, BA; FINE ARTS, BA; MATHEMATICS, MINOR.
MARATHONS
CUMMINS FALLS MARATHON
Cookeville, tn
february 24, 2024
4:12:23
Fort4fitness
fort wayne, in
october 1, 2016
3:51:03
Chicago Marathon
Chicago, IL
October 11, 2015
3:39:15
Grandma's Marathon
Duluth, MN
June 21, 2014
3:25:49
Breast Cancer Marathon
Jacksonville, FL
February 23, 2014
3:35:53
Monumental Marathon
Indianapolis, IN
November 2, 2013
3:28:49
I read an interview with LeBron James soon after he was leaving Miami to go back to Cleveland, and he said the biggest idea he learned from Pat Riley was when Riles asked him, “What is the main thing? Because the main thing has to be the main thing.”
I loved this.
(I later dug into the quote, and learned that it’s a semi-famous big idea from a business book. Fine; as far as I’m concerned, I learned it from LeBron.)
For me, the main thing is making sure my kids grow up awesome, happy, generous, imaginative, courageous and driven, with an insatiable appetite for defying the status quo. I want them to create, not just consume.
Instead of reading a book about how to do that, at some point I decided to just try to be a good example.
Some of my earliest mentors were only mentors in showing what not to do, what not to value. I thank them for their mistakes.
The people who have inspired me most, whether my rock ’n’ roll heroes or my closest collaborators, have chased the ether, the interstitial space, the moments that take your breath away.
They keep the mercury moving.
I try to keep up, in whatever I do.
(No parachutes, y’all.)
One Lucky Guitar has a big ol’ “lucky” right in the middle of its name, and truly, I do feel lucky. Until I bought that guitar, man, I had some near-misses with a life I can’t imagine. It could’ve been so easy! But, it’s not really luck that helped me avoid that easy life. It’s hard work. It’s persistence. It’s conviction. And yeah, it’s a healthy dollop of the golden rule, too.
Listen: “business is business” is bullshit.
Nobody’s making a reality TV show about my day-to-day, but living this way has led me to a life that is repeatedly graced with the rewards that matter: experience, opportunity, affection.
I’m all in.
––
My therapist asked me to draw a circle, then make pie slices that indicate the things that are most important to me, and adjust the size of the slices to reflect how much of life can be dedicated to them. The idea being, time is finite; how are we gonna use it? To give more time to one slice, you gotta take it away from another.
I drew a circle, made a pie, started drawing lines and making cuts, and then just stared at it for awhile. Maybe too long.
Time is finite. How many days ya got left?
So I took out a blender, and I dumped the pie in it, and I ran it on HIGH until there were no more slices, no more chunks, no more lines, and I poured it in a plastic cup, and I shotgunned it. Then I wiped my mouth on my sleeve and got back to work.
Pretty good pie, I gotta say.
Music
Music
Music
Music
Music
Me and my friends made some music—
2005–2007, 2015–
The Legendary Trainhoppers
HARD TIMES (2X RECORD), 2020
It Takes a Lot (EP), 2019
Not Today (EP), 2019
Let It Breathe, 2017 < click to listen
Family Tree, 2016 < click to listen
RAMBLE ON, 2006 < click to listen
w. Chris Dodds, Phil Potts, Dan Smyth, Casey Stansifer, and Colin Boyd, Kevin Jackson, Connor O’Shaughnessy, Jon Ross ’n’ Damian Miller, and Rick Weilbaker 'n' Jon Gillespie.
2012–2015
The Final Hurrahs
NumérO ONE, 2013
W. JOSH HALL, jake sauer, THE GOOD ONES CLOTHING
2000–2005
Go Dog Go
Summer 04 ep, 2004
Long Story Short, 2002
W. CHRIS DODDS, Eric Federspiel, Mark Winters
Events
Events
Events
Events
Events
Me and my friends put on some shows—
2016–2017
MIDDLE WAVES MUSIC FESTIVAL
2016
Event co-chair, booking committee, marketing committee, steering committee w. olivia fabian, ALISON GERARDOT, ALEC JOHNSON, corey radeR, DAN ROSS, KATY silliman.
w. The Flaming Lips, Best Coast, Bully, Doomtree, The Ike Reilly Assassination, JEFF the Brotherhood, Oddisee, Sidewalk Chalk, Tanlines and more than 20 local performers.
