The Twelve Days of Holidays, Part XI: Christmas With the Devil
“No bells in hell / No snow below / Silent night / A Violent Night” — it’s history’s greatest fake metal band, Spinal Tap, performing “Christmas With the Devil.” Keep in mind: They’re kidding; for pure evil, you’ll never beat Kenny G. — D.X. Ferris
A Christmas Present for Jewish Film Buffs
For all you film buffs who are sick of It’s a Wonderful Life, here’s something to look forward to in the new year. The Mandel Jewish Community Center in Beachwood is hosting a preview screening of the new PBS documentary “The Jewish Americans,” on January 3. Not only will you enjoy a romp through 350…
Cleveland Browns: No Change In Uniforms For Next Year
Rumors of a change in the Cleveland Browns uniforms began to swirl after Kellen Winslow Jr. told Penthouse that the team was ready for some new duds in 2008. Penthouse: The Browns have never significantly changed their uniforms design. But when your name is the Browns, what can you really do with that? Winslow :…
R. Kelly Concert Cheat Sheet
Who: R. Kelly When: Sunday, December 23 Where: Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center Why: Kelly is an alleged pedophile (that whole case is still in limbo), uses sexual metaphors like a seventh-grader (he wants to stick his key in your ignition), and doesn’t play well with others (he aborted the co-headlining Best of Both Worlds…
CNN: The Most Trusted Name in Freak Shows
Remember when CNN used to be a serious news provider? Every time you turned it on, they had a foreign correspondent with a British accent in Kosovo. Then you changed the channel. But you knew that somewhere, somebody more patient, educated, and important than you was watching, and you were glad. But it turns out…
Dick Feagler: Voting Machines and Killing Witches Were Way Better Back in My Day
Today’s topic: Voting machines … I was at the coffee shop, and the guys all agree: Voting machines today are horse manure. Back in my day, you didn’t have these new-fangled machines with computers and electronics. You walked to a big wall in the middle of town and scratched your vote into the brick with…
A Jewish Christmas Eve (If You’re Not at Grandma’s Condo in Boca)
Tired of the age-old Jewish Christmas Eve tradition of movies and Chinese, a Boston entrepreneur decided 20 years ago that December 24th was the perfect opportunity for all Jewish singles to get together for the night. Everyone had the next day off, so no one had to worry about being hungover and meeting the family…
Rilo Kiley, Arcade Fire Lead Mikey G’s Top 10 CD List for 2007
Next week, Scene publishes its annual year-end music issue. But instead of the usual critics’ Top 10 lists that run every year, we asked a bunch of sorta-famous people from around the country what they listened to in 2007. But we don’t want to deprive you of yet another chance to read just how fabulous…
Reader: Pity the Poor Cabbie Who Must Work the Airport
The airport drama continues and director Ricky Smith looks like a million bucks. The last month caused so much bullshit for all involved. As a cab driver, I lost over $2,200 in revenue because Kevin Kelly, Ricky Smith and City Council didn’t know what the hell they were doing. From secrets sources I heard the…
The Best R. Kelly Song You Won’t Hear at Sunday’s Concert
R. Kelly plays the Quicken Loans Arena (2000 Prospect Ave.) Sunday, December 23, with Keyshia Cole and J. Holiday. Check out this week’s Scene for a rundown of the oversexed singer’s worst R&B metaphors. For our money, however, the best R. Kelly song isn’t by the controversial crooner; it’s by comedian Dave Chappelle. Click the…
Reader: Where’s the Corruption Investigation in Cleveland?
A letter to Greg White, U.S. attorney in Cleveland… As the U.S. attorney in Cleveland, you and your Cleveland FBI office are supposed to investigate corruption in Greater Cleveland. You must immediately investigate the Kennedy family and their medical mart compnay, as it is an outgrowth of the Merchandise Mart company that patriarch Joe Kenendy…
Public Square: Is it Time for a Class Action Suit Against Rysar?
