The Rhythm Report looks back on year of growth, success

It's been an incredible year for The Rhythm Report. I started this blog in 2010, but the hard push to get this site up and running came in early 2011. Countless shows and 87 posts later, I'm looking back on a year of growth and success. Thank you to the musicians, readers and supporters that have helped make this publication what it has become. 


A special thanks goes out to Todd Volkmer and Erin Ludlam of Wasted Talent Media, for providing the Indie Box Live Concert series, and to contributing writers Ty Kellogg and Bryan Pauley. [Kellogg wrote United we stand: Tom Evanchuck, Red Wanting Blue and Kent State Folk Festival: Failed coverage (almost); Pauly wrote Concert review: Energy ebbs, flows at Interpol show]


I'm looking forward to the new opportunities 2012 will bring. Here are two lists to wrap up the year: the most-read articles of 2011 and a few editor's faves.


Most-read articles of 2011

1. There is no music scene here — Nov. 6
2. Monday Muse: "Babel" Humble Home — Nov. 14
3. The Floorwalkers' DIY approach spurs grassroots growth — July 18
4. Last-minute music fest takes Rock Hall, Science Center — Aug. 2
5. Tom Evanchuck strikes a chord with three new records — May 23
6. Review: The Only Man - Lydia Loveless — March 17
7. Local artist Rob Geer's last show at Grog Shop signals new life out West — Sept. 29
8. New album: Rob Geer releases Find Your Way Home on Bandcamp — Dec. 28
9. Good vibes emanate at Painesville Party in the Park — July 21
10. A Rhythm Report film – The Great Unsaid: Documented — Oct. 23
11. I would have liked to include an eleventh headline. Unfortunately, Blogger's subpar analytics would not allow me to dig that deep to find out which article would have made it. Blast it! Goal for next year: New site platform with stellar analytic capabilities! 

Editor's faves
These articles did not make the cut for being most read, but they are a few that I think have added value to The Rhythm Report in the past 12 months. (Note: The following headlines are listed by date, not priority.)

• The Lighthouse and The Whaler celebrates the season, ushers in 2012 with career, fan focus — Dec. 20
• From the back of the Beachland: Bethesda talks licensing, plans for new album — Nov. 30
• Live, local music is at heart of Bad Racket anniversary show — Oct. 25
• Bad Racket Anniversary Show! Full interview with Thomas Fox and Adam Wagner — Oct. 21
• "TOM" beyond the Evanchuck: An interview with The Old Money — Oct. 9
• Concert Review: Saturday at The Auricle with The Singular, Vinny Vegas — Sept. 12
• Top-charted Vitium talks about recording new EP — July 10
• Audio interview: Winslow's Maurice Martin talks about recording with Grammy award-winning producer, summer tour and more — May 8
• Interview: DJ David Beans debuts at Ballantine — April 4
• Cellar Door Records release: The sign of a new era for NEOhio music — March 25

Final success of 2011: Hitting 10,000 blog views for the year! It hasn't happened quite yet as I prepare to publish this article, but I'm looking at a beautiful number: 9,999. If you're reading this, you've helped me hit or surpass my goal. Thank you.

Holiday Spectacular Shows: Music Fills The Night in Northeast Ohio

Folks are home for the holidays and Northeast Ohio musicians and venues from Cleveland, Akron and Canton are celebrating. Here is the event list for the night.

Kent – The Speedbumps Christmas Fun Time Show

8 p.m. - The Kent Stage 

Painesville – The Carsons Holiday Party and Reunion Show

7 p.m. - Scores Fun Center 

Akron – David Ullman Album Fundraiser with Enormity and Bushman

8 p.m. - Musica 

Lakewood – A Very Acoustic Christmas with Tom Evanchuck and Cool Jason

9:30 p.m. - Merry Arts Pub 

Lakewood – Pilgrim and Echo Canyon Players in Concert

9 p.m. - The Winchester Music Hall 

Canton – !Dance Night! 

11 p.m. - The Auricle Venue

Event: The Lighthouse and The Whaler at Musica Friday, December 16

The Lighthouse and The Whaler is set to perform at the Square Records & Music Saves Holiday Get Down with The May Company, Dunes and Total Babes on Friday, December 16, at Musica in Akron. 


