Riddle me this. Why is Nickelback the band that everyone hates, yet they continue to sell millions of records? Anyone? Why do people use Three Days Grace as the punch line for a “douche” band, yet they decimate when it comes to numbers? How come people goof on Buckcherry, yet they only play to sold out shows? Or, maybe it’s just cool to say that you hate them, even though their entire discography is neatly, yet secretively, tucked away in your car’s visor. You get chills every time someone offers to drive your car, lest they discover your filthy little secret. Well, get ready to in...
The leaves are turning, the bonfires are raging, the autumn is here, but that doesn’t mean that all of the fun summer shows are gone! Mike Posner is one of the more notable breakout summer artists and he’s you can catch him this Sunday, October 3rd at the Cleveland House of Blues. Tickets were available as of today, $25 before, $30 day of and $75 for a meet and greet. The doors are at 6:30, show at 7pm. Which works out, as there are a number of openers: Far East Movement, Stephen Jerzak, 2AM Club, Bad Rabbits. Michigan bred Posner has collaborated with artists like Kid Cudi and 3OH!...
They’re from space. They drink poison from snakes and they are here to save rock n roll. So devoted, in fact, the extra “r” in Thorr is for “rock n roll”. They are Valient Thorr and they’ve parked their spaceship on top of the Grog Shop for the Cleveland leg of their 2010 tour, doors at 9pm. The Volcom signed band, Valient Thorr specializes in salvaging rock n roll, one rambunctious, furious and ragged sing-along sermon at a time. They are five guys that were seemingly raised by wolves, with dusty beards and long hair. VT leaves the flat irons and combs for candy asses, th...
Let’s be honest, Deftones is a band that you either love or…you don’t. While you can argue the finer points of nerd town musician criteria or you can just surrender to the loud sexy wall of sound that the Deftones has been producing for the past fourteen years. Deftones will be at the Cleveland House of Blues on September 14, doors at 7:30pm. Diamond Eyes is the latest offering from Deftones, released in the spring of this year, it had to be pushed back due to leaking issues. It is also the first Deftones album that went forward without bassist Chi Cheng. (Cheng was seriously inju...
The Jonas Brothers are from the shore region of New Jersey. So, in effect, the Jonas Brothers are from the Jersey Shore. Its alllll starting to make sense...not really. Tues, Aug 31st, at the Quicken Loan Arena in Cleveland, thousands of young girls will gather to worship at the feet of the Jonas Brothers, three. Joe, Nick and Kevin are the JB and they’ve slowly been separating a generation of tweens from their disposable income with albums, t-shirts and movies. The latest album Lines, Vines and Trying Times debuted at #1 on the Billboard chart, selling a quarter of a million cd’s ju...
Straight outta Dayton, the Christian metalcore band, The Devil Wears Prada is bringing their show through the Cleveland area. They’re young and they’re fashionably reckless, and they have more merch to sell than KISS. The Devil Wears Prada is also playing two consecutive nights at Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights, Aug 28 and 29, doors at 7:00pm. Your Demise and Miss May I are slated to open. TDWP has a rabidly loyal fan base because of their highly passionate performances. Their live shows are stirring and active, the guys never stop moving. The Devil Wear’s Prada has a keyboardist ...
Energetic, ready to be back on tour, Coheed and Cambria are literally stretching the very limits of rock and roll. Their thought-provoking and innovative style continues to keep their fans and critics alike, forever guessing. Thursday, August 26 is the date of Coheed and Cambria at the Nautica Pavilion in Cleveland. Openers are Porcupine Tree and the Dear Hunter, which are both great bands. However, I was slightly bummed that Torche and Circa Survive, the bands on earlier shows were not warming up the audience. Coheed and Cambria are known for epic tours—this one is perhaps the most massi...
Misikko is arguably one of the industry’s most outstanding tools and hair care products. They pick and choose the absolute best hair straighteners, ceramic flat irons, hair dryers & beauty tools in the industry so you know you are getting the quality you need. From brands like Hana Salon and Chi Flat Iron, they offer a product selection that appeals to the most discriminating stylists. They have finally tired of our complaining and they have challenged us to have gorgeous hair. Hence, the Misikko Experiment. We received a box of their finest, and our staff voted the CHI Infra Sham...
You can almost smell the exotic tanning oil and feel the French Riviera breeze on your neck. Scrolling through La Mer Collections’ watches’ website is like the best part of a Hemingway novel—foreign and dangerous, thoughtful yet very Rive Gauche. It’s time for fall fashion shopping sprees, kill two birds with La Mer time pieces that double as accessories. Martine Ilana is the creator of the La Mer Collections brand. This is a careful assembly of thoughtful and fashion forward leather watches. The band of each watch is in the rich color palette that you’d only see on holiday, w...
Every year you are slammed with pictures of runway clothing that’s supposed to be the “new trend”. The new trend usually includes things that wouldn’t work in a Mad Max movie, let alone in your cubicle. This season I saw a pair of blue stilettos with a leather mohawk growing out of the heel and they were exquisite, but, better on Cameron Diaz than under your bed. I can appreciate art for what it is, and you aren’t investing in these for a run to Target or to work—unless you work for Vanity Fair, or Rachel Zoe. The title “What’s Hot for Fall” is everywhere, and it gets old....
