Third Homemade Genius Event Brings Youths Back to Uptown

July 9, 2006

    By BOBBY HARRELL

    Index-Journal Staff Writer 

Sammy Baylor doesn’t see a lot of young people hanging around Uptown nowadays.

Back in the early ’80s, when Baylor was growing up, a movie theater and monthly concerts attracted kids to the Uptown area. Now, it’s a different story for young people, Baylor said. “They have nothing to do,” he said.

Ian Morris knew that youths needed more things to do when he helped form Homemade Genius, a nonprofit organization that encourages artistic and musical expression. Slowly, Homemade Genius is bringing people back to Uptown.

The organization hosts concerts and art shows in Greenwood designed to bring the young, the old and the in-between together. Saturday’s Homemade Genius show featured 12 bands, including world-traveling indie rockers Elf Power, and five local businesses hosting art from regional artists.

Morris and friend Kendric Anderson got inspired to create Homemade Genius after finding nothing exciting going on for people their age. The biggest accomplishment for young people in the past few years has been the skate park at the civic center, but younger kids can’t easily get to the park without cars, Morris said.

The youths are hungry for something new and exciting, he said.

“They want to do something, and we want to give them a positive outlet,” Morris said.

Homemade Genius has put on three shows since March 31. Attendance for each new show is bigger than the last one. Everyone benefits from Homemade Genius: businesses make more money and people have fun in Uptown, Morris said.

Mark Sieskman and Maria Morozowich came from Columbia to see some of their friends who were playing Saturday. He thinks Homemade Genius is a good thing for the town.

“Stuff like this doesn’t happen much in Greenwood,” Sieskman said.

A few hundred people sat in clumps Saturday underneath the trees lining South Main Street despite the slightly overcast sky. The John Banks Trio, a jazz band Baylor came to see, finished their set at about 3:15 p.m. By the time the alternative country band Rejection Letter began playing about 15 minutes later, a group of about 10 people in black T-shirts, aviator sunglasses and tattoos stood in front of the band.

Youths had arrived back in Uptown.

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