The five fellows that comprise TLATW have engaged fans with "Get To Know The Band Month," giving devout followers of their nimble-noted music a glimpse into each gentleman's life. Read autobiographical commentaries from Mike and Matt LoPresti, Mark Porostosky, Steven Diaz and Aaron Smith on http://thelighthouseandthewhaler.tumblr.com/.


If The Lighthouse and The Whaler hasn't found its way onto your playlist yet, the band shares free downloads of several songs, including tracks from its Daytrotter session, on Facebook.

Event

Square Records & Music Saves 

Holiday Get Down

featuring

The Lighthouse and The Whaler

The May Company

Dunes

Total Babes

Friday, December 16 – 9:30 p.m.

Buy tickets here

$5


Musica
51 East Market Street
Akron, Ohio 44306

From the Back of the Beachland: Bethesda talks licensing, plans for new album

Written by Priscilla Tasker

I caught up with Shanna Delaney and Eric Ling of Bethesda at a recent show at The Beachland Tavern in November to talk about the band’s successful year. They shared exciting news about the licensing deals they signed with a few global television networks and what the next few months hold for the band. 

The group is finishing up some local shows before taking a two-month hiatus to write a new full-length album to follow up the EP the band released earlier this year; and they are planning tour dates in Chicago and Indiana in January. 

“We just came out with our EP, Dream Tiger & Other Tails, a couple of months ago, and we’re itching to write. So, we have a lot of songs in us, and we have several we’re going to write over the winter months,” Delaney said.

Dream Tiger launched in May with a radio and television campaign. The TV push landed Bethesda 13 contracts, slating the band for 13 shows on MTV, VH1, E! and Showtime, among others. 

“That was actually when we were on tour in June when we got that news – and we were really excited,” Delaney said.

Keeping Up with the Kardashians and The Real World are just two shows on which the band is signed to be featured. Ling laughed as he said they are wondering how the network plans to fit their songs into a show like the Kardashians.

“And, then, just this fall, we were one of six bands shopped for our PR company to the Discovery Network, which has 30 plus shows,” Delaney continued. 

The contract will allow Discovery Network to use any song or section of a song off the album. Bethesda may not be paid out for a couple of years and won’t know when or how the songs will be used because, with the volume of bands large networks contract for music, there are too many artists to email individually when a song is featured in a show. 

“They can do just instrumental or just vocals. They pretty much have complete control over what songs they want to use, but they have the whole five-song EP,” Ling said.

Delaney giggled that they just want to know when they’re on so they can watch – just once!

“We can’t Tivo all the shows, you know. So hopefully someone will call us,” Ling said.

To build on the success of 2011, the band is already looking forward to a new year, completing a new full-length album and a tour stop in Austin to play SXSW Music Festival in March 2012. 

Fans can catch this pipe-dream posse at the Rowdy Indie Craft Fair this Sunday, December 4, before they delve into a studio spell. Bethesda will be performing with Comfort Clouds and ShiSho at Studio 526 in Akron at 7 p.m. 

Follow the band on Facebook, Twitter or www.bethesdaband.com for more information.

There is No Music Scene Here

Written by Priscilla Tasker

I was always one of those kids growing up who lived on pop music. Sure, I had friends who played in bands – which was cool – but I never gave them much credit for what they created. Let's face it. Most teenage bands flat out suck. In my mind, at the time, they never could have lived up to the artists and bands with radio airplay and music videos on MTV. Sound familiar to you? A lot people can admit they've written off the talent of friends based on the fact that they're only playing in basements and at a local level. 


Here's the thing. Those kids grow up. They hone their talents, and what they create may be extraordinary. You only have to listen, see and experience it. 


Yet, it is that mentality – if something is not appealing to the masses, it must be mediocre – that plagues local music and arts scenes. The Northeast Ohio music scenes are beset by this stigma. I've heard it, and I'm sure you have as well. "There is no music scene in [Cleveland, Akron, or insert your city name here]."


The truth of the matter is, there is a scene and great things are happening in it. If you don't know, you're simply not in it.

