Show to See: Thursday, Oct. 27 – Nicky English at Grog Shop

Rocker Nicky English will play at Grog Shop on Thursday, October 27, with TS & The Past Haunts (featuring Travis Shettel of Piebald), Aficionado and ME before he migrates southwest from the cold, coming winter to make Southern California his new home.

The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10, purchase in advance here.

The former Posh Army frontman recorded a Live From Bad Racket session earlier this year. Watch Nicky English and band perform "Call You Back."

Live From Bad Racket is an award-winning series produced by Aaron Freeder. 

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.

Kent State Folk Festival: Failed coverage (almost)

Written by Ty Kellogg

When I originally agreed to cover some of the Kent State Folk Festival ‘Round Town activity, I envisioned running amuck in downtown Kent, hopping from coffee shop to coffee shop, bar to bar, shaking hands and talking music with the people who are responsible for the craft the festival celebrates. However, this didn’t happen. 

David Ullman
© Lesley.anne.k photo | design

I rolled into Kent from the northwest area of Columbus, hitting town about around 8:30 p.m. and running on fumes after a work trip. I parked my car and met up with a gal that I haven’t seen in years, and we proceeded to strike the town in our effort to encompass the folk festival feeling. 

Our first stop was Scribbles, an independently-owned coffee shop on Water Street. Playing that evening was David Ullman, a furrow-browed, sweatin’, sad bastard of a singer-songwriter who has played the Kent-Akron-Cleveland circuit for years. To listen to Ullman, one must have an attuned ear because Ullman is a very intelligent songwriter who is willing to experiment, as shown by his use of a loop pedal and electric bass. But don’t let his shy and polite demeanor fool you;  he can go from a sweet whisper to a lion-like roar in a matter of seconds. 

The room was hot and steam was rising on the windows during the comfortably brisk September evening. The bodies were packed like sardines. People in chairs were sitting on each other’s laps and sitting on the floor, against the wall and behind the counter. When someone left the room, there was an instant rush to fill the seat, and then two more people would emerge to lean against the wall I leaned upon. My date and I left the room as Ullman orchestrated the crowd into his frenzied sing-a-long, “Mulletman.”

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?”

IndieBOX live concert: The Chuck Shaffer Picture Show at Musica

IndieBOX released video of The Chuck Shaffer Picture Show's last Northeast Ohio performance on Blip.tv. If you missed the CSPS set at Musica in Akron on July 22, watch it in this 18-minute video.

The band played several songs off its pending release, an EP called Protect Your Silence, as well as popular songs off For Your Eyes Only, including "Spinning" and the instrumental fan favorite "Mercury."

The modern rock band from Harrisonburg, Va. made its Northeast Ohio debut in April 2010 when it performed at the FTF Music Conference and Showcase in Kent alongside local artists Winslow, Maid Myriad, Sean Benjamin and Vitium. 


The overwhelming fan response compelled the band to return to the Cleveland area last July to take the stage with local new wave metal band 3SO at Peabody’s Concert Club. 

Since it’s inception, the band’s aggressive, energetic stage presence earned this alternative-rock-inspired three-piece group tour slots with national acts including Papa Roach, CKY, Hawthorne Heights, Civil Twilight and Boombox, among many others.

The band has endured an extensive summer tour with stops in Columbus, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; Jacksonville, N.C.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Marietta, Ga.; and multiple cities in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Tennessee and Virginia.

About CSPS

Ryan Johnson (vocals), David Stiefel (bass) and Pat Kenney (drums) formed the three-piece band at James Madison University in 2009. The trio released their first album, For Your Eyes Only, the same year. More information about The Chuck Shaffer Picture Show can be found on the band’s website, www.cspsband.com, as well as Facebook and ReverbNation.


UPDATE 8/14 – CSPS releases Protect Your Silence EP. 

Video produced by Todd Volkmer and Erin Ludlam
© 2011 Wasted Talent Media

Video: Humble Home plays Musica with Adam Arcuragi, Cameron McGill

Humble Home played Musica in Akron April 26 alongside internationally touring act The Lupine Chorale Society Under the Direction of Adam Arcuragi and Chicago-original Cameron McGill and What Army.

The show was a jubilee of fine American indie-folk, pulling in a good-sized crowd for an early weeknight performance. Each artists’ songs addressed variations of human emotion on stage; off stage there was an air of camaraderie and excitement to be joined for the occasion. 

If you missed the show, check out this 13-minute video for a taste of the night. Starting with Adam Arcuragi's Springsteen-esque energy and vocals as the band performs "Broken Throat," the video transitions into Humble Home intoning "Wallpaper" and ends with a solemn acoustic performance by Cameron McGill.

Editor’s note: The Lupine Chorale Society Under the Direction of Adam Arcuragi commonly also goes by Adam Arcuragi & The Lupine Chorale Society.

Article written by Priscilla Tasker, editor and creator of The Rhythm Report
Video filmed and edited by Priscilla Tasker, De los angeles Productions

Review: The Only Man - Lydia Loveless

Lydia Loveless' album, The Only Man, released under the Columbus, Ohio-based Peloton Records label in February 2010, is a country music revival. I mean, real country -- traditional American tunes born in honky-tonks and rooted in folk fables and quilted farmlands.

The Only Man is a promiscuous, dark-humored diary of lost love, bourbon whiskey binges and revenge. Amidst today's neo-country-pop craze, Loveless boldly breaks out with this 33-minute roots-country medley of self-written originals.

Traditional country music of this caliber is not an easy sell in mainstream markets but this 10-song compilation is a loaded gun, and this songstress is ready to take a pinpoint shot at the country crown. Loveless is coming up as a strong contender against the genre's finest, even the "Queen of Country" herself, Kitty Wells, and she's only 20 years old.

Recommended tracks: "The Only Man" and "Paid"

Find more artists like Lydia Loveless at Myspace Music

Editor's note: Loveless signed with Bloodshot Records in 2011.

Read about Loveless' recent performance at The Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, in this article: The Conductor, Oldboy roused fans at The Grog Shop

Article written by Priscilla Tasker, editor and creator of The Rhythm Report