When asked why the software development firm Bendyworks hosted a spontaneous hip-hop gig from Madison native F. Stokes in its downtown Madison offices Monday night, Jim Remsik, one of the firm's principals, eagerly offers up absolutely no justification.
"I found myself trying to explain why we were doing this and there was no good reason," Remsik says. "So that's why we should do stuff like this, because there's no good reason to do it."
Remsik, who was as charmed as many Madisonians by F. Stokes' 2011 "My Simple" video, has been following the artist on social media and after seeing his annual post-Christmas show at the Frequency a few weeks ago, asked Stokes if he was planning to perform again in Madison. Stokes replied that he might consider doing an intimate living room gig, but nothing big. Then, Remsik essentially bumped into the artist on social media this past weekend.
"On Sunday, I was flying home from New York and I saw his tweet about some birds at JFK," says Remsik. "I was at JFK and had just heard some birds, so I tweeted with him, asking if he was interested in doing a show at Bendyworks. Eighteen hours later...."