I have recently ran across your articels regarding Rysar properties and their poor construction practices [“Things Fall Apart,” May 10, 2006]. I have many of the same problems that the other homeowners complained about, such as flaking cement in the driveway and porch, plumbing problems, water leakage in the ceiling, electircal problems, etc. I just…
Black Keys Sold Out
The Saturday, December 22 Black Keys show at Akron’s Civic Theater is sold out. Shoulda got tickets when you coulda. “[This is the] first time playing there although we’ve both been going to the Civic since we were kids,” frontman Dan Auerbach told Scene. “This is is really special for both of us.” If you…
Rob Zombie/In This Moment Sold Out, Ozzy Still Canceled
Tonight’s Rob Zombie/In This Moment Show at House of Blues show is sold out. If you’re just tuning in, the Ozzy Osbourne concert at the Wolstein Center was canceled when Ozzy pulled out. The opening acts are still playing at House of Blues. — D.X. Ferris
The Twelve Days of Holidays: Take Cleveland’s Christmas Story Tour
No Festivus season is complete without at least two viewings of A Christmas Story, the certified classic that was filmed, in part, in Cleveland. Ralphie’s house is now one of the city’s signature tourist destinations, refurbished to its full glory, complete with a leg lamp in the window. Right across the street is a Christmas…
USA Today Wants to Know: Who’s the Best Cav Ever?
USA Today is conducting a vote to determine the five best players ever for each NBA team. This week the vote is on the Cavs. Time to make your voice heard. Your choices are: Ausin Carr, Brad Daugherty, World B. Free, Ron Harper, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, LeBron James, Larry Nance, Mark Price, Bobby Smith, and John…
All Roue Wants for Christmas is a Hot Tub in the Green Room
Next week, Roue headlines the Grog Shop’s Christmas-night show for the third consecutive year. The recently-broken-up-and-reformed band blurs the line between indie- and alt-rock so blissfully, you’ll want to grab someone — but then you’ll be suddenly unsure of whether to start fighting or making out. As is the custom at Scene, we asked frontman…
To Get Black Workers Working, City Councilman Wants to Tap Felons
Councilman Kevin Conwell’s outrage over the lack of black workers on the Patrick Henry Elementary School construction site has been grabbing headlines lately. And it would be a refreshing sign of progress, if not for a few minor details. Conwell blames the project’s lily-white work site on the fact that the school district won’t hire…
Café Toscano opens in Aurora
Add Aurora’s Café Toscano to the growing list of worthy suburban restaurants. The 60-seat trattoria, inside a former Arabica coffeehouse, opened quietly on December 6, with a mouthwatering menu of “authentic Italian” fare. If nothing else, this is a restaurant that could probably succeed on savvy, alone. Long-time restaurateur Carl Quagliata (Ristorante Giovanni’s, and the…
TSO Tickets Available for (Previously) Sold-Out Shows
If you’re into mulleted metal dudes playing guitar-ified Christmas jams, today’s your lucky day: Some primo seats have been released for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s December 30 shows, which were previously, technically, sold out. Snap ’em up at LiveNation.com or Ticketmaster (216-241-5555). The horror. The horror. — D.X. Ferris
Ozzy Concert Canceled; Rob Zombie/In This Moment to Still Play House of Blues
December 20’s Ozzy Osbourne concert has been canceled, due to “an unforeseen personal family matter” on Ozzy’s side. [Insert joke about son Jack here.] Ozzy’s schedule is full, so he won’t reschedule for this leg of the tour. (Didn’t he retire in, like, 1992 anyway?) BUT: Openers Rob Zombie and In This Moment WILL play…
Another Ohio Warranty Company Screws Customers
It was two years ago that Scene first wrote about the woes of Anthony Hodel , whose once-booming extended car warranty business exploded in a hail of thievery (“Platinum Tony,” October 12, 2005). While Hodel lived like a prince with a fleet of expensive cars, a mansion in Brecksville, and enough jewelry to please a…
His Job Intact, Santiago May Support Opening Old Moda Space
The day after he avoided recall, Councilman Joe Santiago says opening a club in the former Moda space might work. City Councilman Joe Santiago won his recall election yesterday, if indeed it’s possible to win a competition that only existed only because some number of people think you suck at your job. Nevertheless, he won,…
