By C.E. Hanifin
Enquirer staff writer

There's a reason why Dan McCabe decided to call his new festival the Lite Brite Indie Pop and Film Test (instead of Fest). In putting music and film on equal footing, he says he's going where no festival has gone before.

IF YOU GO

What: The Lite Brite Indie Pop and Film Test When: Shows start at 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday and run until 2 a.m.; for a full schedule of events, go to www.litebritetest.com. Where: The Southgate House, 24 E. Third St., Newport ( www.southgatehouse.com) (859) 431-2201. Admission: $10 for all three days, or $5 per night on Friday and Saturday and $10 on Sunday Freebie alert: Porchlite Cinema, held nightly at 9 p.m., 10 p.m. and midnight, will screen high school students' works from Sprockets Film Fest 2004 on the exterior of the IMAX theater across Third Street from Southgate House.

"I don't have any preconceived notions of how this is going to turn out. The performers are being tested; the audience is being tested," says McCabe, 38, of Newport. He books shows around the area, serves as marketing and promotions coordinator for CityBeat and plays with the band Campfire Crush.

The festival, which runs Friday through Sunday at the Southgate House, features simultaneous performances by bands and filmmakers. On the bill are artists that have always incorporated visual elements into their shows, such as Cincinnati band Culture Queer, and other musicians who are teaming up with motion graphics artists just for the event.

The music ranges from the turntable work of local hip-hop crew Glue to the melodic emo rock of Rainer Maria from Madison, Wis., to the psychedelic pop of Detroit's Waxwings.

The visual art runs the gamut, too.

The members of the Billy Nayer Show from New York will screen The American Astronaut, a film in which they star, then perform the soundtrack they wrote.

Local band Wil-o-dee will be accompanied by a shadow puppet artist.

The Race is bringing a slide show of still images from its homebase, Chicago. Underneath Cincinnati filmmakers also will show their works all three nights.

When Culture Queer formed five years ago, it was one of only a few local bands marrying music and film, says guitarist and vocalist Scott Fredette.

Three of the members of the quartet, which has dubbed its sound "minimalistic fruit pop," have day jobs in film production. (You can check out one of Culture Queer's videos at www.light-borne.com/cq.mov).

Although a lot of talented musicians and motion production artists live in the area, there haven't been many opportunities for them to showcase their work together, Fredette says.

"The visual community is really underground," he says.

McCabe says he wants Lite Brite to change that.

"I fully anticipate this becoming a nationally renowned event where people travel long distances to participate in and witness it," he says.

E-mail chanifin@enquirer.com