So How’s That New Radio “Alternative” Doing?
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Now on both WMMS and “new rock alternative” 99 X There was an initial small buzz of excitement around town when the “new rock alternative” station 99 X made its on-air debut a week ago. It diminished to a very low-frequency hum, as area music fans realized the station wouldn’t feature…
Michigan Recruit Who Burned Ohio State Offer Letter Received Death Threats
Logan Tuley-Tillman: punk kid or honorable hero? We can probably guess your answer based on the color of the beer koozies in your trunk. Just as a recap, Tuley-Tillman is the Illinois high school football standout heading to Michigan who also happened to get a scholarship offer from OSU – a letter he burned before…
The Good Life of Frank Russo (Updated)
Whaddya wanna know? I got a massage scheduled this afternoon, so let’s make it quick. Update: Everyone seems to want to chat with Frank Russo. The PD, taxpayers, us, and now WKYC. The station sent The Investigator to talk with the former auditor about his life as a free snitch. It did not go well.…
Donut Sources: Cavs Will Win Lottery Tonight
The NBA Draft Lottery is tonight, and it’s a thing. Later this evening, we’ll know exactly how the ping pong balls fall and where the Cavs will draft. Exciting stuff. These experts and their donuts say the Cavs will get the first pick. Good enough for us.
Dayton Man Plows Car into Taco Bell After Drive-Thru Screws Up Order
You said it, hermano. These types of news stories really roast our turkey. We can all probably relate to the poor guy sitting front and center in this news item, just a simple American going about his businesses, trying to provide, when he’s confronted with an agent of chaos. True tragedy this is, when people…
Cleveland Clinic Patient’s Photo Wins Internet Hearts
Rachel, a 28-year-old mom and Army wife, was in the Cleveland Clinic to have 60% of one lung removed because of congenital emphysema. After surgery, she posted a photo of herself to Reddit from the ICU with a short note: “IAmA 28/f who had 60% of her lung removed today and can’t fall asleep in…
Harry Potter’s Best Friend’s Next Role: A Cleveland Punk Legend
The real Cheetah Chrome It’s been a great couple of years for Cheetah Chrome, the Cleveland punk legend who played guitar in the Dead Boys and Rocket From the Tombs. He wrote a revealing book about himself a couple of years ago, and last year he hooked up with some old Cleveland pals for a…
Fox 8 Does a Bear Story Without Embarrassing Themselves or Cleveland
There were some black bear sightings down in Streetsboro recently and Fox 8 dispatched Melissa Reid to get the hard-hitting story. The bears probably aren’t hungry for humans, she wants us to know while standing in the middle of a bunch of foliage for some reason. It’s not exactly Emmy-worthy work here, but the end…
Indie Rock Band Picks Up a Hitchhiking John Waters in Ohio (Updated)
Update: The New York Times chatted with John Waters about his hitchhiking odyssey across America, which the director said took 8 days and 15 rides. What was it all for? A book, tentatively called “Carsick.” And partially to relinquish control of an over-scheduled life, giving himself to the road and the hodgepodge of friendly strangers…
Have You Ever Seen a Chevy, er Guitar, With a Butterfly Door?
“Look, that one opens and closes. I love it!” says a woman swathed in a pink hoodie and jeans. Despite her sweaty disposition thanks to this 85 degree Cleveland day, she couldn’t help but appreciate the unique art at GuitarMania. The event, which kicked off today, showcases and auctions 10-foot Stratocaster guitars designed by local…
Tribe Pitcher Joe Smith is Having a Rough Week
First, there was this whole ordeal, which probably isn’t how Joe Smith wanted to start his week. Then, during yesterday’s afternoon tilt against the Tigers, the Tribe reliever started out onto the field because he thought he was being summoned by Indians skipper Manny Acta to replace starter Justin Masterson. Nope. No one wanted Joe.…
Chump of the Week: David Rogers Pretends to Be Cop, Pulls Over Speeding Teen
This costume was reportedly in the trunk. Dudes frustrated by their lack of authority or girth in the world usually end up just stewing in local bars or being cruel to animals. But when a supposedly snot-nosed teen shot past David Rogers on a Richland County country road, flagrantly ignoring the double yellow, the Mansfield…
Times Are Tough for the Empire These Days Too
Apparently being one of the most feared guys in the galaxy doesn’t pay as well you’d think. Darth Vader robbed a bank in Toledo on Wednesday, walking away with an undisclosed amount of cash. And times have gotten so tough for the Empire these days that Vader’s Sith bosses took away both his lightsaber and…
Summer’s Here, Resist the Urge to Strap Bottle Rockets to Random Things
A great, glorious idea. The urge is understandable. The sun’s up, temperatures are hitting new highs, the sky is that perfect postcard shade of blue, and all you want to do is go outside and blow shit up. Fireworks in mailboxes. Black Cats in a muffler. Handfuls of trunk-bought foreign ordinance randomly chucked out the…
Pic of the Day: Popcorn Machine Rescued from Detroit Theatre
Here’s a popcorn machine extricated from the Detroit Theatre, which is over there in the background, just about gone. (Via Lakewood Citizen)