I once fell off of a karaoke stage singing “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”. Needless to say my love affair with Pat Benatar is ongoing. Maybe because for a short time as an adolescent I thought she and Joan Jett were the same person. I digress. However, this brings me to my next point—one product is recession proof: nostalgia. Had REO Speedwagon and Pat Benatar toured together in the early 1980’s, maybe we would have all been different people. Nostalgia is the name of the game with a number of summer shows. However, it only works when the bands are as good as you remember them. I suspe...
Slayer. Megadeth. Uhm...does it get more brutal? Oh. Yeah, Testament. The North American Carnage tour shoved off in January and is careening though Ohio on its twenty something dates. This holy metal trifecta of awesomeness can be found playing Tower City Amphitheatre, Aug 18th, doors at 7pm. This tour was originally put on hold because of back issues, Slayer’s vocalist/bassist, Tom Araya’s had to take care of ongoing health issues that required minimally-invasive treatments for Cervical Rediculopathy, an occupational hazard for aggressively swinging his long mane of hair while pe...
Coming Next Month: The Misikko Experiment Does it work? Will it fry my hair? What should I use? Where can I find it? Can I have one? Need a hand straightening your wig? Find out how to win big!...
May rain clouds burned off, I was left standing in that hot Ohio sun with skin so white I was about to catch fire. Sun damage is no longer a secret, and I don’t have the time to invest in a cinnamon sugar tan. It’s time for a summer pilgrimage through aisles of self tanning products, the smelly, the Oompa Loompa, and the streaky stripe. You are now the Goldilocks of self-tanners. No one has disposable income, least of all a Self-Tanner Fund; it’s hard to pick and experiment in choosing the ideal shade and brand. If you have thrown your stained hands up because you’ve yet to find a p...
So maybe you’ve been wearing White Diamonds since 1986…or perhaps your Britney Spears’ Circus perfume is empty, in any event, the summer is a good time to re-think your “signature scent”. There are more options out there than ever before. However, upon some serious reflection and nose tests, I can bring you some solid stand outs from the pack. Sorry to offend all of the Patchouli wear-ers out there, but, NO ONE likes Patchouli. Think about it. Today, ask five people what they think of it and you will not only get a resounding “do not want”, you will get the obligatory cri...
Another summer comic book movie is coming for you and your $9. If you’re a comic book freak, you already know what’s coming down the pipe…or you may THINK you know. My research has turned up glaring differences between DC’s Jonah Hex and Warner Bros.’ version. Bottom line, if you’re going to the theater to see a Jonah Hex’s interesting life story laid out, you may be disappointed as it seems that Warner Bros. has simply bought the title and concept as a skeleton and left the guts behind for their vision. The 1970’s DC Comic’s antihero is somewhat dismantled for this bi...
To say you’ve never heard of American Apparel is to say you’ve never heard of Michelangelo or Sir Ben Kingsley or light switches. American Apparel is the company responsible for 99% of the comfortable and effortlessly chic clothing that you see in movies and on television. You may or may not know this, but looking like you couldn’t care less takes katana-like precision. American Apparel is making your quest for the ideal, go-to pieces into a virtual one stop shop. Not only have they re-defined marketing and apparel for that matter, you can now put together entire outfits with Am...
Picture it…the early 1990’s…brands like FUCT, FreshJive and World Industries have the t-shirt game by the balls. But one guy had a relatively simple, yet genius idea—a t-shirt line that showcased hot broads in various states of undress. Two in the Shirt, (T.I.T.S. Brand) may not have invented hot half naked broads on t-shirts, but he arguably perfected it. T.I.T.S. owner and founder, Marek Grubel sees no honor in competing with his contemporaries. Gruebel says he’d rather have girls admire his swag than peacock with other dudes on whose shoes and hat is hotter. What is his inspi...
Dirty Pretty Things Jewelry is arguably Ohio’s finest export. Headquartered in Cleveland, the fashion forward, edgy yet polished line of bracelets, earrings and necklaces are quickly becoming the It pieces. Dirty Pretty Things Jewelry is the line that you look to when you want to be a little more polished, yet need to maintain your edgy street cred. Conceived by creator and former nightclub owner Chrissy LoConti, Dirty Pretty Things was her thesis on the human condition—the power struggle that can ensue between woman and man. Night after night, Chrissy observed the encounters between th...
From “21 Jump Street” to “Who’s the Boss”, when you think back on the goldmine of brutally awesome television, the 1980s reigned supreme. Hollywood has dipped its mug into the cauldron of 1980s goodness for a crack at re-inventing The A-Team for 2010 movie audiences. Before we continue, we know that little to none of these remakes are received positively. Let’s all get over it: NO ONE will ever be as cool as Mr. T as B.A. Baracus. Leave out the gripe that “no one writes new stuff anymore”. That seems to be the biggest hurdle that remakes face; let’s just assume that we a...
