How just two musicians from Canton could create a six-song debut that sounds bigger than the sum of its parts is a little mind boggling. But We Are Public Radio have done it. In just a half-dozen tracks, singer-songwriter Andy Dolson and guitarist Patrick Boyle have created a polished album worthy of praise. The debut's quality boils down to heartfelt songwriting, contemporary melodic instrumentation and the crisp production value of Matt Goldman, a favorite amongst indie musicians. As a whole, We Are Public Radio's new release sounds a little like a mesh of David Gray, The Wallflowers and Lan...
When Jerry Garcia died 17 years ago, after what would go down in history as The Grateful Dead's final show, the band's faithful following of “Deadheads” splintered — some jumping onto the bandwagons (pun intended) of up-and-coming jambands like Vermont's Phish and Georgia's Widespread Panic, and some trading their tie-dyes for neckties to go from Deadheads to yuppies. Some Deadheads remained on the never- ending Dead tour, however, by following the various remnant bands, such as rhythm guitarist Bob Weir's Ratdog and bassist Phil Lesh's Phil and Friends, as well as remnant supergroups...
Tracey Thomas is a bit of a rarity in the music business. She recently celebrated 30 years of making music throughout Northeast Ohio and released two albums at the same time: “Queen of Nothing” and “Ghosts In The Woodwork: The Best of Tracey Thomas.” In the '80s, as the lead singer of Unit 5, Thomas found herself in the heart of the Akron new wave and punk scenes. Today, she is a folk-pop singer/ songwriter with seven albums under her belt. Along the way she’s shared the stage with everyone from Judy Collins and Black Flag, to Melanie and The Black Keys. Buzzbin Magazine: In the e...
Cleveland singer-songwriter Alan Brooks is a storyteller for those small, seemingly meaningless moments between the bigger ones. On his 4-track EP, “Getting from A to B,” Brooks soulfully illustrates glimpses of everyday life, like the small talk while waiting for a train, the simple exchange of a phone number and looking up at the city lights on the walk to an important place. He gives purpose to these fragments of memories with tender but bright arrangements and vocals. Brooks' voice sounds like John Legend through a Corinne Bailey Rae filter with smooth, laid back melodies that ...
Band Name: Elias and the Error Show Date: June 16th Show Place: The Auricle (Canton, OH) Find us on the web at: http://www.eliasandtheerror.com/ and of course we have a Facebook page. My band will remind you of: Devo, Mindless Self Indulgence, and all the awkward things you did in high school that you hope nobody remembers How did this band come about? I spent a lot of time as a singer/songwriter/keyboard player in various projects around Canton/Massillon, but I'm very mercurial when it comes to my goals and desires as an artist. Some nights, I would wear make-up so thick even d...
In an old Nashville house transformed into a recording studio, Ryan Humbert and an eight-piece band geared up to record a stunning 18 songs in four days. The result: a heart-driven pop rock album infused with Americana, highlighting the trials and tribulations of human relationships. “Sometimes The Game Plays You” is an observation on how people interact in love and loss, but it’s not all heartbreak. “The last two songs,” Humbert pointed out, “they remind you that you’ll get through all the hard times and come out the other side a stronger person.” The music embodies the...
This year marks the 5th Anniversary of the tour, which was birthed from the rich folk tradition of giving and openess and propelled by an innate need to tell a story in its naked acoustic state. The lineup for Cleveland features folk troubadour Chuck Ragan, Dan Andriano (Alkaline Trio, The Emergency Room), renowned singer/songwriter Nathaniel Rateliff, and Cory Branan in stripped down acoustic form backed by Jon Gaunt on the fiddle and Joe Ginsberg on upright bass. The Revival Tour was founded by Chuck Ragan and his wife Jill, who also organize this annual national & international folk/ame...
Cleveland Singer-Songwriter Leverages Relationship with Fans to Raise Completion Funds For New Vinyl Release Local singer/songwriter David Ullman has spent the last 10 months—along with all his cash and credit—recording a new album; and, like many independent artists of late, Ullman is looking to his audience for help financing his project through “Crowdfunding.” “It’s been a long and winding road,” Ullman says in the pitch-video you can watch at www.davidullman.net. “Unfortunately, I’ve run out of gas, and this is where you come in. We need to raise $5,000 in (60 days) t...
Cleveland Singer-Songwriter Leverages Relationship with Fans to Raise Completion Funds For New Vinyl Release Local singer/songwriter David Ullman has spent the last 10 months—along with all his cash and credit—recording a new album; and, like many independent artists of late, Ullman is looking to his audience for help financing his project through “Crowdfunding.” “It’s been a long and winding road,” Ullman says in the pitch-video you can watch at www.davidullman.net. “Unfortunately, I’ve run out of gas, and this is where you come in. We need to raise $5,000 in (60 days) t...
Mondays - Akron - Acoustix Cafe For this month’s open-mic spotlight your faithful Buzzbin correspondent visited the Acoustix Café in the Ellet neighborhood of Akron. Open since October 1, this new venue serves up live music six nights a week, as well as food, beer and liquor. Colin John, “The Transpacific Bluesman,” hosts the open-mic every Monday. Signup starts around 6:30 p.m. for performance slots of three songs each. At 7:00 p.m. John warms the stage up with his own set, and the music continues until 11 p.m. “With Colin, and the musicians he attracts, the level of musicianship...
