Hanna Made
“Around here, nobody knows who I am, but I’m in a couple of magazines over there,” says Hanna (Warren Harris), a local drum ‘n’ bass and techno artist, as he points to the shelf of periodicals across the aisle at an Akron Barnes and Noble, where we’ve met for coffee. “And my records are on…
Straddling Fencers
The typical sports bumpkin, looking to snatch the simple glories of competitive, violent gaming, needs little more than strength and coordination. But at Cyrano’s Place Fencing Club, instruction in the art of fencing matches physical prowess with the intellectual aerobics of problem solving, giving students the refined grace of an athletic chess match. “You’re constantly…
The Trouble With Tributes
Because it’s the beginning of a new year, there are few new albums being released — most record labels generally try to unload their product by Christmas and then don’t gear up again until spring. That makes it the perfect time to put out random odds and ends, notably “tribute” albums. The tribute tradition is…
A Gay in a Manger
Terrence McNally’s Corpus Christi almost didn’t open in New York City in 1998. After reading reports that the play depicted Jesus sodomizing the Apostles, protesters threatened violence, and the production was temporarily canceled. So it’s no surprise that the same play almost didn’t run in Ohio. Slotted to open this Saturday at Theatre 8:15 in…
Of a Revolution
Made up of five enterprising young dudes from Ohio State University, Of a Revolution (O.A.R.) has fashioned itself after the Dave Matthews Band and as a result is one of the region’s most compelling success stories. To date, the group has sold over 35,000 copies of two self-produced, self-released, essentially live CDs: The Wanderer and…
White-Bread Wedding
The Wedding Planner begins with footage of a seven-year-old girl performing a wedding ceremony with her Barbies — a fitting opening, since the movie that ensues could almost be the result of a screenwriter transcribing the play scenario enacted by a small child and her dolls. If you were (or are) a child very much…
The English Beat’s Dave Wakeling
Long before a bunch of SoCal white kids got the sublime idea to round up the local high school band nerds and form a ska group, there was the English Beat. A multiracial outfit from Birmingham, England, that combined working-class punk with Jamaican R&B, the Beat was the leader of the ska revival that hit…
Vein Glory
The doomed are often a remarkably energetic and productive lot, especially when it comes to creating portraits of their personal horrors. Themes vary in intensity between slow self-destruction and grand devastation, but in vampirism, the full spectrum of ghastliness may be covered. This is because the imbalance represents so much to so many. From the…
Push Stars
Boston’s Push Stars have benefited from an amazing string of good luck since their initial bad break — signing to the doomed Imago label for their 1996 debut, Meet Me at the Fair. Because of the label’s demise, the Stars’ excellent album sank relatively quickly, forcing the band to self-release its 1997 follow-up, the “Tonight”…
Stand Blimey
So many elements make up a boyhood, from joyful laughter and games to purloined porno mags and pointless aggression to the scary realization that something vital is slipping away, something that may never be reclaimed. Naturally, nostalgic reflections upon this magical time form the basis of countless films, with two — Billy Elliot and Just…
Dieselboy
Dieselboy (Pittsburgh native Damian Higgins) has spent almost 10 years perfecting the art of melting wax, and along the way he has earned a reputation for throwing down relentless drum ‘n’ bass sets. It all started in ’91, when T99’s Belgian hardcore techno anthem “Anasthasia” inspired Higgins to get into the rave scene and the…
Class Ceiling
That grandmotherly smile under upswept white hair, that contralto chuckle, that plate of Christmas cookies studded with Hershey’s Kisses in her hands — none of it speaks of Dorothy Kovacevich’s reputation as a troublemaker. Back in convulsive 1967, Kovacevich was no revolutionary. The “mild-mannered” 38-year-old mother of two and former music teacher had worked seven…
Jello Biafra
Self-styled punk provocateur Jello Biafra has tried to turn a singing career that started with one of the better named punk bands (he fronted the Dead Kennedys) into an attempt at becoming an of-the-moment monologuist. Spoken Word Album #6 is a long (three full discs) rant that finds Biafra addressing a host of hip political…
Mike’s Cold War
When Cleveland Mayor Michael White bought a vacation home in Newcomerstown, a pastoral village south of Akron, he hoped to bask in solitude, 112 miles away from the bruising battles of Cleveland politics. He’d be too far away to hear the police union’s angry chants or the stinging words of his many enemies on City…
Jennifer Lopez
How low can she go? The question applies as much to Jennifer Lopez’s revealing outfits as to her affinity for pop conventions and sexually charged music (“I want to make love three times in a row,” she sings in J. Lo’s steamy “Come Over”). One of the only Hollywood stars to make the transition to…
9-1-1 to Nowhere
He was rather demanding, as far as houseguests go — especially the kind who don’t get past the front door. In the last hour, he’d been ringing the doorbell incessantly, requesting coffee, use of the phone, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and kippers, sardines, and tuna. Before he could work up a taste for…
Various Artists
Over the past few years, Astralwerks has been one of the most reliable and commercially viable electronic music labels out there. Its roster includes such genre heavyweights as the Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, Air, Basement Jaxx, and the recent addition Primal Scream. With artists like that fueling the company, it was only a matter of…
The Edge
Freedom for himself, but not his stepson — that’s the word Konstantin Daviskiba got from the government this month. The Ukrainian immigrant waited nine years, hoping for asylum in the U.S. [“American Limbo,” December 7], before getting a painful split decision. The government told Daviskiba that the many punishments he endured as a Soviet dissident…
The Ark Band
The members of Columbus’s Ark Band hail from the West Indies, but they’ve made Ohio their home since moving here in the mid-’80s. The group, which plays an average of 200 shows a year, is one of the most seasoned reggae acts working the North Coast and has performed everywhere from recreation centers in Columbus…
Kids in the Clink
Good parents’d whup ’em into shape: Regarding the cover story “The Age of Innocence” [January 4]: Why make an idea like this into law when it is projected to affect only six kids? Why not treat these children on an individual basis; give them the specialized care they need and deserve? The kids quoted in…
Around Town
Exhibits about public art generally fall into one of two categories, both of which alienate viewers unnecessarily. First, there are those shows that require you to decipher sketches and plans for works about to be built. Then there are those that seem to say that you can’t call yourself a Clevelander (or a Chicagoan, or…
Safety First
Safety, a world premiere at Dobama Theatre, is a work for those who love a challenge. It’s not a play that audiences can glide through. With its heavy symbolism, flights of fancy, and relentless wordplay, it’s akin to working through a New York Times crossword puzzle. Cleveland’s own Sarah Morton is a dominatrix with a…
The Bistro Within
Consider the oyster. From the outside, its appearance is rough and common, scarcely attractive enough to merit a second glance. But for those diligent souls who care to pry, the oyster’s tender flesh yields a taste as exotic and enticing as the ocean itself. Much the same can be said of Lure Bistro, housed in…
Mise on the Scene
Mise (10427 Clifton Boulevard, 216-651-6473), Jeff Uniatowski’s sleek, contemporary West Side wonder, has been observed by operatives from Nation’s Restaurant News. The trade magazine’s December year-in-review issue recognized 58 top spots from among the thousands of dining rooms that opened last year, and Mise was among them. Other restaurants that made the list include Alain…
Halting the ‘Alt-‘
Singer-songwriter Tim Easton realizes the limitations of being categorized. He also realizes that he’s been tagged by alt-country loyalists as one of their own. But he doesn’t mind. Too much. “I let the country influence me, and I’m not gonna try to be anything else than what I am,” he sighs. “Once they get their…
