“Hardcore Punk” and “Muslims” are the least likely words you would ever find combined together, but The Taqwacores, the debut film from Cleveland native Eyad Zahra, is just that. The term taqwacore comes from the the Islamic word for piety or devotion (taqwa) and hardcore (core). Together they have spawned an entire punk rock movement. Based on the cult classic novel by Michael Muhammad Knight, the film chronicles a year in the life of an engineering student in Buffalo whose family is from Pakistan named Yusef and his interaction with a group of unlikely Muslims punk rockers he ha...
To commemorate The Ramones Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Grammy Awards, three acclaimed Cleveland establishment's have join forces to celebrate the occasion. On Saturday, February 19th, Happy Dog (in the Gordon Square district of Cleveland) will kick things off with Ramonesmania, the first of what organizer Jim Lanza hopes to be an annual evening of Ramones tribute performances. The line up includes The Pinheads (featuring CJ Gunn, who played with Markey Ramone), The Giggitys, Missle Toe and Violent Suburban Marriage. A $5 dollar cover will be charged at the doors as things get und...
Veteran punk rocker Joe Queer has made a career out of doing things his way, Sinatra style. Luckily for us, he hasn’t changed a bit, as he demonstrates with The Queers’s new album, Back to the Basement. Speaking tersely, and punctuating nearly everything with an expletive or four, he’s at the beginning of his new tour and things are looking positive. “We’re three for three so far.” he says optimistically—or cynically, I can’t tell. The Queers, often described as “Ramones-core”, formed in New Hampshire in ‘82. The band played intermittently throughout the ...
On the surface, this band may seem immature and obnoxious, but underneath—well, that’s really what you get with these guys. The Giggitys’ new EP, Goo, introduces new listeners to one of the most experienced bands in the Akron hard-rock scene. Originally known as the Nimrods, guitarists/singers Ric Nimrod and Dan Halen and bassist Davey Rocket renamed themselves after the addition of new drummer Brett Moses. Despite the minor personnel change, the Giggitys are still doing what they’ve always done best—placing their feet shoulder-width apart, turning the amps up to 10 and...
Just when you think you’ve got Welcome to Low figured out, Akron band The Hipnauts switches it up, almost daring you to switch songs before one is finished. Even the title is misleading—the album inspires anything but a low feeling in the listener. From beginning to end, it takes you on a topsy-turvy ride of sound, with a blend of genres ranging from touches of punk, techno, and rock ‘n’ roll to indie and electronica. What’s even more impressive is The Hipnauts’ ability to retain cohesiveness in an album where every song evokes a different mood. Starting the al...
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...
How did youth rise above the bad reputations beset on the cities of Akron and Kent in the 70s? Ask anyone still around who was part of the burgeoning punk/new wave scene that found it's way into Akron and Kent more than a quarter of a century ago and the answer will always be - original music and a place to play it. While Kent was still reeling from the Kent State shootings that marred its campus and Akron’s rubber companies were on a one way trip out of town, finding cheaper labor in Mexico, a fledgling music movement began to take hold in these NE Ohio towns which wo...
Cleveland's Lords of the Highway will share their sleazy, bawdy, rockabilly chops to Annabell's this Friday. They will be performing with Alleycasters, with their own brand of rock/punk/psychobilly and Devil Strip, featuring members of Dropgun and Road of Sin. The Lords of the Highway have been bringing their high-energy performances to the area for about 18 years, encapsulating what a punk-hillbilly rock band should be: loud, crazy, raunchy and ready to party. Its members (on the latest album Die, Monster, Die) are Dennis Bell on lead guitar/vocals, Joey Hissem on drums and "Sugar"...
It was a night of glam and slam on stage this past Wednesday as two of punk rock’s founding fathers showcased their new creation, Batusis, at the Beachland Ballroom. Despite the deaths of Dolls greats Arthur Killer Kane and Johnny Thunders, and the Dead Boys’ Stiv Bators, the surviving leaders of those two bands are more than alive and kicking as they paid homage to their fallen comrades. Legendary Dead Boys guitarist Cheetah Chrome and New York Dolls guitarist Sylvain Sylvain showed why they are still rocking three-plus decades later. The two were joined by onetime Cult drummer Lez W...
Vel Meow Fool! Recently, I had the good fortune of catching Cleveland’s Vel at Annabell’s. After the thirty minutes of awesomeness that was his set, I had the even greater fortune to be given a copy of his CD, Meow, Fool!, by the man himself. Err, I mean cat…he only takes human form for recording and live performances. And who knew cats could make music this spectacular? From the TV on the Radio-esque vibe of “Moonlight” to the midtempo funk of “I Got That Urge”, Meow, Fool!’s twelve tracks cover a range of genres…as well as a range of off-the-wall topics. The fuzzy p...
ujJpJGL-ps8 By Julia Kazar Last Friday night, Davey Porter and the Young Republicans, The Giggitys, and local legends CD Truth rocked Annabell's in Akron. The night began with Davey Porter and the Young Republicans, a right wing punk rock activist band. The idea behind the band came about as a sort of reversal of the punk politics of the Reagan era. Now that a Democrat is in office though, it didn’t make sense for these punks to rebel against a party that wasn’t in power, so instead they decided to speak out against President Barack Obama and company. To enjoy this music don...
White Drugs Records Punk Rock The sharp, stabbing psycho looping guitars on The Bronx’s “III” album opener, “Knifeman” would have Alfred Hitchcock and 1984’s George Orwell smiling. With lyrics that pierce deep into the monotonous machine and a building of suspenseful intensity are harnessed by an unforgiving chorus. That’s track one, and we’re just getting started. Lead singer Matt Caughthran has a delivery that is shockingly forceful yet melodically appeasing. This is punk rock, not punk-lite. “Past Lives” carries the same ambulence urgency: drums for a steady heartbea...