Bobby Vaughn, singer/songwriter for The Promise Hero, has teamed up with brother Justin Vaughn for the first time since their previous band together, The Honor Role, disbanded in 2005. The new project, "Break Routine," features the brothers sharing vocal duties with Bobby on guitar. They debuted their new E.P. (which was given away for free) at their show with Smoking Popes Dec. 28th at the Grog Shop, where they performed the songs full band assisted by drummer Dan Malone (Full Time Ghost) and bassist Will Farmer (The Universe And Me). You can stream and download the semi-acoustic "Seduc...
January 6 - Kent - Kent Stage Come see country-folk singer/songwriter Iris DeMent when she leaves the winter warmth of her native Arizona to come warm up our winter here in Ohio. Tickets on-sale NOW at www.kentstage.org 888-718-4253 and at The Kent Stage box-office. Tickets are $25.50 adv/$28.50 door plus applicable fees. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Kent Stage is located at 175 East Main Street in downtown Kent, Ohio. There is FREE parking behind the theater and on all city streets. Disregard the 2-hour parking signs after 6pm. Tickets are availabl...
December 31 - Cleveland - The Winchester Music Hall The Boston-area folk music scene is a vibrant one, boasting a variety of diverse artists. But if pressed to name the region's defining musician, it would have to be singer-songwriter Catie Curtis, who has called it home for nearly all of her twenty-year music career. Curtis has toured extensively, playing a number of diverse venues ranging from Chicago's legendary Old Town School of Folk Music to the White House. She's also spent that time writing and testing out new material, developing a collection of masterfully written lyrics that ser...
November 19 - Cleveland - Barking Spider Tavern There have been countless musical artists that have been influenced by Bruce Springsteen, but few that do include The Boss in their list of influences can actually boast having worked with the man. Pittsburgh singer, songwriter and guitarist Bill Toms can do just that, as Toms’ former band (of which he was lead guitarist for two decades), Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers, had Springsteen produce their signature American Babylon album. But Toms, who has been honing his songwriting craft in the past decade and has released a handful of sol...
November 19 - Canton - The Auricle Woods is a Knoxville singer/songwriter who spends most of his time on the road. “A lot of my songs are very much based in classic country music, while others are grounded in straightforward, greasy rock n' roll, “ Woods said. In April, Woods released “The Matt Woods Manifesto” and spent the summer touring the country and writing new material. Unfortunately, he missed his gig at Buzzbin's Brewed Roots Festival after brutally breaking his finger (see his facebook page for the video). This show marks Woods' first show back in Canton since the injury. Hi...
In the current musical landscape genre is everything. It defines not just a band's music, but also an attitude and a way of life in some cases. Yet, this seems to have reached a baroque pitch, as bands and artists are more concerned with image and public identity and less about the music. At times it seems that sense has lost value in the struggle for the all mighty dollar. However, true artists persevere and continue to make music that is impossible to define, though not out of a desire to be different. These songsmiths forge down the unbeaten path with a vision onto themselves. It's a tou...
November 10 - Canton - The Auricle Do you remember when the music you listened to was sung by people that had voices you actually wanted to listen to? I do, and Breaking Laces' singer/songwriter Willem Hartong delivers that and much more. Breaking Laces, along with Husbands & Wives and Across The Viaduct, will be swinging through The Auricle on November 10. Tickets are $5 (+$2 under 21), so it's so cheap it wouldn't make sense to stay home! 10.30.2011 EMERALD LOUNGE ASHEVILLE, NC 10.31.2011 EDDIES ATTIC DECATUR, GA 11.01.2011 EDDIES ATTIC DECATUR, GA 11.02.2011 THE NICK BIRMI...
November 5 - Youngstown - Cedar's Lounge On November 5, pop-rockers Dolson will be sliding through Cedar's Lounge with After Z, calleBand and Woodson. Tickets are just a five dollar bill. As a teenager, singer/songwriter Andy Dolson was breaking the strings on his family’s Wurlitzer spinet piano writing pop songs reminiscent of a modern Jackson Brown. These songs ended up landing the young musician some pretty high profile solo gigs and some local radio-play. The culmination of the latter, along with a growing fan base attracted the attention of some of Northeast Ohio’s most respected mu...
Superhero is the name of Candye's original song and the title of her latest CD for Los Angeles based label, Delta Groove records. It is also an apt description of the jump blues singer, songwriter and mother from East Los Angeles who has earned this moniker the hard way. Nominated for four National Blues Foundation Awards (including Best Contemporary Blues Female 2011), Kane presents a colorful mixture of the traditional and the eclectic. She cut her musical teeth in the early 80’s onstage with Hollywood musicians and friends, Social Distortion, Dwight Yoakum, Dave Alvin, The Blasters, X...
Dark, Dark, Dark unabashedly labels themselves in the chamber folk genre, something they may have invented, according to banjo and clarinet player Marshall LaCount. Their songs feature banjos and accordions that mingle with clarinets and guitars creating a melancholy sound that paints the picture of gray, drizzled dawns on a run down farm. The band didn't start off with a soft sound, quite the contrary. LaCount explains that they initially started playing on the street, which caused them to play louder and faster then they originally intended. Though this has worked in the bands favor as th...