Ohio produces big name acts

In recent years, the nation and the world has seen acts like The Black Keys, Machine Gun Kelly (MGK) and Jessica Lea Mayfield explode in popular culture. Where do you think they began? The Black Keys formed and started their music career in Akron. MGK came up in Cleveland. Jessica Lea Mayfield, if I recall correctly, still calls Kent home. 


In the past, artists like Macy Gray, Reliant K and Marilyn Manson cropped up out of Canton. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony started in Cleveland. Going back even further, Devo and Chrissie Hynde were Kent State University students. And, to throw it out there, although they're not from the northeast part of the state, John Legend hailed from Springfield and short-lived 90s pop sensation 98 Degrees was from Cincinnati. Out of those acts – love them or hate them – almost every person reading this article could attest to how each has impacted pop music and changed our world in some way.


I recently pointed this out to a friend who works in Los Angeles as we discussed my potential move out West. As I made the case for why I am dedicated to the music scene in Northeast Ohio, I reminded him of the numerous musicians who've originated in this great state. In response, he said to me the one thing most of them had in common was that their careers took off after they had left Ohio. This is true, but every one of them had small beginnings in some local scene. 


At the time when most of those groups or individuals "made it," an artist had to pursue a career in a major music hub to be heard. In today's tech-centric world, kids and adults who are still making music in their basements, living rooms or bedrooms can upload their tunes and videos to the Internet for the world to hear and see. Location barriers have been broken down. Just as I am reaching you from the sofa in my apartment to wherever you are, musicians have at the tips of their fingers the opportunity to amass a following through the Internet. The challenge many local musicians face is the lack of wider appreciation for the live shows they play in their home towns. It's disheartening. 

Artists build careers from NEOhio home base

In 2009, Cleveland-based hip hop band Vitium released "Never Looking Back" on the Goon Trax label in Japan. The single produced by re::plus hit No. 3 on the country's iTunes hip hop charts. You're probably asking yourself, "Who the hell is Vitium?" It's one of the many professional bands that can be seen playing in the Northeast Ohio area. Sadly, one of the last times I saw this band play at Beachland Tavern, the venue was nearly empty.


Another terrific band on the bill that night was Winslow, a group which originated in Kent and is now based in Akron. Earlier this year, the soul-rock fusion ensemble recorded its latest single "Quarter Life" with Grammy-award winner Edwin "Tony" Nicholas. The song was released nationwide on a Sony RED promotional album. But you didn't know that, did you?


The Greater Cleveland and Akron areas have a plethora of artists who are making great music. Some of them are paving their way into the national and global scenes. Daytrotter took interest in The Lighthouse and The Whaler of Cleveland and recorded a session with the band in July. If you don't know Daytrotter, it is a music project in Rock City, Indiana that has recorded hundreds of live session with independent artists; a short list includes Death Cab for Cutie, Adam Arcuragi, Ingrid Michaelson, The National, OK GO, Scars on 45 and Tegan & Sara. In addition, this past October, The Lighthouse and The Whaler was a feature act at Paste & Rdio's Afternoon Delight party during the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City. 

Bethesda, another Kent-based band, signed a major licensing deal with Discovery Network, which operates in 187 countries. The band's music will be featured on more than 30 original shows on Discovery Channel, the Oprah Winfrey Network, Military Channel, Animal Planet and more.


Do you know what each of these bands have in common? 
They comprise a diverse representation of Ohio music and can frequently be seen in the "non-exsistent" Northeast Ohio music scene. There are plenty more from where they came, so support the local music in your home town. 


Come out to a show at Beachland Ballroom & Tavern, the Grog Shop, Happy Dog, The Winchester, Kent Stage, Musica, Auricle Venue or any other venue supporting the live, local music.


For God's sake, Cleveland is the home of The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Do you really think we're not making music here? Wake up!


And don't forget about the people and businesses behind these artists. Bad Racket Recording Studio, Cellar Door Records, Buzzbin Magazine and, of course, The Rhythm Report are among those that stand behind the scene to cultivate and capture the culture and art being created here and share it with you. Tune in. 

Hear the music

First Listen: The Black Keys "Lonely Boy"

In their typical jocose fashion, The Black Keys release a randomly awesome video for the first listen of "Lonely Boy," a new single off the new album, El Camino, due to launch on December 6.