2017
Event co-chair, booking committee, marketing committee, steering committee w. ALEX ALFORD, EMMA DePREZ, olivia fabian, ALISON GERARDOT, ALEC JOHNSON, SANEE LOMBARDI, corey radeR, DAN ROSS, HEATHER SCHOEGLER, KATY silliman, NICK WEAVER.
w. MGMT, sam evian, selector dub narcotic, the lemon twigs, shannon and the clams, thao and the get down stay down, flint eastwood, kyle, r.o.e., the murderburgers, mike adams at his honest weight and more than A DOZEN local performers.
2006–
OUTSIDE SHOWS
ONE LUCKY GUITAR BOOKED, promoted and marketed the following performances, outside our walls:
13 MOST BEAUTIFUL SCREENING W. MARK HUTCHINS AND METAVARI (CINEMA CENTER)
DAVID WAX MUSEUM (ARTSLAB)
DAVID WAX MUSEUM (MIDDLE WAVES 2018)
EEF BARZELAY (3) (CS3)
CLEM SNIDE w. HELIGOATS (THE TIGER ROOM AT CS3)
TIM EASTON w. LEE MILES (THE BRASS RAIL)
DYLAN LEBLANC w. cicada rhythm (THE BRASS RAIL)
BLUE MOUNTAIN w. MARAH (THE BRASS RAIL)
RAYLAND BAXTER w. ILLITERATE LIGHT (THE BRASS RAIL)
THE IKE REILLY ASSASSINATION W. THE B-SHARPS (THE TIGER ROOM AT CS3)
THE IKE REILLY ASSASSINATION W. THE SACRED BRONCOS (THE TIGER ROOM AT CS3)
LILY & MADELEINE W. ROSALIND AND THE WAY AND EITHER/OR (THE TIGER ROOM AT CS3)
LOVELINES: A TRIBUTE TO THE REPLACEMENTS, songs for slim fundraiser w. aadia, big star big, the jury, the placemats and sweet talk (THE brass rail)
TIM ROGERS & TEX PERKINS (COLUMBIA STREET WEST)
2011
FORTISSIMO
ONE LUCKY GUITAR founded, curated and co-produced THIS EVENT with THE Fort Wayne Philharmonic.
W. CLEM SNIDE, METAVARI AND THE ORANGE OPERA.
2009–2012
DESSERT
ONE LUCKY GUITAR FOUNDED, CURATED AND PRODUCED THIS taste of the arts after-party with Arts UNITED.
OVER FOUR YEARS, the event featured more than 15 local rock and hip-hop performers.
2007–2010
DOWN THE LINE
ONE LUCKY GUITAR FOUNDED, CURATED AND PRODUCED THIS EVENT FOR THE EMBASSY THEATRE.
EVENT CONTINUES TO THIS DAY, WITH $300K+ RAISED FOR THE THEATRE, AND MORE THAN 70 LOCAL BANDS HAVING PERFORMED ON THE EMBASSY STAGE.
DOWN THE LINE WAS BORN THROUGH THE RREVOLUTIONS CONCERT SERIES, WHICH ONE LUCKY GUITAR PRODUCED bi-monthly WITH COLUMBIA STREET WEST IN 2004–2006.
2006
WAYNE CALHOUN TROUBADOUR SERIES
ONE LUCKY GUITAR FOUNDED, CURATED AND PRODUCED THESE BLOCK PARTIES FOR THE DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT.
W. The Avett Brothers, The Legendary Trainhoppers, lo.automatic, Matthew Sturm Band, Possum Trot Orchestra.
The B-Side
at One Lucky Guitar
The 75-person capacity venue within our agency walls has hosted the following performances—
OLG Presents
Advance Base
American Wrestlers
Michaela Anne
Lou Barlow
Eef Barzelay (5)
Rayland Baxter (3)
David Bazan (2)
Beef Eaglemania
Best Album Ever, Tonight (series)
The Bottle Rockets
Brace Cooper Jutz
Cory Branan (2)
Richard Buckner
Caitlin Canty
Peter Case
Caleb Caudle
Rorey Carroll
Lloyd Cole (2)
Come Feel Me Tremble screening
Elizabeth Cook
Anthony D’Amato
Ami Dang
David Wax Museum (2)
Dog Party
Mike Doughty
Tim Easton (3)
Mark Eitzel
The Final Hurrahs
Florist
Steve Forbert (3)
Fort Wayne Philharmonic Brass Quintet
Radney Foster
Kepi Ghoulie
Colleen Green
Kevin Hambrick (3)
Darren Hanlon
The Heligoats
Johnny Hickman
Damien Jurado
Stephen Kellogg
Justin Kinkel-Schuster
The Legendary Trainhoppers (∞)
Liz Longley
Mandolin Orange (2)
Marah
Matt Pond PA
Mike Adams at His Honest Weight
Lindi Ortega
Penny & Sparrow
Chuck Prophet (2)
Cassie Ramone
Ike Reilly (5)
Kim Richey
Tim Rogers
Rosalind & The Way (3)
The St. John Family Band
Tommy Stinson
Kenny Taylor
J-Tubbs
The B-Side (asterisk)
The B-Side (asterisk) events are those were we turn over our keys, rent-free, to sweet people doing awesome things, who need a venue in which to stage their awesome thing.