The Twelve Days of Holidays, Part IX: Seriously Old-School Xmas Tune-age
Today’s holiday treat is motherlode of mp3 transfers of Christmas songs recorded on wax cylinders between 1906 and 1928. Former radio personality Paul Fuction pulled together the tunes and some other seasonal tracks for his “Paul’s Ramblings” blog. Check ’em out. The only name you may recognize is Eddie Cantor, an actor whose career spanned…
BBC Reverses on Important Pogues Issue
Whew. The Pogues can say “faggot” again. That was quick. Apparently, the BBC doesn’t have a problem with the word “faggot” after all. Yesterday, the Britain’s premiere source for music, news, and shitcoms (pretty much all of their entertainment needs, when you think about it) banned the offensive word from the Pogues’ Christmas classic “Fairytale…
Mick Boogie an MTV DJ of the Year
From MTV.com, via Mick Boogie.com: Cleveland DJ has been named one of the DJs of the year by MTV’s Mixtape Monday crew. Boogie — Mick? I never know how to refer to this dude the second time around — spins regularly at Sunset Lounge (382 W. 9th St., 216-535-0001) and, on the last Saturday of…
DeLayed Gratification
“The King of Spin,” December 5 For Kucinich, is inaction a measure of success? I usually enjoy reading your articles that discuss Cleveland politics. I must confess that I have always been puzzled by the overt hostility that Scene directs toward Congressman Dennis Kucinich. The recent article by Denise Grollmus was filled with factual errors,…
Our top DVD picks scheduled for release this week:
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Volume Two — The War Years (Paramount) Alien Apocalypse (Anchor Bay) Balls of Fury (Universal) Black Moon Rising (Anchor Bay) Boy Eats Girl (Lionsgate) Braveheart: Special Collector’s Edition (Paramount) Bring It On: In It to Win It (Universal) Cinderella II: Dreams Come True Special Edition (Disney) David Leadbetter Golf…
Flip the Bird
Just a day before his Australasian tour starts, DJ Chuck Love jumps on the decks tonight in Cleveland, with his pair of pet parrots at his side. The birds are no strangers to the work; one of them even spitboxes (similar to beatbox?) “C’mon!” on Love’s debut double CD, Bring Enough to Spill Some. “He…
Chimaira Christmas 8
After a rough period that included a bout of drummer-shuffling, band squabbles, and a label change, Chimaira returned earlier this year with the appropriately titled Resurrection. The local metal band spent a sizable chunk of 2007 on the road before abruptly halting its tour in the fall for a little refueling. “We honestly needed a…
Missile Toe
Missile Toe has been Northeast Ohio’s premier Christmas band for over a decade now — not that they’ve had much competition. Featuring members of C.D. Truth and the Nimrods, the perennial favorites punk up your favorite yuletide classics. Sometimes they give ’em the classic-rock-meets-classical treatment, as in “Gloria,” which mashes up the Doors version of…
Singular Sensation
Once (Fox) Easily the year’s most perfect pop album — damned good movie too, the finest “musical” of the past 20 years. The disc’s making-of refers to it as a “modern musical,” but Once is as old-fashioned as it gets: Guy (Glen Hansard) meets Girl (Markéta Irglová), they fall in love, but never consummate their…
Festival of bites
Skip the McDonald’s drive-through tonight if you’re heading to Peninsula’s Festival of Lights. By the time you walk each of the fest’s candlelit paths, you’ll have sampled a global menu of gut-busting chow, from Swedish saffron buns to Jewish latkes, with soups, meats, and salads in between. “You totally won’t go hungry,” promises organizer Chelsea…
Tears for Fears
On a cold, drizzly Sunday before finals, Java Zone in downtown Oberlin is blanketed by a library’s hush. Students sit engrossed in their laptops, steadfastly avoiding chatter as the cappuccino machine rumbles behind the counter. In flounces a young blond couple — she in a grandmotherly knit shawl and plastic Paddington galoshes; he with a…
Xmas Present & Past
Nothing says “holiday spirit” quite like stabbing a terrorist or hammering a goombah, as the hottest games this season invite us to do. But no matter how cutting-edge the stars of 2007 may be, they are also unmistakably familiar. This week, we stack the holiday hits of today against the ghosts of gaming past: Mass…
