"We figured the whole B-HAS thing was done," says guitarist Anthony Dargaj. "No creative differences, no tension. It was just done. It turned into too much turmoil and drama."
The band's Power Weapons in the Complex was released in 1995 on Rust Records and distributed via Universal's Fontana network. Available in chain stores, the disc moved more than 7,000 copies, and its release party drew 1,200 fans to the Agora Theatre. Signed while all its members were still teenagers, the band toured from St. Louis to Florida in support of Power Weapons, including some dates on the 2005 Warped Tour. Its initial lineup splintered a year ago, and a new incarnation recorded a second, untitled LP that will go unreleased. The new band collapsed when Rust lost its slot on the 2006 Warped Tour, then left town.
"It was a good band," says Dargaj. "But it just wasn't the same."
Dargaj and singer Ian Ver are collaborating on an electronica project. Original members Adam Kraft, Mike Mealey, and Brian Weir went on to form Dead in London, a straight-up rock band that plays the club circuit regularly. B-HAS' original lineup will reunite for the final show.
· Cleveland metal teens Forever in Terror have a new vocalist, Chris Bianchi, the former drummer of Half Hearted Handgun. The band is recording its Metal Blade debut at Cleveland's Track Six studios with Gatlin/APG's Don DeBiase. Chimaira's Mark Hunter is scheduled to record a guest vocal. The band will open the Between Home and Serenity show on December 15.
· Cleveland saxophonist David Sterner will perform original jazz and holiday songs at Borders stores in Westlake (30121 Detroit Avenue, 2 p.m. Saturday, December 16) and Cleveland Heights (3466 Mayfield Road, 2 p.m. Sunday, December 17).
· Cleveland rap greats Bone Thugs-N-Harmony kick off the new Tupac album, Pac's Life, lending some flavor to a Swizz Beats remix of "Untouchable."
· The Black Keys' Tuesday, December 19 show at Akron's Lime Spider (207 South Main Street) sold out as soon as it was announced. The hometown gig wraps up the duo's latest tour. The Keys' "Your Touch" can be heard on an HBO promo for its year-end lineup of blockbusters. Dan Auerbach's Gatling-gun guitar sounds like King Kong's background music.
· Cleveland Rocks and Talks: More than 140 Cleveland music figures recall three decades of Rust Belt rock in Cleveland Rock & Roll Memories. Carlo Wolff interviewed musicians, DJs, promoters, and fans to present the story of the city's music scene from the '60s through the '80s.
The oversized book includes interviews with Agora owner Henry Lo Conti, members of the Belkin promotions company, fans, and musicians from Raspberries frontman Eric Carmen to James Gang drummer Jimmy Fox. It's available in local bookstores and Amazon.com. Wolff will make a series of in-store appearances this week. Visit www.Clevescene.com/blogs for a full list, plus other breaking music news and indisputable proof that Axl Rose is way cooler than we are.