White Cadillac establishes itself as hard rock/metal force to be reckoned with By Mark Stevens “The greatest band alive. Ever.” That’s how B.J. Lisko ends an interview about White Cadillac. He laughs after he says it. Of course he doesn’t mean it. Then again … “Nobody makes a racket like we do on stage,” he said earlier in the interview. “It sounds arrogant, but I think we’re in a class by ourselves when it comes to that. But you should be confident about your band. “If you’re not confident, why bother? That’s kind of what rock ‘n’ roll is al...
Cover Story Photo: Cleveland Browns - John H. Reid III Mediocre play and vanilla game planning contributed to the Browns 31 to 13 loss to the Tennessee Titans yesterday at Cleveland Browns Stadium. After coming off a fourth quarter come back victory against the Miami Dolphins last week, the team gained a bit of swagger and confidence. Unfortunately, these attitudes didn't affect their performance. The ragged receiving corp showed their true colors again with dropped balls on what should have been easy catches. Also adding to this trend was running back Montario Hardesty, who racked up fou...
Danko Jones B-Sides Danko Jones has carved out a sound and image quite unique in his 15 years in the biz. He’s streamlined it, in essence, to the point that he’s pretty instantly recognizable with the strum of a few chords, or in most cases, an opening line to one of his countless relationship sermons. But “B-Sides” shows just how he got there. Sure, of the 27 (!) tracks in all here, about half of them could comprise another unmistakable Danko record. One could even could argue that the best cuts of “B-Sides” would be his strongest record to date. But aside from the unmistakable ...
Johnie 3 Sex Bomb Johnie 3 has always affixed with the Ramones label, when really that has never been the case. The band has always had a Chixdiggit swagger to it, and while a lot of the band’s material is certainly pop-punk, “Sex Bomb” sees the group going harder and faster than ever before. The title track is the best song the band has ever done. The hook is fantastic, the guitars and drums slam - it’s straight punk ‘n’ roll. They chop up hardcore punk efforts like “BMF” and “Movin Up” with their staple Chixdiggit//Screeching Weasel sound in “Little Heartbreaker” an...
New Madrid is a town in Missouri, and it’s also the name of one of the most active fault lines in the world — one that shifts every 200 years or so. Last time it shifted, it made the Mississippi River run backwards. Oh, and that was in 1812. New Madrid is also the name of one of the noisiest, most poetic, most gloriously dangerous rock outfits in Tennessee. Started by Missouri boyhood friends Andrew Dietz (vocals and guitar) and Shea Langer (bass) and later adding Blake Loftis on drums, this band is as reckless as they are rocking. On any given night they might be so drunk they can bare...
Husband-and-wife duo Stacy Earle and Mark Stuart will be bringing some Tennessee charm to Wilbert’s. Stacy is Steve Earle’s little sister and, though she doesn’t have his boozy swagger, she and her husband Mark write songs that are the diaries of their lives, good times and bad. Bring some cry-in-your-beer money — ’cause you’re gonna need it. March 18th at Wilberts in Cleveland ...
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...
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...
Young and old were smiling when Irish Punk band Flogging Molly came to town at the Cleveland House of Blues, March 5. Though St. Patrick’s Day is still a few weeks away this crowd was ready to get down with their inner shamrock. The LA seven-piece hit the stage before a sold-out crowd. The throngs responded by dancing and singing along to tunes of their favorite Celtic Punk sons and daughter, who were in town on the final leg of their Green 17 American tour. An Irish sea of fans replete in black and green t-shirts, caps on their heads and Guinness in their hands cheered and chant...
Though I can’t say anything extremely bad about Obits’ new album I Blame You, I cant’ say anything extremely good about it either. Single note guitar lines jingle over hushed drumbeats to create alt-rock nostalgic for the 60’s era British invasion bands. Walking bass lines tie everything together over the urgently strummed chords and occasionally the beat picks up, looping riffs ring out giving the band a surf rock feel. Anthemic vocals are shouted into the mic with more swagger than John Wayne taking out a hostile group of Comanches. If you’re looking for a band that doesn’t do an...