Mouth of the Border
Twice a week, Mexican grub rules during happy hour for members of the Lopez Southwestern Food Club. And you can thank chef Jason Brust for the hot-and-spicy gastro-fest. His specialties range from quesadillas and guacamole to lobster enchiladas and empanadas. Revelers then can wash down the entrées with half-priced margaritas and tequila. “It’s a fun-filled…
Actually, Crime Does Pay
Seven years ago, Rick Deacon was an apathetic Elyria Catholic freshman with nothing to do. Classes were a bore, and those school-spirit types made him want to hurl. So Deacon, a budding computer geek with enough teenage angst to fill three Bright Eyes albums, found a more entertaining way to occupy his time: hacking into…
Poker Faces
The gals at the International Women’s Air & Space Museum are paying tribute to nearly a century’s worth of aviation history in a new deck of playing cards that went on sale last month. But the museum’s suits are still grumbling that they couldn’t include all the famous female pilots who trailblazed the friendly skies.…
Crush Hour
To handpick Northeast Ohio’s 40 most eligible bachelors and bachelorettes, the region’s Easter Seals chapter will liquor up unattached studs and babes at tonight’s Pre-Crush Happy Hour. Judges will interview unmarried candidates over a few drinks, hoping to determine which saucy singles can raise some cash this Valentine’s Day, when the cream of the crop…
Bowling for Green
Attention Ohio State fans planning a pilgrimage to New Orleans for the BCS Championship Game: There’s a team not 120 miles northwest that badly needs your help. On January 6 — the night before your Buckeyes tangle with Evil LSU — Bowling Green will bask in the glory of its second GMAC Bowl in four…
Taiwan On
While most of Northeast Ohio is knee-deep in wrapping paper and tinsel on Christmas Day, the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to the Christian celebration. This afternoon, patrons can nosh on kosher egg rolls while watching short flicks at the second annual Chinese Food and a Movie Day. “We’re playing on…
Paging Doctor Strangelove
Akron-based comic Mike Conley considers his show at the Funny Stop tonight a homecoming of sorts. In 1992, he walked onto the same stage in the club formerly named Hilarities and shot off his mouth on material ranging from teen life in the mid-’70s to middle-aged crises 20 years later (was he middle-aged in 1992?).…
The Ghost of Lester Russaw
The old man’s hands were shaking — not with typical old-man tremors, but with fear. White heat from the July sun beamed through the front windshield of his Chrysler Sebring and rose off the parking lot in waves, as from a grill. But even dressed in a jacket and khakis, with the car’s vents turned…
Sweet!
Walk through a lollipop forest and cross over a gumdrop mountain this afternoon, when Lake Metroparks patrons become tokens on a giant Candy Wonder Land playing board. You won’t be alone; the depiction of the popular children’s game has attracted more than 20,000 players in the past couple years. “We pretty much had no choice…
Wyclef Jean
In a recent interview, Wyclef Jean managed to sum up, in just a few words, the very thing fans both admire and abhor about the former Fugee. Bubbling over with understandable enthusiasm for Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant, the star-studded sequel (of sorts) to his 1997 solo debut, Clef couldn’t resist comparing it…
Director’s Cut
Here’s the thing: Tim Burton pulled it off. Nearing the end of an uncommonly strong year for American movies, he’s taken a hallowed classic of modern musical theater, trimmed the story from well over two hours to well under, cast confessed non-singers in the lead roles, and managed to produce something magical. His Sweeney Todd…
Head Banger
Adjectives used to describe the Bang and the Clatter Theatre Company’s latest production — hilarious, jaw-dropping, vulgar, borderline insane — are about as varied as the eight short stories that make up the play. Each vignette in Pounding Nails in the Floor With My Forehead features a lone character, who tells his story in a…
Blossom Toes
Blossom Toes never amounted to anything more than an opening act during their brief career between 1967 and 1969. But when the headliners were the Move, Soft Machine, and a Syd Barrett-led Pink Floyd, “opening act” wasn’t too lousy a slot. Reissues of the band’s only two albums, We Are Ever So Clean and If…