How to Extend Your Holiday Weekend: Go See Victor Wooten
We know, we know — you’re planning a great super-long holiday weekend, kicking off summer by eating ribs and all that, and the last thing you want to do is think about going back to work on Tuesday and getting shit done. Are we right? Well, Victor Wooten is at the Beachland Ballroom on Tuesday.…
Bad Trip
In the 10 years since the last Men in Black movie, Tommy Lee Jones has played everyone from a wizened small-town sheriff to a downsized white-collar worker, so policing aliens really isn’t his thing these days. So most of the heavy lifting in Men in Black III lands on the sturdy shoulders of Josh Brolin…
16,600 Clevelanders Will Die From Killer Heat By 2099
In alarming news of imminent death, destruction and super-boring idle conversation with that old guy at work, the Natural Resources Defense Council says that climate change and the resulting killer heat waves of the future pose a threat to cause an estimated 150,000 deaths by the year 2099. The top three cities facing sweltering slow…
Report: Scene Edit Staffers Are Pigs
Exclusive Scene surveillance photo Sources confirm that a sizable male contingent of Scene’s editorial staff was seen quietly embarking late Thursday morning for what multiple members of the party referred to only as “lunch.” Further questioning revealed that they were bound for the Tilted Kilt, the new downtown dining option that reportedly also offers a…
Woman Punches, Apprehends Dressing Room Pervert
Memo to cell phone-toting dressing room-peeping perverts out there: try to snap a pic of this woman at your own risk. Out in Bellevue, 21-year-old Zachary Van Zandt was scoping the dressing rooms at Target trying to get a surreptitious photo on his cell phone. He slipped his phone under one stall looking for a…
Ohio IHOP Don Busted in Illegal Immigrant Scheme
Roll that beautiful pancake footage. According to federal authorities, a Northwest Ohio IHOP kingpin was reportedly trying to scam both the government and the pancake giant out of money thanks to an operation jerry-rigged with illegal immigrants. The first sign Tarek Elkafrawi, who holds the paper on six IHOPs in Ohio and another one over…
Celebrate! Bobby Womack Is Cancer-Free
In a complete reversal of all the shitty news recently involving cancer and artists we really, really like, Bobby Womack is now completely cancer-free. The 68-year-old R&B legend, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, and, most importantly, Cleveland native posted some great news on his Facebook page this morning: We’re delighted to announce that Bobby…
Cleveland Man Murdered at Put-In-Bay (Updated)
Update VI: Brody was sentenced to 16 years in prison today for the death of Phil Masterson. (NewsNet5) *** Update V: Zachary Brody entered a plea agreement with prosecutors yesterday in the death of Phil Masterson. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, as well as two counts of evidence tampering. In exchange, prosecutors dropped the…
Clear Channel Launches New Modern Rock FM Station in Cleveland
Once 92.3 FM flipped from the modern alt-rock format to sports talk, Clevelanders who still listen to the radio were deprived of yet another in a dwindling list of rock choices. They got one back today at noon when 99.1 FM debuted. You can listen to the modern rock grooves, fed by WMMS/100.7’s HD 2…
CD Review: Gossip
Pop music is finally catching up to Gossip, or maybe Gossip are finally catching up to pop music. Either way, the Olympia, Washington trio has never sounded more of the moment than it does on its fifth album, a modern-day disco-pop explosion that doesn’t even bother with the more serious detours the band occasionally took…
CD Review: Joey Ramone
r Like many artists who’ve passed on to that great gig in the sky, Joey Ramone left behind a bunch of tracks and demos — some finished, some half-finished — when he died in 2001. The best of them ended up on his 2002 solo debut Don’t Worry About Me. Most of the others are…
We Get Mail
Attack of the Animal Lovers Mr. Grzegorek: The only thing that is “whackadoodle” about this gentleman’s interview is your coverage of it! [“United States Zoological Association President Thinks Zanesville Exotic Animal Owner Was Murdered in a Conspiracy,” at the Scene & Heard blog.] Joe Schreibvogel alleges that a conspiracy involving murder, the slaughter of animals,…
Local Band in Focus
Meet the Band: Tristan Ankrom (vocals, guitar, harmonica), John McCarron (guitar, vocals), Seth Swegheimer (drums), and Marc Dreher (bass) They’re Not Just Noodlers: The New Philadelphia quartet bristles at being called a jam band. “We get lumped and labeled [that way] because a lot of our songs are long and a few of them don’t…
CD Review: Proof I Exist
Paul Kulis, the one-man-band better known as Proof I Exist, nestles in nicely with today’s bedroom-indie scene on his debut album, occasionally tucking in with the poppier alternative bands of the 1990s. Suburban Sci-Fi is filled with traveling music custom-made for summer road trips. This is truly happy stuff; check out the guitar riff that…
Summer Hits and Misses
The calendar’s got it all wrong: Summer doesn’t start in the middle of June. Not Memorial Day weekend or the last day of school either. Summer really starts when all you hear are the same 10 songs on the radio, in the clubs, on the beach, and everywhere else somebody is making your music choices…