[260] Reading (pye,brown)
A Night of Poetry (EAS)
Peter Bradley Adams (Mark Meyer)
Jared Andrews (My Apollo)
Beef Eaglemania
The Bomb Shelter (pye,brown) (2)
Belle & The Strange (Hope Arthur)
City Mist (Angie Tarr)
CreativeMornings Fort Wayne
dAnce.Kontemporary (dance.Kontemporary) (3)
Chris Darby (Merrified)
An Evening Reading w. Matt Hart, George Kalamaras (Weston Cutter)
D Ferren & The Sad Bastards (D Ferren)
George Gardner (Soirée)
#HardToDestroy (pye,brown)
Heaven's Gateway Drugs (Heaven's Gateway Drugs)
Ari Hest (2) (Mark Meyer)
The Hope Arthur Orchestra (Hope Arthur)
Light and Lament: A Book Release (The Dandelion Review)
Lindsay Hunter (USF/Weston Cutter)
My Apollo (My Apollo)
Night Moves (Team Neighborlink) (4)
OFabz Loves Fort Wayne (OFabz)
Lou Poster (Let’s Comedy)
Mishka Shubaly (Let’s Comedy)
Sleepy Furnace w. Josh Hall, Kevin Hambrick, C-Ray Harvey and Mark Hutchins (Mark Hutchins)
Slow Dakota (PJ Sauerteig)
Stuntman One (Mark Hutchins)
Jess Thrower (Middle Waves Kickoff)
Kevin Hambrick w. Jess Thrower (Make Music Day)
The Trap Door (The Trap Door) (4)
Vertical Leap (Start Fort Wayne)
Write Fight: Back for Blood (EAS)
Yes, Indeed: A Tribute to Mary Oliver (Dandelion Review)
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
I just wasn't made for this whole 140-character thing. However, if you'd like to pour an Elijah Craig and take a trip…
“Fifteen and Change” — Thoughts on OLG’s fifteenth anniversary at 1301 Lafayette Street in downtown Fort Wayne.
“Always Moving” — Reflections on the Riverfront Fort Wayne brand, upon the opening of Promenade Park.
"Rays of Light Shine" — Thoughts on the third Legendary Trainhopper album, including a short film by Brad Bores.
"This Day Went So Fast" — Closin' up shop at The Good Ones Clothing.
"The Wild and The Innocent" — Thoughts on Bruce Springsteen, Down the Line and The Legendary Trainhoppers.
"A Few Words about The Best One" — Notes on a particularly great friendship.
"Confessions of a Yakuza" — A series of essays about Paul Westerberg, originally published in [260]. Note: this is a PDF file.
"2014 music, etc." — Back when we spent all the time on our yearly top ten lists. Pretty great year, really. Have a look.
"Lovelines" — Thoughts, correspondence and fairly ridiculous work surrounding LOVELINES: A Tribute to The Replacements.
"The Day Is Breaking in My Soul" — An essay about America's finest rock band, Marah.
"Another Side of The Harrison" — Remember farther up on this website where I say "business is business" is bullshit? Here's proof.
"Ramble On" — The sweat & swagger, friendship & fury, laughs & love and brotherhood & bawdiness of rock 'n' roll.
"Numéro One, the album" — About a kids' clothing company that has a fictional band that makes a real album, and why.
"Age Like Wine" — How my feet ended up on a Todd Snider album cover, amongst other things.
"Flyover Country" — How do you get your heroes to play your hometown? Simple. You ask them.
"Certified Classics" — We used to sit around and write blogs about our all-time favorite albums. Who didn't?
"Rock & Roll, Heart & Arrow" — One of the absolute treats of my career has been the chance to collaborate with Danny George Wilson, a gentleman and a giant. Here, we have a chat, and a few Speckled Hens…
"Being There with Wilco" — Jeff Tweedy sees me and he goes, "I know, I know. Fort Wayne. I know." Someday, right?
"Ten Years to Life with Ike Reilly" — Fact of the matter is, Ike Reilly soundtracked the first decade of OLG's existence. We brought him here in 2010 to celebrate our tenth anniversary; here's the full, full story.