Gil Mantera’s Party Dream
Gil Mantera’s Party Dream rocks the vocoder something fierce on Bloodsongs, which Gil and brother Ultimate Donny are still touring two whole years after its release. They recently unleashed Live Video Archive (Volume 1), a DVD that features a pair of concerts and includes a video for the groove-stuffed “Elmo’s Wish.” The Youngstown-based sibs bring…
One Damn Fun War
Hell of a thing, getting Mike Nichols to adapt the story of Charlie Wilson, the Texas congressman who damned near single-handedly helped the Afghans kick out the Russians in the 1980s. Says right there in George Crile’s 2003 book Charlie Wilson’s War that Wilson “flaunted” his brief relationship with Diane Sawyer back in 1980. This…
Two-Buck Chug
You’ve maxed out all your credit cards on Christmas presents, and you’re left with only a handful of Georges for a holiday buzz. McNulty’s Pub feels your pain. That’s why it invented You Call It Sundays drink specials. Tonight, a glass of booze or a bottle of beer runs a measly $2. “All liquor is…
Daft Punk
Theoretically, a live album by Daft Punk shouldn’t work. After all, the French electronic duo’s live performances — which include a knockout light show, thousands of sweaty fans uniting in dance, and the star DJs dressed as über-funky robots — deliver a visual treat as tasty as the music. But Alive 2007 is a surprisingly…
Weener
According to MySpace, there are two bands by the name of Weener making music right now. One is a Ween cover band from Seattle. The other Weener is also a tribute band, oddly enough, but it plays Weezer songs. We have no idea what the Weezer tribute sounds like, since it doesn’t have any tracks…
Knocked Up and Out
Juno marks the second film for director Jason Reitman and the first for screenwriter Diablo Cody, author of the Pussy Ranch blog, which, oddly, has nothing to do with baby kittens. Reitman made his debut with a swaggering adaptation of Christopher Buckley’s Thank You for Smoking, and he is said to have changed little in…
Totally Offensive
Give the gift of basketball tonight, when LeBron and the Cavaliers try to keep up with the Golden State Warriors. If you abhor defense and long to see a run-and-gun team filled with true gunners — really, forward Stephen Jackson might bring his gun — the crazy-playing (and truly crazy) Warriors won’t disappoint. Besides the…
Various Artists
The music made by Nat Pwe, a collective from the country of Burma, ranks among the most bizarre yet beautifully intense sounds ever played. The brightly dressed singers and musicians pound out their tunes on bells, gongs, cymbals, woodblocks, bamboo sticks, xylophone, and pretty much anything else they can get their hands on. There’s a…
X-Mas at Ye Ol’ Grog
Most venues book Christmas shows stuffed with the year’s leftovers — hodgepodge bills put together at the last minute, with a stripped-down staff working a nearly empty room. But the Grog Shop’s annual Christmas bash has become a local fave — a booze-filled bonanza that helps music fans forget their troubles and/or families on a…
Hock the Line
As Dewey Cox — a hard-livin’, hard-lovin’, hard-everythingin’ singer who owes something to every major music figure of the past 50 years — actor John C. Reilly cuts a hilarious and electrifying figure. That is, he does when he’s live. On a recent promo tour, which included an appearance at Cleveland’s Rock Hall, Reilly slipped…
Just Bidding
Lorain County guitarist Diana Tyler is sneaky elf when it comes to raising money for tonight’s Christmas Carol Wars. If you can pony up the cash for her favorite charity, she promises she won’t play any “hideous” holiday songs. “That’s where the bidding will begin,” says Tyler. “Whether I play the songs or not will…
Spank Rock and Benny Blanco
It’s a pretty funny concept: Take 2 Live Crew’s rap-raunch rhymes and primitive beats, build some new songs around them, and slap them onto a five-track EP. Rapper Spank Rock (who made a splash with last year’s YoYoYoYoYo) and DJ Benny Blanco effortlessly recreate a 1989 club vibe. Over stuttering synths, wailing sirens, and old-school…
Jingle-Jangle All the Way
Forget boy bands and Barry Manilow; Christmas music is the ultimate guilty pleasure. It’s inherently corny, unrepentantly joyful, and the tiniest bit reverent — qualities largely reviled by rock and roll purists. And while you would be forgiven for never wanting to hear “Jingle Bells” again, Christmas songs have proved a versatile format for artists…
