Youngstown's original wizards of psyche rock are playing one of Akron's best under reported rock clubs. These guys played for The Who, headlined with Cheech and Chong and toured with ZZ Top, Alice Cooper, Judas Priest and more. Guitarist/singer/founder Jim Gustafson is regarded as a master of the six strings and is worth checking out in and of himself. Did I mention that the Iron Saddle is always free? ...
The Iron Saddle Saloon on Akron’s South Street has been rapidly becoming a musical force to reckon with. The exquisite house PA and great talent week after week has made the place a regular practice spot for at least one unnamed world- touring guitarist every Thursday in June (hint, hint). Tonight, guitarist Rob Metz and band rock your socks off. ...
Florida-based extreme/death metallers Hate Eternal are touring on their new album, Phoenix Amongst the Ashes. Founder/lead guitarist/vocalist Erik Rutan's metal pedigree is well established with stints in Morbid Angel and producer credits on albums by Cannibal Corpse, Goatwhore, Nile and more. Quality death here, folks. ...
Experience, hunger and determination are the attributes that make a true bluesman and Johnny Childs has all three in spades. Johnny and his band are on tour supporting their latest album “Groove” as they stop by Wilbert’s this month. As a guitarist, he’ll tear up some 12-bar blues but doesn’t stop there; exploring swing, rock and other influences. ...
Every rock fan in America worth their salt remembers A Perfect Circle, the rock supergroup that seemed to be everywhere at the turn of the millennium. “Mer de Noms,” their first album, went platinum and the next two both struck gold. Then, in 2004, the band went on hiatus, and despite swirling rumors of their imminent reunion, nothing seemed to materialize. A Perfect Circle was founded by Billy Howerdel and Maynard James Keenan. Howerdel started his musical career as a guitar tech for Fishbone, David Bowie, Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails and Tool. Keenan, who co-founded Tool, was al...
In some cases, secrets are just too good to be kept — especially when the secret refers to Via Lotus’s excellent debut album, “Secrets.” The privileged few who have heard it have a duty to tell as many people as possible. The musicians responsible for this tender throwdown of an album are singer Tasha Lynn (Natasha Addessi), guitarist JCK (Jeff Klemm), drummer (and JCK’s brother) Kev (Kevin Klemm) and bassist A-pop (Alex Popovici). They’re all local products, coming either from Canton or Stow. Via Lotus sounds like someone took a ’90s rock band and plopped them down in a Mo...
Need some heavy-duty psychedelic rock with a primitive beat that echoes the spirit of the 13th Floor Elevators and early Stones? Then the Black Angels are where it’s at! Bassist Ryan was born on a cult compound, guitarist Bland is the real deal son of a Texas preacher man, and drummer Bailey and vocalist Maas believe a little girl in a red linen dress haunts the group’s home. This little band from Austin Texas will be creeping into The Grog Shop! MORE INFO HERE!...
In 2004, Dayton’s Hawthorne Heights released “Ohio is for Lovers”, a single on their The Silence is Black and White album that simultaneously rocketed them to serious MTV and radio airplay and cast the band as one of the standouts of emo rock in the midst of its first popular wave. Just like the genre itself, Hawthorne Heights’s music tends to be divisive, a love-’em-or-hate-’em kind of sound and image. The lyrics of “Ohio” fit the swoop-banged safety-pinned emo stereotype to a painfully exact degree: “And I can't make it on my own/ Because my heart is in Ohio...
The third-wave ska revival of the mid-1990’s introduced Reel Big Fish to an adoring public. Although they fit in better with a punk rock audience, Reel Big Fish offers a killer live show. Unlike most bands of that era, they are still touring. Reel Big Fish and The Aquabats play the House of Blues, opening acts The Suburban Legends and Koo Koo Kanga Roo, doors at 6:30pm, show at 7:30pm. Reel Big Fish continued touring and releasing albums even though the ska craze has quieted. An album of ten cover songs, Fame, Fortune and Fornication was released in ’09. Most recently, they have bee...
For a band that has been rockin’ your socks off for the last 21 years, one would think the singer would be a grumpy know-it-all, too tired of talking about his own music. Not so for Page Hamilton, singer and guitarist for the band Helmet. As a matter of fact, Page is one of the most gentle and kindest individuals you are ever likely to meet. After forming in 1989 and releasing their first full length record a year later, the band cemented their name in rock history in 1992 with the release of their second record, Meantime. Never a man to sit still, Page expanded to other outlets b...
It is never easy to hop right back into the performance groove when you have not performed as a unit on stage for nearly a year. However when Kim and Kelley Deal and their band The Breeders hit the Beachland Ballroom stage this past Thursday, they proved that practice can be over-rated. True, while Kim had toured recently in the Middle East with the Pixies, Kelley had not played live since December. The Deal twins were coming through NE Ohio en route to Monticello, New York for All Tomorrow’s Parties annual event with a stop in Philly in between. So being the firs...