TONIGHT: Revolution Brass Band @ Beachland, Tom Evanchuck and The Old Money @ Musica

Live Music Update — Thursday, October 20

Revolution Brass Band
The eight-piece brass ensemble will be performing its array of jazzy funk & blues instrumentals at The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern tonight. Revolution Brass Band executes with precision as the band plays its original compositions and cover arrangements. RBB will open for the jazz, soul group The Bo-Keys from Memphis.


Show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12.


Watch Revolution Brass Band perform "SuperdopalisciousRedClayMatthews," an original arrangement of Outkast's "SpottieOttieDopaliscious" and Freddy Hubbard's "Red Clay", in this Rhythm Report video from Great Lakes Burning River Festival 2011.




Tom Evanchuck and The Old Money
A musician originating from Chardon, Tom Evanchuck, will take the stage at Musica with the backing of his band, The Old Money, this Thursday. Evanchuck and crew is one more Northeast Ohio homegrown act that is bursting at the seams of opportunity. Catch the band in Akron before the TOM heads South for its first extended regional tour. The band is opening for Robin Electric.


Show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 advanced. Purchase here.


Read The Rhythm Report's recent interview with Tom Evanchuck and The Old Money.


Musica is located at 51 East Market Street, Akron, Ohio 44308.

New indie BOX episodes: Joseph Arthur and The Parson Red Heads

© Wasted Talent Media

Written by Priscilla Tasker

indie BOX Episode 11 features Akron native Joseph Arthur, whose musical career was launched at the hands of Harvey Schartz and Peter Gabriel when he signed on as Real World Records' first American artist in 1996. A dark, tangled image of phantasmic human beings reaching in lax desperation toward three crosses on a hill is a penitent backdrop to his nearly 22-minute set at Musica in Akron. With his back to the audience, Arthur shades the spaces around the forlorn faces black and grey, and recites the dusky, confessional verse of "I Miss The Zoo" before turning to face the crowd again. He follows with "I Donated Myself to the Mexican Army" at his mother's request.

Watch Arthur's full performance here. Get to know this Ohio-born artist in this Arts Quest interview.

indie BOX Episode 12 stars Portland, Oregon-based The Parson Red Heads, a wistful band whose sound wafts like the redolence of the Love Generation. Four-part vocal harmonies emulate the air of West Coast freedom as the band interweaves simple chord progressions and light percussion into danceable, insouciant songs.

Watch The Parson Red Head's full performance here. Read what Wasted Talent Media's Todd Volkmer had to say about the band's Musica performance on the Arts Quest blog.

Concert Review: Saturday at The Auricle with The Singular, Vinny Vegas

Since the launch of The Rhythm Report, I’ve covered a handful of artists from Greater Cleveland and Akron, as well as others who’ve passed through town. For the first time, Saturday night I delved into Canton’s rock scene, which found a new home at The Auricle on Cleveland Avenue NW in the city’s downtown Arts District. Here’s the run down on the four-band lineup, which included The Good 19, The Singular, Vinny Vegas and Air is Watching.

The Good 19

The Good 19 started the evening off with a short psuedo-punk-infused modern rock set, playing to less than 30 people. During “Please Believe Me,” a song frontman Brendan Quine said the band hadn’t played in while, The Good 19 broke out into an instrumental jam as Quine called out to the audience, “Everybody dance.” There was a slight air of awkwardness as a few people unsurely glanced around and began nervously rocking back and forth or side to side.  

While the early evening crowd was still cool, The Good 19 was a good warm-up act to jumpstart the kinetic energy. Many of their tunes incorporated mini-movements as the band experimented with a variety of tempos. The stop-and-go rhythm of “Wanderlust” was a case in point. Interestingly, the band’s live set is much heavier than the recorded tracks featured on its Facebook BandPage.  

The Singular

Next in the lineup, The Singular emerged transmuting the atmosphere with dreamy synth sounds produced by keyboardist Nichole Catalano-Miller. Lead vocalist and guitarist James Pequignot led the group in a clean startoff. However, throughout the set I found myself thinking the songs sounded replicated and forgettable. The odd thing is I liked what I heard. I don't disregard the band’s musicianship. Each member's ability to follow and play off one another without missing a beat was quite evident. It’s simply that upon first impression, I felt I’d heard it before and most of the songs lacked the kind of melody that sticks with you.