Bordering on Boredom
Compared to the oft-dreary drama of downtown Cleveland, the bustling East Fourth Street district is a pop-up book of pleasures, complete with bowling, billiards, and oceans of beer. But with the clear exception of Lola, what the street doesn’t offer is first-rate food. In fact, much like in a college town, you get the feeling…
In the Hood
A troupe of X-Men rejects (castoffs prevents interp. reject as verb) and a Jeopardy!-obsessed grandmother headline a twisted take on a familiar fairy tale in tonight’s youth-theater opening of Karamu’s Little Red Riding Hood (and the Power Mutants). In the Ed Monk farce, Little Red is a caterer who meets three wimpy wolves on the…
Pale Hollow
Pale Hollow mastermind Michael Allen is a songwriter’s songwriter. He’s aware that a tune needs more than just a catchy chorus. And even though the hooks come fast and furious on Pale Hollow’s debut, Allen builds on his acoustic skeletons with an array of instruments to form a melodic slice of pop rock. Pale Hollow…
Sex and the Ditty
Rick James had it wrong. That girl he sang about in “Super Freak”? She doesn’t even come close to the world’s freakiest super freak: R. Kelly. The R&B chart-topper, alleged pedophile, and consummate booty-lover can’t even tour without causing tons of controversy. A few years ago, Kelly abruptly left his and Jay-Z’s co-headlining Best of…
Touch of Class
Veteran Cleveland chef Jeff Fisher (Johnny’s Downtown, Sushi Rock, and Lago) is new top toque at Touch Supper Club, and his philosophy is simple: Win new diners, one visit at a time. “Everyone enjoys feeling special,” says the chef, who quietly came on board three months back. “If that means something like a little amuse-bouche…
Davey Blue
In music circles throughout Buffalo, critics have described Davey O.’s country-folk originals and road-weary voice as “raw” and “rootsy.” He even scored a personal coup in 2004, when magazine voters gave him a people’s choice award as the “best original acoustic solo performer” in western New York. Davey is peddling his latest CD, thirtyninedollarview —…
Suede Brothers
When teen rockers the Black Diamonds dropped their singer earlier this year and became a power trio, the future looked a little dim. Good news: The ex-Diamonds are brighter than ever as the Suede Brothers. Their phenomenal debut is pure spirit-of-’76 classic rock, produced by vet Paul Hamann (who helped the James Gang polish their…
The Ghost of Christmas Past
Christmas comedown is supposed to happen after the holidays. But for Wu-Tang Clan fans, the within-a-week releases of Ghostface’s sixth solo album (The Big Doe Rehab) and the first Wu outing since the death of Ol’ Dirty Bastard (The 8 Diagrams) threaten to be a double disappointment this season. After all, Ghostface has been a…
Rockin’ the Cradle
Given all the cheer-spreading that goes down this time of year, it seems odd that so many observations of Jesus’ big day are such solemn affairs, with kings and shepherds bowing in silence under a night sky. Where’s the joy? Well, you can find it in the first act of Black Nativity by Langston Hughes,…
‘Fro Sho’
At tonight’s Red, Black, and Green Christmas, the MuAmin Collective plans to “afro out” the holidays with fellow Cleveland spitboxers Poetic Republic, Leroi Da Moor, and LMNTL. And expect the duo to fill your Christmas stocking with a few musical packages as they join punkers This Moment in Black History onstage. “We’re going to bring…
Sasquatch & the Sick-a-Billys
Christmas time doesn’t always have to be so goddamn fluffy. If Jesus’ neon-splashed, mall-sponsored birthday makes you want to curl up with a big bottle of whiskey, we have just the ticket. No one rambles along hell’s highway with more brimstone and Brylcreem than the perpetually touring Sasquatch & the Sick-a-Billys. This trio is determined…
The Wild Kind
Like a 1950s pulp novel brought to life, Purcell’s Lounge surges with rock and roll abandon. Bottles and glasses of all sizes litter every available surface of this Green Bay, Wisconsin bar, while a thick haze of smoke hovers near the ceiling, and the dance floor becomes a spectacle of testifying frenzy. Onstage, Lil Gizzelle…
Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations.
