Trivial Pursuits

The Tea Bags' repertoire of British pop cover songs may go down smooth with a beer or two, but it's the band's trivia contests (prizes include free drinks) that keep fans coming back for more. At one show, the band was about to launch into a David Bowie tune when guitarist Bobby Grebelsky asked which Ohio university Bowie's son attended. "I didn't even finish the sentence, and this geeky guy yelled out, ‘College of Wooster!'" recalls Grebelsky. "He was right. He probably could have told me what size shoe Bowie's son wore."

Since the Cleveland quartet started performing last year, Grebelsky says, no one has tired of hearing Squeeze, Radiohead, and Duran Duran tunes. "People love this stuff, man," he says. "One club we play at has this table of college students, and they come see us religiously." Grebelsky never saw that kind of enthusiasm in the '90s, when he played original songs in bands like Zero Parade. "You know how the industry is with originals — it zaps you," he sighs. "I just had this idea to go out, have fun, and do music that we love."
Fri., March 3, 8-11 p.m.