Kevin “Sku” Skizenta, a Sagamore Hills police officer and former
frontman of Mutant Soldier, died Tuesday, June 2, of leukemia.
Skizenta, 40, was father of two. He fronted Mutant Soldier from
1988-1992, helping the band hold its own in the second wave of
Cleveland thrash. Services were held last week. Read more at
Scene‘s blog, at clevescene.com.

Spudmonsters frontman Don Foose returned to action last
weekend, with two video shoots for his new band, Foose. On
Saturday, the hardcore group shot a video on Warehouse District rooftop
with Mushroomhead’s Steve “Skinny” Felton directing. On
Sunday, the band played a set of harder-than-nails new tunes and old
Spudmonsters favorites at the Pirates Cove.

The new group marks a return to the singer’s crossover roots after
on-again-off-again work with the funky rock project Sons of War. The songs are informed by his Hare Krishna faith.

“People have been pushing me to do another hardcore project,” says
Foose. “People want to hear the old Don Foose/Spudmonsters/Run Devil
Run style. So I put together another old-school-style record. It’s not
about making a hardcore album or a metal album. It’s about making
something that people can listen to and feel good about every time they
listen to it.”

Foose guitarist Ryan Farrell lives with Mushroomhead singer Jeffrey
Nothing, and much of the record was recorded at their house. Foose
plans to include the videos with the record, which is finished but has
no title yet. He says that three labels are interested, but he may
release it independently late this summer.

Jazz drummer/composer Glenn Davis has released a second CD on
Colorado’s Jazzed Media label. Come Right In features the
Glenn Davis Quintet — Jack Schantz (former music director of the
Cleveland Jazz Orchestra) on trumpet and flugelhorn, Dave Sterner on
saxophones, Dean Johnson on bass and Mark Soskin on piano — plus
guest Phil Woods on alto sax. He’ll play with a quartet at Melange
(2101 Richmond Rd., inside La Place) at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 25.

dferris@clevescene.com

This article appears in Jun 10-16, 2009.