Beauty and the Beast — Back for its third and final appearance, the Beck Center production of this Walt Disney epic hasn’t lost any of its charm. Dan Folino is still comically shivering as the Beast, and Natalie Green will warm any little girl’s heart as the beauteous Belle. Even though the show is almost…
Chem Lab
As its name suggests, Lakewood’s Chloroform will rock out on (knock you out with?) a dizzying display of high-powered originals tonight, when it plays a free holiday show on Cleveland’s West Side. Since the alt-rockers’ start in 2005, guitarist Allen Singleton has teamed with bassist John Pasternak, keyboardist Mark Thomas, drummer Alex Szarka, and fellow…
Ozzy Osbourne
What is there to say about Ozzy Osbourne that hasn’t been said already? Dude’s the Prince of Darkness, the Ozzman, and the granddaddy of stoner rock/heavy metal/Satan music. Never mind that he hasn’t made a good record in more than 25 years. He recorded at least a half dozen great ones when he was in…
Ripped
Following a European tour, Tim “Ripper” Owens has been unceremoniously dismissed from the internationally acclaimed, Indiana-based Iced Earth. “I was told 30 seconds before the news hit [online “metal CNN”] Blabbermouth that I was let go — two weeks before Christmas,” says Owens. “I don’t think it was handled right. It’s a shame it ended…
Capsule reviews of current area art exhibitions..
NEW Delineate — The pen is mightier than the sword, but in this stunning collection of drawings by seven well-known Ohioans, the pencil trumps all. Technique takes center stage as this group reaches new artistic heights with carbon. Wielding charcoal, Julie Friedman creates silhouettes of trees, so richly layered they could be prints or paintings.…
Good Impressions
Eric Lyden’s celebrity takes on Mel Gibson, Ray Liotta, and a pumped-up Santa Claus often come in handy onstage. He appreciates them even more in out-of-the-way places like cruise-ship lounges. “When I feel like I’m losing it — when people start thinking about the buffet — I say, ‘This is Captain Arnold Schwarzenegger. I promise…
Ugly Radio Rebellion Featuring Ike Willis
Burly singer-guitarist Ike Willis traces his career back to Frank Zappa. Willis met the bizarro rocker in 1978, when he was a college student who managed to get backstage at a St. Louis concert. The two hit it off, and Zappa invited Willis to audition for his group, which he constantly rotated. Willis — who…
Ugly Radio Rebellion Featuring Ike Willis
Frank Zappa vocalist Ike Willis — best known as “Joe” in the Joe’s Garage triple-LP — joins Ugly Radio Rebellion to celebrate Zappa’s birthday. The killer combo will perform a set of Zappa classics as part of a party with a birthday cake, adult-themed balloon sculptures, and a Zappa-inspired beer by California’s Lagunitas Brewery. If…
Pour Some Sigur on Me
TOP PICK — Heima (XL) Sigur Rós wrapped up its worldwide tour last year with a series of free concerts in its native Iceland (heima means home). The quartet (plus an auxiliary string section) played both electric and acoustic shows in places as varied as an old fish factory and a sheep-filled pasture. This DVD…
Sun Classes at Night
The coolest part about tonight’s Winter Solstice Celebration is knowing that the days start getting longer tomorrow. And at its 19th annual farewell to the shortest day of the year, the Geauga Park District can help you find your way out of the dark and help you say hello to the sun. (At least that’s…
The Gore Gore Girls
No matter how slickly professional rock’s mainstream gets, there will always be someone out there stripping the machine to its crudest core. The Sonics and Monks ignited the torch in the ’60s; the New York Dolls and Stooges carried it in the early ’70s; they then passed it to the Ramones and Wire, and so…
