Michael Loves Indy

Tom Coverdale is one of the most beloved Indiana basketball players of all time. He was named Indiana’s Mr. Basketball in 1998, was recruited by Bob Knight, endured the firing of Coach Knight, and led the 2002 Indiana Hoosiers to upset victories over Duke en route to the 2002 NCAA Championship game. Today, Tom lives in Indianapolis where he has established a successful business career and enjoys family life as a husband and as a father of 4 year old twins. In this conversation, Tom talks about growing up in Indiana’s basketball culture, experiences playing for Bob Knight and Mike Davis, and what his basketball experience taught him about leadership and life. Note: the day we had this conversation, Indiana University announced its search for a new men’s basketball head coach, and Tom shares some opinions on who IU should pursue(!).

It’s another basketball-themed conversation, as Indianapolis prepares to host the entire NCAA 2021 DI Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Mark Minner is only 30 years old, but he has already spent over a decade as the Radio Voice of the Butler Bulldogs, specifically as the play-by-play announcer for Butler University Men’s Basketball, beginning when he was an undergraduate student at Butler. Over the past decade, Mark has had a front-row seat to witness a progression of Butler from respected mid-major to frequently-ranked, Power Six conference member in the Big East. In this conversation, Mark tells us how he followed his passion for sports to his current role, discusses the Butler Way, and tells stories about coach Brad Stevens. Full disclosure: Mark has been successful in business as well as sports, serving as President of FirstPerson, an Indy-headquartered benefits and compensation advisory firm; and he has emerged as one of Indianapolis’ young civic leaders.

The Indianapolis region will host the entire 2021 NCAA D1 Men’s Basketball tournament! 67 games in total, six different venues, limited capacity (maximum 25%), more than 150 buses, and a much-needed boost to hotels, restaurants, and to the State of Indiana. I’m joined by two great friends of mine, Indiana Sports Corp CEO Ryan Vaughn, and Visit Indy CEO Leonard Hoops, who discuss how Indy won this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Ryan and Leonard discuss why Indianapolis is the ideal city to safely host a self-contained NCAA tournament, and talk about Indianapolis 35 year history of hosting national and international sporting events. They also give us some behind-the-scenes at what it takes to pull off an event of this magnitude, and why “sport is bigger than sport” in Indianapolis.

Imhotep Adisa is not only one of Indianapolis’ most influential community leaders, he is a serious thinker who generously shares his experiences and knowledge with a broad range of people in the Indianapolis community. Imhotep Adisa, along with Kheprw Institute (KI) co-founder Paulette Fair, founded KI to help youth develop entrepreneurial and leadership skills, help communities build wealth and become more effective advocates, and address economic needs including food insecurity and job access. Imhotep and Paulette have been two of the most influential people on my evolving understanding of issues including race, equity, and economic development, over the past three years. In this conversation, Imhotep discusses his formative experiences as a young man which led to the founding of Kheprw Institute. He also reflects on his belief that for us to change the systems that cause the inequities exacerbated by COVID-19, we must invest in “transformational relationships” and grow from friendships with people whose life experiences and perspectives are different from our own.

Since 2018, I have been a fanatic of the music of Carrington Clinton AKA Clint Breeze, including his solo albums and his supergroup Clint Breeze and the Groove whose 2020 album Endtime Overture is my favorite album of 2020. Endtime Overture blends jazz, soul, hip-hop, indie rock, great melodies and uncompromising lyrics, for a sound that calls to mind past eras of Indianapolis music, but with a sense of urgency and relevance to today’s struggles.  

Clint Breeze and the Groove is a seven-piece band who, in addition to Carrington (drums, beats) include Nick Tucker (bass), Jared Thompson (saxophone), Joel Tucker (guitar), Christopher Pitts (piano), Zachary Finnegan (trumpet), frontman Pernell From Pike (emcee, vocalist), all of whom have established solo careers.

For someone who is only 30 years old, Carrington has developed an unmistakable sound as an artist, and he has a sense of positivity and generosity that impacts everyone he meets. In this conversation, Carrington discusses his upbringing in Indianapolis, the early experiences that inspired him to become an artist, the process of writing and recording Endtime Overture, and how 2020 has inspired him to be more creative.

You can’t put former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard in a box. In 2007, the former career Marine upset a two-term Democrat incumbent, running as a Republican in a majority-Democrat city. He quickly developed an identity as a genuine, low-key leader who brought an nuts-and-bolts approach to running Indianapolis, and he quickly adopted a vision of making Indianapolis a more sustainable city that embraced alternative modes of transportation (mass transit expansion, bike infrastructure), renewable energy (setting a goal of moving city government to an all-electric vehicle fleet), and mixed-use development. He continues to be a national advocate for renewable energy, and he published his book Less Oil or More Caskets: The National Security Argument for Moving Away from Oil in 2019, and he continues to teach at the University of Indianapolis. Mayor Ballard and I catch up, talk about his years as Mayor, and he talks about why the United States needs to get more aggressive to move away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy sources.

Rob Dixon, the Musical Mayor of Indianapolis, is a jazz saxophonist, composer, and community leader, who is the most-recognized figure of Indianapolis’ jazz scene for the past 20 years, when he returned to Indy after many years living and playing in New York City. Rob plays multiple nights a week in Indianapolis, when he’s not touring with national artists including 8-string guitarist Charlie Hunter and The Headhunters (members of Herbie Hancock’s 1970’s jazz fusion band). Rob and I talk about his early life and formative experiences that took him from the East Coast to Indiana University, to New York, and back to Indianapolis. Rob also talks about the need to recapture Indianapolis’ jazz heritage and why he is encouraged by a new generation of Indianapolis jazz musicians.

Michael Kaufmann is one of the most fascinating individuals I have ever met. He has made a successful career in music, leading record labels and launching the careers of new artists (his best-known associations are with artists including Sufjan Stevens and Son Lux). He also is a civic leader in Indianapolis, curating numerous, multi-million dollar public art installations and cross-disciplinary programs. He is pursuing his PhD at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and he most recently served VP of Civic Investment for Health and Hospital Corporation in Indianapolis. Michael continues to challenge conventional thinking in Indianapolis, and in this conversation we talk about the post- COVID-19 economy, the changing role of art’s impact on communities, and why we need to modernize our definitions of terms like “economic development.”

Cassie Stockamp is a former business owner, Indianapolis civic leader, and recently served as CEO of the Athenaeum Foundation in downtown Indianapolis. In late 2018, Cassie made a decision to fulfill a lifelong dream: she would embark on a spiritual journey around the world, traveling on a minimal budget, living in villages and small communities in many different countries, performing volunteer work and living not as a tourist, but as a member of each community. The journey lasted more than 15 months and was cut short by COVID-19 travel restrictions in 2020. Cassie documented this journey at her blog: www.cassiestockamp.com

Dave Tucker is a university VP, attorney, guitarist, and an all around music obsessive. I love discovering new music, but Dave takes it to another level, and the breadth of his interests is on display every year in the year-end compilation he produces, featuring his favorite tracks across rock, roots, R&B, jazz, classical, and other genres. I thought it would be fun to have Dave on the podcast and to discuss selections from his 2020 compilation. I submitted a few favorites of my own. (Note: Dave’s mother, music professor Linda Tucker, passed away in 2020, and he dedicated his 2020 compilation to her memory.)