After a couple of up-tempo songs, Pequignot introduced a melancholy mood changer "Box," which he described as "a song about getting the shit beat out of you.” To Pequignot’s credit, he’s not shy to speak the thoughts on his mind lyrically or in between songs on stage. At one point, an audience member, likely a friend or acquaintance, cried out a mocking request for “Freebird” to which Pequignot lightheartedly responded, “No, no. Why have you done this?”

Music Video: The Manhattan Scene "Where Were You"

Despite filming in a sweltering print shop in +90-degree heat, these boys (and film crew) still rocked it out.


Cast: The Manhattan Scene
Brandon-Marshall Edmond – lead vocals
Matthew Augusta – lead guitar
Ryan Augusta – rhythm guitar
Dan Thompson – bass
Andy Moore – drums

Filmed at Live It Up print shop in Akron, Ohio, with the permission of owner Andy Moore (featured drummer in the music video).

Directed by Stephen Mlinarcik

Videographers: Terry Geer and Ralph Miller


The Manhattan Scene | Where Were You from Stephen Mlinarcik on Vimeo.


Post updated August 23, 2011
Originally posted August 6, 2011

Maid Myriad releases EP: A Fool's Delight

We've all experienced it. The feeling you get when you witness a performance so compelling that your mind and body pauses, almost involuntarily, to admire the brilliance of human ability. For a moment, one that feels like nothing and a million moments all at once, your breath is stolen away.

Breathtaking. That is precisely the word for last night’s show at Musica. Concert-goers at the venue in Akron, Ohio were treated to a cornucopia of creative talent for Maid Myriad’s EP release party on December 4. The night was a mash-up of Akron’s elite musical talent -- soul and R&B act Winslow, Simeon Soul Charger, Via Lotus and, of course, headliner Maid Myriad.

Maid Myriad is a visionary project based in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The band released its second extended play album, A Fool's Delight, the first part of three EP's to be released over the next year. The quartet features percussionist Kevin Klemm, bassist and violinist Alex Popovici, guitarist Gavin Cushman III and vocalist Jeffrey Christopher Klemm (JCK).

The first note out of JCK's mouth can silence a crowd to awe. It’s pure and crisp sound is one that is all too rare in rock and pop music. The band incorporates layers of powerful vocal harmony, stellar guitar, and musing violin in its songs on the new album. JCK described the album as having an accessible pop sound but one cannot discredit the band’s exceptional talent and noteworthy originality.

The group started the show off hot and heavy with recognizable tunes from their first album, Embrace, including the EP’s title song, and the hard-hitting fan favorite, "Mr. Bigshot." "What makes you better?" JCK taunted at one point during the latter song, initiating a call-and-response in which the crowd returned his call with another "What makes you better?" The opening numbers engaged the Saturday night show-hoppers, pumping them up for the nearly two-hour set that highlighted new songs like "Nevermore" and "Whirlwind.” The title track of the next album in the EP trilogy, "Whirlwind" is a heartfelt solo ballad during which JCK rested his guitar to tenderly play keys and sing a tranquil serenade.

Maid Myriad struck an emotional chord with the audience during “A boy and his dream" when JCK invited his youngest brother Andrew and girlfriend Tasha Adessi, lead vocalist for Via Lotus, on stage. Adessi played xylophone and adolescent Andrew read a short, thought-provoking poem written by his brother, Jeffrey. It was a touching moment, evoking sighs of endearment and cheers from the crowd. At the song’s end, JCK hugged the boy and gave him a loving kiss on his head.

The night was a medley of powerful sounds ended with an intimate unplugged acoustic set where the band stepped off stage to join the audience at ground level. Audience members gathered around the band, some sitting on the floor, as Maid Myriad showcased its members' talents in their most natural form of vocal harmonies, percussion and strings.

Maid Myriad is on The Rhythm Report’s hot list of artists to watch. Watch this exclusive interview with the band as they talk with Rhythm Reporter Priscilla Tasker about the direction of the album and their music. The band’s latest EP, A Fool’s Delight, is available as a free download at www.maidmyriad.com. Maid Myriad's next two albums Whirlwind and With haste on its breath are planned for release in 2011.

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Written by Priscilla Tasker