On View This Week
Kenneth Paul Lesko Gallery Infinite Unbound. Lissa Bockrath’s scenes depict the meeting of earth, sky, and fire in panoramas of slow-motion violence, provoked by ecological love. Through July 14 at 1305 West 78th St.; call 216-631-6719 or go to kennethpaullesko.com. Akron Art Museum: Stranger in Paradise. The late Rev. Howard Finster is one of America’s…
Savage Love
Dear Dan: I’m a 17-year-old girl and, in most aspects, I’m confident with myself, my identity, and my body. Earlier this year, I met a girl. She had some serious drama at home and needed to get out of her house, so I let her stay at mine. Things went a LOT further than I…
Fabric of Memory
Silk, for all its incredible lightness, is pound-for-pound stronger than woven steel. Even so, Rebecca Cross stretches the fabric to its limit in her forthcoming show Presence/absence, where it is made to hold such weights as grief, memory, and celebratory love. The exhibition, opening next week at the Morgan Conservatory, is dedicated to Cross’ daughter,…
CD Review: Slash
Former Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy subbed for an MIA Axl Rose when Guns N’ Roses were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month. Conveniently, Kennedy takes on a similar role on the second solo album by GNR guitarist Slash. No surprise then that Apocalyptic Love is filled with GNR-style sleazy…
At the Arthouse
Miss Bala This Mexican thriller was up for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar this year. But that’s not why you should see it. You should see it because director Gerardo Naranjo stages the story — about a teen beauty-contest hopeful who gets sucked into an underworld filled with a drug kingpin and other really…
FROM STREET PUNKS TO CITY PLANNERS
Skateboarding was created by 1940s surfers in California who needed something to do when the waves were flat. The first boards were literally wooden crates mounted atop roller skate wheels, a wobbly sight that probably inspired the first parental angst. In the mid-1970s, when a drought hit Central California, skaters took to the empty swimming…
Concert Calendar
The Devil Makes Three Don’t start thinking the Devil Makes Three are a grindcore metal band just because of their name. The Santa Cruz trio plays old-timey bluegrass music — acoustic guitar, stand-up bass, banjo, no drummer — pulled by a distinct country/blues/folk current. Guitarist Pete Bernhard, bassist Lucia Turino, and banjo player Cooper McBean…
Wake Me When It’s Over
Who knows what dreams signify? To wit: What the hell did it mean, in the actual dream I once had, when I concluded an advertising presentation to a software company by unveiling a life-size police car carved out of boiled ham? But while we may all fall victim to such weirdness on occasion, we won’t…
What Are You Doing With Your Life?
On a balmy Sunday morning at Lakewood Park, dog walkers and runners cruise along the park’s paved trails as a dozen skateboarders age 4 to 40 ride the concrete ramps, rails, and ledges. The skate park there opened in 2006, after years of trying to bring a small dream into reality; despite initial opposition from…
Culture Jamming
TOP PICK Making Rumours: The Inside Story of the Classic Fleetwood Mac Album (Wiley) Ken Caillat – “Bubbly” singer Colbie’s dad and the guy who co-produced one of the biggest albums of all time – talks about working with Fleetwood Mac in this new book. The stories about the band’s 1977 album are legendary: Everyone…
The Dork Side
It’s a great summer to be a nerd. In fact, we’re already a few weeks into our bliss, which started with the triple-punch weekend of Free Comic Book Day, Star Wars Day, and the opening of The Avengers. And hold on to your Aquaman Underoos, because that’s just the start of it. New Batman and…
Home Movies
This Means War (Twentieth Century Fox) McG, whose heavy-handed direction made a mess of the last Terminator movie, tries his hand at romantic comedy with this labored story about two CIA agents dating the same woman, played by Reese Witherspoon. The director stages scenes with his usual carelessness, throwing together action sequences with little concern…
Local Heroes
Brett Montgomery likes Cleveland: The people are friendly, the weather’s been surprisingly decent, and he’s duly impressed by our local food scene. For a Chicago native whose culinary career has taken him to New York, Hilton Head, St. Petersburg, Atlanta, and Houston, that’s saying a mouthful. But his time here as executive chef of downtown’s…
Film Capsules
Men in Black III It’s been 10 years since Agents J and K saved the world from a bunch of bug-eyed aliens. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones return to save a younger Agent K (played by Josh Brolin) in the year 1969. Time travel, a decade’s worth of new CGI, and 3D? We’re guessing…
Sound Asleep
Of the many things going for actress/writer/producer/It Girl Brit Marling, her greatest asset is how well she knows herself. Seeing that nobody knew anything about her before the two movies she co-wrote and starred in at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, Marling’s utter self-awareness may also prove to be her salvation. Those two films —…