By Jessica Lumpp Anthony Green is like Spider-man on stage. When hears music of his band, Circa Survive, surround him, he goes wild. Just like I did when my phone rang with my Circa Survive ringtone, “Living Together. “ It was the band’s press manager calling to connect me with Green, who just happens to be my favorite artist, ever. He was walking his dog with his wife in suburban Pennsylvania. But, I kind of wanted him to be doing something cooler for our chat. Getting a tattoo? Shopping for a Harley? Writing some new lyrics? Perhaps I just didn’t want to picture...
While LeBron still waits in limbo on his new contract, Cleveland may still have a reason to smile. The Suede Brothers have created a homestyle flavor of music on their new album, The Night, an incredible 10 track explosion of ground-shaking bass and alluring vocals, best described as Rustbelt Rock. It’s hard as steel with a rusty quality, adding just the right amount of distortion on top of heavy riffs to provide a teeth-gnashing, headbanging album from a band that kills it from the first track to the last. This new sound mirrors the region from which it was spawned; slightly vintag...
With the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach announcing plans to move to Nashville while Lebron still waits in limbo on his new contract, Akron may still have a reason to smile. The Suede Brothers have created a homestyle flavor of music on their new album, "The Night," an incredible 10-track explosion of ground-shaking bass and alluring vocals, best described as Rustbelt Rock. It's hard as steel with a rusty quality, adding just the right amount of distortion on top of heavy riffs to provide a teeth-gnashing, headbanging album from a band that kills it from the first track to the last. This ne...
It's hard to say anything bad about supergroup The Dead Weather. Made up of notorious guitarist Jack White, Alison Mosshart of The Kills, Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age, and Jack Lawrence of the Raconteurs, the group has combined their unequivocal talents to create a monster of an album, Sea of Cowards, released May 11 by Third Man Records. Although the album consists of 11 tracks, it's relatively short. The tracks average about 3 minutes and the album itself is only about 35 minutes long. But it's so jam-packed with different styles and funky riffs that it's easy to listen to ...
The Speedbumps By E.M. Serensky When people think of speed bumps they think of having to slow down. However, for the Kent band The Speedbumps, this couldn't be further from the truth. On June 11th, they are hosting a CD release party at the Kent Stage. Who are they and what does this entail? Read on. Erik Urycki is the founder, guitarist, and lead singer of The Speedbumps. He founded the band in the summer of 2003. He headed east with a friend and ended up in Boston, sleeping on couches along the way. "It was my first taste of being poor and on the road. I loved it," says Urycki. ...
By D. Beall Standing outside the Beachland Tavern, I run into Andy Anderson the Fourth from Austin Texas’ own White Rhino on the sidewalk. He’s long-haired, lanky, leather jacket clad and younger than I’d imagined. They’re on a five week tour, and they’ve come from Dayton; it was the East Village in New York City the night before that. It’s Detroit tomorrow, but tonight it’s Cleveland, and Anderson IV is enthusiastic. This is the band’s first time in Cleveland. After rave reviews at SXSW, the band has gone on tour with a new three song EP called Heroin Thunder. “We...
It all began when Simeon’s vocalist, guitarist and pianist Aaron Brooks split from former pop-punk band Trendy in late 2007. The departure marked a change in the musician’s tastes and ultimately led him to the other members to create the psychedelic, cello-infused stylings of Simeon. “I think it was just a matter of the right timing, like everybody having everything together at the right time,” Aaron says. “The stars aligning, as they say.” Now that the band has everything together, touring isn’t even an option. “We figured out that the best way we can get our musi...
By Anthony Cirincione The garage filled with Mom and Dad’s boxes of old knick knacks surround the band practicing, waiting until they get that chance to come out with their own CD. Childhood friends now trying to make cohesive music together to form an original sound is what is on the table. This is where Barberton’s The Woovs got their start and they have never looked back. The band actually started in peculiar way. Adam Lengyel, the lead singer, used to sing to keyboardist Bryan Delauder’s beats he used to make while at parties. Delauder said it all started “One nig...
Nonesuch Records Blues/Folk Dan Auerbach may have garnered attention as the guitarist/vocalist for the blues-rock dup The Black Keys, but on “Keep It Hid,” Auerbach goes it alone. While I’d never intentionally piss off the Keys fans by suggesting that Auerbach go solo, I will say if he can find a way to do both, he should. The greatest strength of “Keep it Hid” is Auerbach’s voice and his ability to pair lyrics with the right music. On paper the lyrics seem to be just words, and the music sounds simple. However, when you add Auerbach to the equation, he is able to transform the...
