The It*Men

Cleveland's the It*Men are the perfect bridge between the frat-rock insanity of early '60s legends the Sonics, the Kingsmen, and the Wailers, and the bombastic melodrama of the MC5, Blue Cheer, and Black Sabbath. The band's debut is like a soundtrack of a more innocent time, when listening under the covers to Alice Cooper or Kiss on the radio was enough to piss off your parents.

Song titles like "Doing Drugs for You," "Death Machine," and "Altamonster" should be enough to clue you in to the It*Men manifesto. Vocalist Ken "Action" Janssen is fueled by frustration, lust, and gallons of PBR. While nothing can quite capture Janssen's infamous live antics, Greatest Its comes pretty close, thanks to backing from some of the best musicians in town: lead guitarist Matt Cassidy of New Planet Trampoline and Ben Gmetro (rhythm guitar), Dave Molnar (bass), and Charlie Druesdow (drums), who perform double duty in the Dreadful Yawns and New Planet Trampoline.